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Toyota shuts China plant, more strikes reportedToyota Motor Corp stopped production at its main factory in China after a strike at its plastic parts supplier, the carmaker said on Saturday, the latest in a series of labour disputes across the country.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 7:30 am DTC 2.0: How the proposed tax code impacts your walletHow will DTC 2.0 revised discussion paper impact the common mans wallet? In an interview with CNBCTV18, P Nandagopal, MD CEO, Indiafirst Life Insurance; Tax Guru Subhash Lakhotia and Certified Financial Planner Gaurav Mashruwala gave their perspective on how the draft discussion paper would impact the wallet of the common man.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 6:40 am Global pharma eyes Russia riches with local presenceGlobal drugmakers are set to pour over a billion dollars into Russian manufacturing in a bid to win the status of local producers and sidestep a tougher government stance on imported medicines.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 4:19 am AgBank woos IPO investors: MidEast eyes $2 bn stakeTwo Middle East wealth funds may each buy USD 1 billion worth of stock in Agricultural Bank of China\'s upcoming record IPO, among seven key investors considering buying stakes, sources said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 4:19 am Honda China workers appear ready to accept pay dealHonda China workers appear ready to accept pay dealSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 4:19 am Ford aims to reinvent Explorer, recapture salesFord Motor Co is counting on a leaner and greener makeover of its Explorer to find new buyers for a once hotselling sport utility vehicle that powered the automaker\'s profits a decade ago.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 19 Jun 2010 | 4:19 am Inflation takes an ugly turn What should RBI do now - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Jun 2010 | 3:50 am All new tests face skepticism, so will infra fund: Parekh - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Jun 2010 | 3:27 am RBS in talks to sell India unit to HSBC - reportMUMBAI (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland is in talks to sell its Indian commercial and retail unit to HSBC, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with the knowledge of the situation.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 3:21 am Milan menswear opens out, in anniversary moodMILAN (Reuters Life!) - Designers such as Italian duo Dolce & Gabbana and Belgian Dirk Bikkembergs are hoping to draw crisis-hit shoppers back by staging fashion events in the most popular squares of Milan.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 3:09 am Greece courts China for shipping, tourism investmentsSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Greece wants China to boost investment in its shipping, tourism and commerce industries, the debt-laden country's economy minister said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 2:56 am Wealthy families up gold buys - investment managersMONACO (Reuters) - Wealthy families are continuing to increase their gold investments on fears of inflation and the escalation of Europe's debt woes, helping to push up the price of the yellow metal, investment managers said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 2:48 am J&K gets Rs 6000 crore plan, and a pat - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Jun 2010 | 1:45 am Fitch: euro risk overstimated, ECB should do moreST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - The markets are exaggerating the euro zone's risks, but the European Central Bank needs to do more to show its commitment to financial stability, Fitch's head of sovereign ratings said on Saturday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 1:24 am Anil's absence spooks Dalal Street - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 19 Jun 2010 | 1:23 am Toyota shuts China plant, more strikes reportedTOKYO/ZHONGSHAN (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp stopped production at its main factory in China after a strike at its plastic parts supplier, the carmaker said on Saturday, the latest in a series of labour disputes across the country.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 1:14 am APEC energy mins eye Gulf spill, energy alternativesFUKUI, Japan (Reuters) - The Philippines will meet next week with firms drilling for oil and gas in the country to assess safety measures as the largest oil spill in U.S. history prompts Asian nations to weigh likely risks from similar mishaps.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:49 am Toyota halts China factory after supplier strikeWork was suspended in the middle of the day shift on Friday at its Tianjin factory, near Beijing, which has three assembly lines with combined annual production capacity of 420,000 vehicles.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:24 am Returns may trump politics in India Islamic financeMUMBAI/KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - A small Islamic fund has garnered surprisingly good demand in India as investors chase better returns, suggesting that the country could eventually embrace sharia banking despite strong political opposition.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:20 am Partner puts blame on BP as spill costs growGRAND ISLE, La (Reuters) - BP Plc's costs for the worst spill in U.S. history appeared set to rise as a partner in the out-of-control well laid the blame at BP's feet and the new federal czar overseeing damage claims said BP would pay more if $20 billion was not enough.Source: Reuters: Money News | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:18 am Savings bank accounts may fetch higher interest if rates are deregulatedYour Savings Bank (SB) accounts may give you more interest if the Reserve Bank of India's plan to deregulate interest rates on such accountsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am ‘Uncertainty over tax issues keeps investors, lenders away from SEZs'The Commerce Ministry said on Friday that financial institutions, banks and overseas lenders are reluctant to either invest in or provide credit to Special Economic Zones (SEZs) due to the uncertainty created by the Direct Taxes Code (DTC) onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Mukesh for harmonious relationship with ADAGShareholders of Reliance Industries appeared a bit disappointed after the Annual General Meeting of theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am BP's Hayward – A slick player's crude fall“We have the opportunity to set a new benchmark in industry safety in our industry…so that's sort of task number one,” Mr Tony Hayward, the ruddy-faced, Chief Executive of BP, told the Houston Chronicle in 2007 in his firstSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Business time at cinemasThe movie business is the stuff dreams are made of, right? How about business in movie houses for aSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Reliance Industries to foray into power; plans mega investmentReliance Industries Ltd, on Friday, formally announced its plans to enter the power business. Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director of RIL told shareholders that the company will bid for ultra mega power projectsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Infosys looks to build technical talent poolWith customers demanding more from IT companies than just lower cost, Infosys Technologies is retooling its employee skillSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Securities transaction tax rate hinges on capital flowThe securities transaction tax (STT) is here to stay even under the proposed new regime for direct taxes slated to come into force from April 1 nextSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Exports post 35% growth in May, imports up 30.8%Exports remained in the positive territory for the seventh successive month, but the 35 per cent growth in shipments in May was lower than that in the same month last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Arun Sarin may be asked to head BSNLThe Government is looking at the possibility of roping in former CEO of Vodafone Plc, Mr Arun Sarin, to head Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd in a bid to turn around the public sectorSource: Business Line - Home Page | 19 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am LG Elec to invest $825 mln in solar cells by 2015South Korea's LG Electronics Inc said on Friday it would invest 1 trillion won ($824.5 million) by 2015 in its solar cell business, as it seeks new growth drivers.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:33 pm Bill introduced in US Congress to stop buying Chinese goodsA group of influential Senators have introduced a legislation in the US Congress to stop using Chinese products with tax payer's money as Beijing does not give access to American companies in USD 500 billion Chinese government procurement market. Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:53 pm U.S., China face off over currency ahead of G20WASHINGTON/BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States pressed China on Friday to move toward a market-based exchange rate, but Beijing said not to meddle with its management of the yuan, setting the stage for a clash at next week's G20 summit.Source: Reuters: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 7:26 pm Exports rise 35% to $16.1 billion on West recovery - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:39 pm A shale of an idea on gas for Reliance IndustriesThe company has already committed more than $1.6 billion to acquiring shale acreage in the US, where the segment has emerged as a strong contributor to overall gas supplies in the last five years.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:28 pm Tata Power says retail customers have trebledTata Power's licence area for distribution of electricity in Mumbai overlaps with the areas to which electricity is supplied by Reliance Infrastructure Ltd and Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:16 pm Prakash Industries to add 675 mw by 2014The company today produces 100 mw electricity, and uses it for its own operations.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:13 pm Indian game developer ibibo hits the jackpotWhile global social game developers such as Zynga face a downturn, the Indian website is going great guns.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:10 pm Seven-day winning streak endsThe Sensex has risen by 999.59 points since last Wednesday. It had a similar seven-day gaining streak in August 2009, when it gained 1112.70 points.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:07 pm Reliance AGM sidelightsMore than 40 shareholders got a chance to speak, and most of suggested inducting the Ambani matriarch, Kokilaben, as chairman emeritus or a board member.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:03 pm Can contain inflation by a 75 bps rate hike: Deepak ParekhThe current tightness in the liquidity situation is temporary, Deepak Parekh, Chairman, Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC), told CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 3:02 pm Corporation Bank arm gets nod for stock broking operationsCorporation Bank is also in the process of identifying a partner for its foray into insurance business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:59 pm Many a lesson to be learnt from the derivatives crisisSpeculators and highly leveraged tools can't be allowed to hurt the economy.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:56 pm What direct taxes code offers home owners/buyersAll the more controversial aspects such as asset-based MAT, EET method of taxation for savings instruments, etc are proposed to be modified.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:55 pm Tata AutoComp lines up Rs 3 bn capex for FY11Tata AutoComp Systems, in which Tata Motors holds a 26%, will spend Rs 3 billion capex in FY11 to expand production as auto makers battle a severe capacity shortfall, a senior official said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:32 pm Bank loans up 19.1% on year as on June 4Indian bank loans rose 19.1% on year as of June 4, the central bank\'s weekly statistical supplement (WSS) showed on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:32 pm AlcatelLucent may set up services hub in IndiaAlcatelLucent is considering setting up its global services headquarters in India and will take a decision in the near future, Chief Executive Ben Verwaayen said on Friday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:11 pm ITC to celebrate centenary with a 1:1 bonus, stock zooms - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 2:02 pm Navnirman Samiti opposes Posco project - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:59 pm Alcatel may shift services hub to India - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:51 pm Peek into the teen closetTerror on the Titanic: A Morningstar Agency Adventure Samit Basu Scholastic India Rs150; 204 pages Chapter 1 Let us imagine that you had bought, in secret, the world’s most precious jewel, the Eye of Empire, a massive ruby known to have left a trail of lives – violently lost – behind it as it journeyed across harsh lands in the care of desperate men.  Now here is my question: Where would you undertake this transaction? If it were up to me, I would meet the bearer of the ruby in some pleasant spot in the countryside, in daylight, and keep myself surrounded by men I trusted . Why in the name of seven hells, then, had Sir Reginald Pyke chosen to acquire the Eye of Empire in the dead of night in a narrow, winding alley in the East End of London, easily the most dangerous region in all the Empire ? True, Jack the Ripper had not struck in more than twenty years , but those forbidding lanes were still bursting with thieves, pickpockets and assorted cutthroats always more than happy to carve a passing stranger up into thin, quivering slices just to pass the time and, perhaps, feed their rats. I had never possessed anything of great material value, but I knew, even so, that precious objects were meant to be guarded, to be kept safe – and out of Whitechapel. But then, perhaps, for collectors and hoarders like Sir Reginald Pyke, part of the thrill of possessing a gem like the Eye of Empire was the the danger involved in its ownership. Not that I had any reason to complain; after all, my task that night was not to ensure Sir Reginald’s safety, but to steal the ruby from him, for Mr. Morningstar had told me to ensure that this jewel was destroyed, and more specifically to see that it never crossed the Atlantic. I was not very sure as to how one destroyed a ruby, but I planned to drop it in a volcano and hope for the best. Not, perhaps, the most economical plan, but Mr. Morningstar had always been most generous when it came to providing travel expenses. Given the nature of my enterprise, I should have been celebrating Pyke’s choice of location, because the Metropolitan police had long ago given up investigating thefts in Whitechapel, but I was troubled. The task was simple enough, but I knew in my heart that complications were inevitable. In the last few minutes alone, my short walk from Whitechapel Road to Wormwood Street had been interrupted by four attempts on my life. But those malnourished yahoos leaping out of corners were not the source of my growing irritation; I dealt with them easily enough, leaving them moaning and convulsing on the narrow pavement. The rain, on the other hand, I could not dispel, it had no bones to break; it was everywhere, gnawing at my coat and at my patience, dribbling through the cobblestones, dripping into the gutters without so much as a gurgle to indicate it meant business. The waning moon above occasionally cast a little light through gaps in wispy grey clouds. It was the kind of half-hearted weather that I detested above all things. From Wormwood Street I headed north and west, striding through filthy, malodorous alleys, trying not to listen to the moans and ragged whispers, the dull thuds and muffled shrieks that trickled out of the hovels I passed; there were many secrets all around me, many sorrows, many stories, but I had no interest in them. The darkness grew with every step, and a normal man would have been stumbling, blind, but I had no need of gaslight or candle. I had stalked wild leopards through the trees by night, calling them rude names, and wandered far underground through the lost catacombs of Jungle-conquered cities with the daughters of Kaa. But while I could see clearly, my other senses were in disarray; the smells and sounds of London overwhelmed me, drowned me in filth and sensation. Remembering Mr. Morningstar’s instructions, I breathed quickly, shallowly, trying to focus all my concentration on vision alone. I commanded my nose and ears to believe they were ordinary, that they were not being pulled in a thousand directions by trails that led to madness. It took some time and a great deal of effort, but I calmed myself. I shut London out. A decision I would soon have cause to regret. I found Sir Reginald soon enough, at the very place I had been told the rendezvous would take place; Falcon Square, a small clearing hemmed in on every side by crooked, shabby houses that seemed to fight one another for space in their crammed rows, like weeds seeking the sun. Four alleys cut into the square, one running off from each side. It would have been difficult to miss him; he was right at the centre of the square, sitting at the wheel of the most ostentatious car possible, a Rolls Royce Silver Ghost that seemed to glow with its own light. I hated all cars, but even I had to admit this one was a beauty, a mighty beast that could roll its way through any trail in this urban jungle unchallenged, a Hathi among automobiles. Pyke, however, commanded no such awe; he was a soft, querulous-looking man whose puffy whiskers did nothing to compensate for his weak chin. I had thought a man capable of such foolhardiness as to sit alone in a magnificent car inviting the jackal-men of the East End to sally forth and strip him to the bone – really, he may as well have been handing out pamphlets proclaiming his desire to be robbed – would at least look like a dashing adventurer. But the man who sat at the wheel of the Silver Ghost appeared to be the sort of fellow who, if placed in a life-threatening situation, would draw in his breath sharply and write a strong letter to a newspaper editor. He appeared to have no illusions about himself either; I could see him clearly as I panther-walked into the square, sliding through the blackest pockets of darkness closer to the car, and he was evidently extremely nervous. He huffed and puffed, his eyes darting from side to side, seeing a thousand demons lurking in every corner of the square. The task seemed simple enough; whoever Pyke was waiting for would arrive, hopefully carrying the jewel. When their negotiations were concluded – he would take Pyke’s money, or his life, or both – I would step in, retrieve the jewel, and rush off in search of cleaner air. I moved closer to the car, ready for anything, feeling in my coat for my favourite weapon, my father’s old hunting knife. It was gone. It had been there minutes ago; I had shown it to a drunken buffoon who had been considering attacking me with a club on Whitechapel High Street. What devilry was this? A quiet grunt of surprise escaped my lips. Pyke heard; he quivered in terror and called out, ‘Bavarian!’ ‘Silence...master,’ said a deep, chilling voice from the shadows across the square. I scampered away, belly to the ground, lizard-fashion, my head spinning. How many others were there? Why had I not seen them? It was a matter of seconds before I was out of the square, lurking in the darkness of an alley. I looked again, harder, trying to remember where the voice had come from. The darkness took on a shape; a giant of a man, clad in a long, shabby greatcoat stretched to its limits by the massive body within. He had been standing so very still I must have taken him for a statue, or a tree. This, then, was Pyke’s bodyguard. I looked closer. He was wearing blackened eyeglasses. At this hour of night! Was he blind? No, there was something strange about him; a faint orange glow behind the glasses, the colour of burning embers. I let London into my nose again, ignoring the churning cries of Whitechapel, trying to find his scent. Beyond the metal and oil of the car, beyond Pyke’s fear and pomade, I sought him out. I found nothing. The bodyguard had no smell at all, and this filled my heart with a nameless dread; he was some manner of unnatural creature. Where, by the gharial’s snout, was my knife? Under the circumstances, there was only one thing to do. I dropped to the street again, and spoke the Master-words that could find me friends even here, so far from all jungles. I called out to Dog, to Rat, to Bird; Pyke and the Bavarian, now conferring in hushed tones in the middle of the square, must have wondered why a crew of beasts had gathered to observe and criticize their actions. No one replied for a few seconds, then there was a squeak near my feet. ‘Oi!’ said a rat. ‘Startled me clean out of me wits, you did.’ He was a handsome fellow, grey and strong, long of tooth and red of eye. I gave him the Rat salute and he bit my boot by way of greeting. ‘What’s yer game, mate?’ he asked. ‘Been years since I heard the Call. My nan learned it me when I was but a wee pink thing.’ ‘Help me, little brother,’ I said. ‘Tell me of those men in the square. Help me find my knife.’ ‘Tell you what, guv’nor? You can see them well as me. The big one, he’s all wrong. You couldn’t get me near him, no, you couldn’t, not with a cellar full of steak and ale pies. Hole in his smell. Know where your knife is, though. Girl took it. Whisked it clean out of your pocket while you was prancing about.’ ‘What girl?’ ‘Your nose needs cleaning, mate. That girl,’ and the rat looked behind me. I spun around. Standing a short distance further up the alley was a vision of loveliness in full evening dress. Short, slender as a doe, lithe as a young tigress, her right hand raised, a finger to her full lips; in her left hand was my knife. But this did not perturb me at all; frankly, I would not have cared had she been holding a severed head. Her scent had come to me, young and clean and strong, fighting its way up through Whitechapel’s noxious bouquet, and by the quickening of my breath and the sinking of my heart I knew I was suddenly, powerfully in love. An ordinary man might have waited till the light of day, and observed the full bloom of her beauty. And she was, indeed, beautiful; I could tell, in spite of the dark, in spite of the strange contraption she wore on her head, an aviator’s helmet with two jutting cylinders obscuring her eyes – binoculars that let her see in the dark? I did not know or care. An ordinary man might have held his feelings in check for a few years, slowly letting her know of his regard, judging whether she would be a suitable mate. But I was of the Jungle, and I had smelt her; it was enough. I hoped I would not have to kill her. She beckoned with an imperious finger, turned and walked off; I trailed in her wake like a love-sick buffalo, casting one despairing backward glance towards Pyke and the Bavarian. They did not look exceptionally desirous of my company. We walked silently southwards, the rat frolicking by my feet, squeaking obscenities. When we were safely out of earshot, she faced me, and this time she smiled. ‘Nathaniel Brown,’ she whispered, ‘I bring a message from Mr. Morningstar.’ ‘I knew he was an influential man, but I was unaware he employed angels,’ I replied, ever courteous. At close quarters, her scent was maddening; I considered kissing her. From her accent, she was French, which meant she might not take it amiss. I took a step forward. She punched me in the face, a surprisingly powerful right cross. My head swam with more than desire. ‘Listen to me, you dolt,’ she whispered, fiercely this time. ‘You’re off this case. There are powerful players at work now; the stakes have risen. Now leave this place at once, report to the Charing Cross office tomorrow, and consider yourself lucky that I found you in time to save your life.’ ‘This is my very first case,’ I said. ‘I will not leave until my work is done; I owe Mr. Morningstar that much. I thank you for your concern, miss, but I cannot do as you ask. Instead, I would advise you to seek safety – there are dangerous men abroad. Besides, I have no idea who you are. Who do you work for?’ She stamped her foot in annoyance, and gave me the password. I bowed, and apologized for having doubted her. ‘I understand your enthusiasm, and it does you credit, Nathaniel,’ she said, ‘but this is work for senior agents . You have neither the training nor the skill to deal with the Bavarian – and he is not the most fearsome creature prowling London this night. I have been instructed by Mr. Morningstar to take over. What – ’ I lunged forward, grabbed her and dragged her towards a ramshackle building to my right. She struggled violently for an instant, but then realized this was no assault on her virtue; she followed my gaze, over her shoulder and further down the alley, and froze. A man had appeared at the other end of the alley. A sinister figure in a cape and hood, striding towards us swiftly, his boots clattering loudly on the cobblestones. He was tall and broad, as formidable a foe as the Bavarian. Like him, this new arrival smelled of nothing but travel, but this man was not wearing dark glasses; his eyes were uncovered, blazing like coals freshly lit beneath his hood. The lower half of his face was lit up, and covered with scars. Under one arm he held a wrapped bundle; in the other was a scimitar, glittering evilly in the light from his eyes. I took my knife from the girl, and would have sprung at him, but she dragged me back, and threw all my senses to the wind by pinning me against the wall and kissing me roughly. She had flung her strange headgear aside; her hair cascaded over her face. The man was almost upon us now; I saw one of her hands creep into the folds of her dress, and come out bearing a small pistol. He stopped and considered us for an endless minute, his burning eyes not blinking once; our hands were clenched on the hilts of our weapons, pressed tight between our entwined bodies, our breathing feverish as we waited for him to strike. He grunted and walked on, evidently deciding we were overenthusiastic lovers or that another Whitechapel murder was taking place; either way, he displayed no interest. We waited until he had passed through the alley and entered Falcon Square, and then she knelt swiftly and replaced her helmet. I stayed where I was, back to the wall, breathing heavily. She tapped me gently on the shoulder, and whispered, ‘Go now.’ I waited a while to let my heart stop racing, and shook my head. I had no intention of going anywhere but back towards the square. Flitting noiselessly through the deepest patches of darkness, I followed the hooded newcomer; she sighed and matched me step for step. The hooded man walked up to the Bavarian and handed him the package. The two giants spoke, and even though I was straining my ears, I could not overhear a word. Most unusual. There was a new scent in the air now; a pungent, acrid stench; I could not tell what it came from, it seemed to be all around us. ‘Is it there, Bavarian? Is it the Eye? Light, damn it!’ cried Sir Reginald, still not brave enough to leave the car. ‘Quiet, you fool,’ rumbled the hooded man. ‘Lie down in your seat, shut your eyes and pray to your God. I was followed. They are coming.’ I turned to my fellow agent to ask who ‘They’ might be, and my jaw dropped. She was struggling in the arms of a great Beast, the source of the odour that had struck me seconds ago; how had a creature of that size crept up on us so quietly? It was a huge, scaled creature, nine feet high at least, patterned in the manner of a great snake though its shape was more similar to that of a silverback gorilla, standing on stump-like legs with crocodile-like feet, its python-headed arms coiled around her neck and torso. The creature’s head was snake-like; its tongue long and forked, a single eye, slit-pupilled, in the centre of its forehead. I quickly spoke the Snake Master-word, but the Beast ignored me; it opened its great mouth as if it meant to swallow her alive. Since it was clearly not one for civilized negotiations, I threw my knife, with all the strength I could muster, into its eye. It let go of her, hissing angrily, clutching at the knife; she fell limply to the ground. Behind me, the fiery-eyed men had heard the commotion. They came striding towards us, the Bavarian drawing a pair of hunting pistols from the folds of his greatcoat. I charged at the Beast, leaping for the head, stuck the knife in deeper, twisted it cruelly and pulled it out, and the Beast let out an agonized screech and tottered back. I dodged a flailing arm and somersaulted back, landing on my feet, and the Beast rushed at me. But I had danced rings around charging bull elephants in the mud-banks of the Indus, and my hunting blood was up. I knelt by my fallen comrade and pulled her away, an instant before a massive foot came crashing down where her head had been. I darted at the passing Beast, slashing at its ankles, and it flung its arms at me again – to my horror, they grew longer as I dived, and missed me by a whisker – and then it tottered on, blind and enraged, into the square, towards that friendly pair, the Bavarian and the hooded man, who I suspected would not be the most gracious of hosts. The Bavarian fired his pistols, and the Beast lurched and swayed. It extended its arms towards the Bavarian, and the Beast’s body seemed to shrink as the great coils emerged from it. But the hooded man was even faster than the striking snakes; the scimitar flashed left, then right, and two great heads fell with heavy thuds, leaving thick stumps thrashing uselessly. The hooded man danced forward and buried his scimitar in the Beast’s chest. It shuddered, convulsed, and fell heavily, quite dead. A harsh cry rent the air; I looked up, and saw, sitting on rooftops on the other three sides of the square, three more monsters. They reminded me of nothing so much as paintings I had seen of the mythical Harpies, but these creatures did not resemble women so much as giant standing frogs; great, squat hind-limbs and clawed, long forelimbs, with thin membranes joining their paws and feet, veined and ribbed like Chinese fans. They screamed across the square, calling out to one another, challenging the warriors on the ground. What nightmare world had I stumbled into? Was there some magic in the air, giving us all fevered visions? The Bavarian and his hooded ally stood back to back, their fiery eyes darting from one monstrous form to another. I glanced towards Pyke; there was no sign of him, the fool had probably fainted, and in any case he could see nothing. I gripped my knife-hilt; I would dash into the square, seize the Eye from the Bavarian, and disappear into the night while they were distracted by the Beasts. ‘Don’t do it,’ said a voice by my side. She was standing again, and apart from her slightly dishevelled appearance showed no signs of recently being mauled by creatures from an unknown hell. Truly, the female of the species, as my father once told Mr. Kipling, is more deadly than the male. ‘I could get the Eye and we could be done with this foolishness,’ I growled. The Song of the Seoni Wolf-Pack danced in my throat, urging me to let it out, to bring in the Jungle on this ghastly city. ‘They would kill you in an instant, Nathaniel,’ she said. ‘Your mission will be accomplished, trust me; the Eye will never reach America. But if you step into that square, you will die, and probably get me killed as well.’ I looked into her eyes, and at the grim creatures preparing to do battle in front of us, and knew she spoke the truth. ‘It is just three Beasts against those two; the monsters have no chance,’ she said. ‘I will steal the Eye from Pyke later; this was Mr. Morningstar’s express command. Now I need you to escort me away from this den of filth, because my glasses are broken and I cannot see a damned thing.’ The Beasts leaped off the rooftops and glided around the square, shrieking challenges. A look passed between the Bavarian and the hooded man; the Bavarian leaped into the car, shoved Pyke aside and started it. The Beasts converged on them; the Bavarian shot one, and tossed a pistol to the hooded man, who caught it behind his back and shot another. The third avoided the swinging scimitar and dug its claws into the hooded man’s arm; he dropped his blade with a cry. The Silver Ghost raced out of the square; one of the monsters attempted to give chase, but was stopped by a bullet to the wing. The hooded man threw off the monster on his arm, and its fall shook the street. The car was gone; three Beasts circled the hooded man, and I was torn between the desire to help them and to rush to his aid. The wolf-howl rumbled in my throat; I could not restrain it any longer. She felt me trembling, and tugged sharply on my arm. ‘Please,’ she said. ‘We must go.’ I pulled away. ‘Whatever Mr. Morningstar’s orders, I answer to a deeper call,’ I said. ‘I will not give up a hunt, for any reason. My blood forbids it. You cannot take this case away from me.’ ‘It will be difficult and dangerous, and you will be in my way constantly,’ she said. ‘I saved your life minutes ago,’ I replied. She considered this for a moment. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘We will work together.’ I suppressed a strong urge to leap on her and cover her face with kisses. ‘Done, then,’ I said. ‘Let us go.’ We glanced at the square; the hooded man had recovered his scimitar, and was celebrating this by sticking it into one of the Beasts. The others circled him in a resigned sort of way, as if awaiting their turns to die. We walked away, out of the alleys of Whitechapel into a world that had suddenly turned a lot stranger. I did not stop until we were out of that accursed maze, and then I paused and clasped her hand. ‘What is it now?’ she asked. ‘I do not know your name,’ I said. ‘Genevieve,’ she said with a smile. ‘Let go of my hand, please. There’s no time to waste, and I have a car waiting.’ ********* The Fang of Summoning Giti Chandra Hachette India Rs250; 272 pages Aurora Iceland, 984 AD The crags bit into the night sky, the jagged edges of the mountains glittering with ice. As she scrambled up the steep sides, almost invisible in the long hooded cloak, she kept her head down so that the trails of her ragged breath would not give her away. She was swift of foot and sure of her way, but the unforgiving mountainside cut through her boots and tore at her fingers. Crouching behind a tall rock, she paused for the briefest moment and put her hand to her heart, tracing the comforting diamond shape with one gloved hand. ‘Dreki’ she whispered, ‘Dreki.’  Racing now, with no thought of hiding, she knew she simply had to make it to the top of the mountain before her… pursuer. She shuddered as she thought, fleetingly, what kind of description would fit the thing that followed her. But she had been foolish, foolish to let it come to this. Cursing herself and the horror that licked at her heels, she vowed never to allow this to happen again. He would save her, just this once, and devour this... this beast ... that she had allowed to threaten his secret. She cleared the lip of the mountaintop, and knowing she was safe now and protected, she screamed for the dragon. ‘Dreki!’ she cried out in relief and triumph. ‘Dreki!’ And then her voice died in her throat and she saw the destroyed mountainside and the terrible bottomless ravine that had been gouged out of the valley. A mighty torrent raged in the fissure, dividing mountain from mountain, and leaving vast columns and pillars standing in the swirling waters like great fingers of doom upraised, pointing at the sky. As her desperate eyes raked the devastation for any sign of the dragon and the underground cavern in which he had lived for so many years, her blood ran cold. There, jutting out from the broken wall of the mountain like an enormous arm was a remnant of the cavern. Two huge promontories swept out into the dark, each with a hole in the middle - a hole the size of ten fishing boats laid end on end. A hole through which, centuries later, airplanes would fly, skimming the calm blue waters of the fjord the new-carved chasm was to become. A hole big enough for a dragon to have lain comfortably in. And then she saw a glint of steel flash in the corner of her eye and spun around, cloak swirling out around her and the hood flying off her face. Instinctively, in the same movement, she reached into the cloak and held the jewel clutched in her hand. The edges bit into her palm as she faced what she knew would be certain death. There was a slimy oozing sound and the beast, only dimly visible, coalesced into the figure of a smallish man, clad in the garb of her people, holding a knife. ‘I will not harm you if you are reasonable. You see that your friend the ... snake ...has abandoned you to your fate. Fled, as ever he has fled before me. Give me the Starstone and I will spare your beautiful face. Maybe you will find yet a man who will have you for your face in spite of your’ - its face twisted with malice - ‘maimed body.’ The voice seemed to her terrified ears to ooze out of him in thick globs, emanating from some hidden core into the moonlight, rather than spoken from the loose lips on the hastily assembled human face. She watched fascinated with despair and horror as it advanced slowly towards her, its shuffling feet making a slurping sound and leaving a trail of slime in their wake. The very air about her grew turbid with the foulness excreted from its pores and she lost her breath in thick, drowning gulps... ...‘Þú nærð þessu aldrei af mér,’ she whispered. ‘Ekki í þessu lífi.’ You will never have it. Not in this life. The bright colours of the Aurora blazed behind her just then, filling the night sky with brilliance, a beauty too awful to look upon. The beast shied away involuntarily, its murky bulk twisting to escape the pure green lights dancing across the northern skies. The single moment of distraction was all she needed, and when its eyes whipped back to her, it knew she had escaped it and its screech shook the leaping lights. *** Summonings ...‘May I be of any assistance?’ The boys jumped. Adit’s hair prickled on the back of his neck. But it was only the librarian. He was a small, wrinkled man, his thick glasses making his eyes look comically disjointed and large for his bony face. His hair hung over his ears in cobweb like wisps, with similar wisps dripping out of his ears as well. The boys relaxed. ‘Yes, Sir, we were wondering if we could issue out this book,’ said Adit, handing the little man his book. Akshat started as the man almost snatched it out of Adit’s hands. ‘Yes, this book, hmm…’ This time even Akshat’s skin crawled. Was he imagining it, or was there just the hint of a kind of disconnectedness in the man’s speech? As if the sound followed a second after the mouth moved? He looked at him quickly. It was true that he had a strangely shaped mouth, almost as if it didn’t belong on his face… Akshat’s stomach clenched and he lunged for Adit, pushing him out of the narrow aisle between the shelves. Adit crashed into the next row of shelves just as the little man landed behind him on all fours. Books went flying in every direction; Akshat dragged Adit clear of the avalanche from the top shelves, but they fell on the man and all but buried him. As the boys dodged through the stacks down the narrow aisle they heard a snarl behind them. Adit turned to look and the sight turned his stomach. The little man was still stooped over and seemed to be running on all fours. The snarl had come from him and his face appeared to have elongated, the nose growing out to meet his mouth, the eyes and forehead receding backwards. When Adit caught sight of the long canines protruding from either side of the slavering mouth, he froze, paralyzed. The thing facing them looked like… a hyena... ...‘It wants the book, Adit!’ screamed Akshat, already running, dragging his brother after him. ‘Don’t let it get the book! And for God’s sake, stop looking at it!’ The boys raced down the aisles, weaving a serpentine path in and out of the stacks, kicking shelves over as they went, sending books flying through the air and thundering down. Shelf after shelf crashed in waves behind them. Soon the screams of other people echoed and bounced off the walls, and running feet pounded around them. People were running in circles and Adit immediately realized that they would trap the boys inside in their fearful panic. ‘Out! Get out!’ he roared at the top of his lungs. ‘There’s a hyena inside! A rabid hyena! Out! Head for the door!’ To his amazement and utter relief, the chaotic confusion of feet headed for the main entrance like a tide turning. As people started pouring out, Akshat realized, in the midst of their heart-pounding escape, that if even one life were lost, it would be their fault. The boys dashed into the open air and he grabbed Adit’s arm. ‘We have to get these people out!’ he panted, his breath coming in great heaving gulps. But Adit pulled him along to the car. ‘He can’t hurt them,’ he said. ‘He’s not allowed.’ Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:45 pm Inflation getting broad-based: SubbaraoReserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao today said inflation was getting more broad-based as demand-side pressures rose.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:08 pm Competition Commission stays ban on Raavan in KarnatakaIn a first of its kind ruling, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) yesterday issued an order allowing the screening of Mani Ratnams Raavan in Karnataka. The film features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead roles. In the Tamil version, Vikram is playing the lead.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:06 pm 'A simpler tax statute remains the aim' - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:06 pm GoM on Bhopal likely to ask for more reliefThe Union government is examining increased compensation to the families of Bhopal gas victims to address the public anger in the wake of a recent court verdict.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:06 pm Dr Reddy's may sell stake in domestic formulations bizHyderabad-based Dr Reddys Laboratories (DRL) is exploring the option of demerging its domestic formulations business and unlocking value. Several multinational drug firms have already begun talks on a potential deal for the Rs 1,000 crore business.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:04 pm Mukesh unveils 10-year plan to double enterprise valueRoadmap for mega entry into power, 4G services.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:04 pm Mukesh makes patch-up publicThe move from brothers in arms to brothers in charm took another step forward on Friday, as Reliance Industries Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said he looked forward to a “harmonious and constructive relationship” with Anil.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 1:03 pm Kiran Rao | We could have won the SpiceJet contractKiran Rao, executive president (marketing and contract) and president (India) at Toulouse-based plane maker Airbus SAS, is candid enough to admit that his calculations went wrong when Indian low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd acquired his rival Boeing Co.’s planes. He is confident that Indian airline companies will stage a recovery and embark on their next phase of expansion, buying more planes. Edited excerpts: How important is India for you? In terms of numbers, it is small, but it is one of the best markets. It will surprise all of us. Civil aviation minister Praful Patel has said India would need at least 2,000 planes. I will go by what minister says. The airlines are struggling to come out of losses. Why would India need more planes? The Indian market is growing at 16% (per annum). That’s incredible. Even China is only growing at 9%. Our India projections have been 8% growth but the market is growing at 16%. Even if it can sustain 8% growth for 20 years, India would need more than 1,000 planes. In every 15 years, passenger traffic in India has doubled and in every 20 years it has trebled. It’s enormous growth. IndiGo surprised the industry with a 100-plane order some years back. It now plans to buy 150 more planes. So, all set for another big round of orders?  Meeting orders: Kiran Rao says Airbus will deliver 30 more planes to the Indian market in this calendar year. Harikrishna Katragadda/Mint Your competitor Boeing is also scouting for new orders. All carriers require more planes. We have a market share of 68% and I am more focused on strengthening the relationship with existing customers. Historically, Boeing had old planes. Now old Boeing planes are being phased out. In fact, Boeing’s 777 planes are rejected by Indian customers. The strength of the Indian market is A320, which is the airplane of choice for the domestic market, especially for low-fare carriers. And A330 is the plane for the choice for international market. We will deliver 30 more planes in this calendar year. What do you do when you are not selling planes? In addition to the day job, I am also the president of the International School of Toulouse. This is an English-speaking school in Toulouse and all three of my kids go there. It’s a good break from dealing with planes and it brings me down to earth. I don’t have too much spare time but we usually go on active holidays as a family. I am a qualified scuba diver and I enjoy sailing. Scuba diving is the best way of getting away from the phone and BlackBerry. Sailing, too. Do you switch off phones only when scuba diving? No, I have a great family life. My time is occupied mostly because of kids. James, 18, Matthew, 16, and Emma, 11. James is the young pilot; he was flying since 12 years old and went solo at 15. He is following in the footsteps of his mother who got her flying licence at 18. Matthew is the go-kart racer. This go-kart racing is a prelude to our fast racing events such as Formula One. My role is to drive him to the track, prepare the kart, tyres, fuel, engine check, fix broken parts and then watch him race. He recently came first in a 10-hour endurance race in France. Once he is racing, I monitor the times and then adjust the various settings to see how to get him quicker. I am his chief mechanic. My daughter Emma loves acting. Fortunately for me, this only requires me to sit in the audience and clap. Have you ever thought of doing something else? If I had not joined Airbus, I would have been a flight test engineer with the UK ministry of defence. I was selected for this very exciting role but turned it down in favour of being a sales guy. It looked like a fun job when I was 22. Very few got such an opportunity to test and certify all British defence aircraft. But no regrets, as it has been an adventure. Your favourite deal? Every deal I have done has a unique story. If I have to single out one, it was the (sale of) 41 aircraft to South Africa. It was my first deal and a tough one. One day I will write a book. India is full of interesting characters—all with full of energy and indepth knowledge like Vijay Mallya, Naresh Goyal, etc. What has been your best Indian aircraft deal? The best deal is IndiGo in (terms of) numbers. But in terms of money, it was Kingfisher Airlines. The best time in your career? I cherish my five years in India during 1996-2001. I was given the job to create Airbus in India. I was 32 when I was made to sell passenger planes. I had no knowledge about where to start. Do you see the impact of economic slowdown receding? Fortunately, I did not see many airlines cancelling their planes. In fact, some of them have advanced their schedules. For sure, we had two difficult years, where airlines had to rebuild their finance models. But we had predicted that the airline recovery will start by the end of 2010 and that is happening now. The load factors of all airlines are up. Now they will see profitability too. Frankly, the recovery is not 100%. We have to be very cautious. But all airlines are showing positive signs of recovery. Any mistake that you committed in your India assignment? I think we were looking at different directions when the low-fare carrier SpiceJet took its decision to buy planes. I believe we could have won that too. With major aircraft deals in India, you had promised a huge sum of offset to Indian companies. You had also promised an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) in India. (India’s defence offset policy mandates that foreign contractors source components and systems from local vendors for at least 30% of the value of orders worth more than Rs300 crore that they get from India.) We have already superseded our offset obligations in India. We had an offset obligation of $600 million (around Rs2,768 crore) to do in India up to 2023. We have already finished it. But it doesn’t mean that we will switch off the key of sourcing materials from India. We have done an engineering centre in India, handling high-end engineering works with 400 employees, unlike Boeing’s similar engineering facility that is managed by a handful of employees. We are doing general procurement in India and have relationship with Indian companies such as Infosys Technologies Ltd and Satyam Computer Services Ltd. We have also tied up with (Canadian training solution company) CAE for training pilots with two A320 simulators. We are sourcing doors of A320 aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. What about MRO? We had signed an agreement with erstwhile Indian Airlines. Since it is merged with Air India to form Nacil (National Aviation Co. of India Ltd) it is taking some time. But still we have a lot of time, considering the time that we have promised to come up with the same. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 12:14 pm Why is this man smiling?Mukesh Ambani is an impassive man— mostly. Yet, sometimes when he is talking about things he is really passionate about, a certain gleam comes into his eyes, his head energetically bobs, and his delivery—usually an even-toned drone—takes on a messianic tenor. It’s been at least five years since the world has seen this side of the man, something it last did in the mid-noughties when Reliance Industries Ltd launched Reliance Retail. It isn’t that the elder of the Ambani brothers has been unenthusiastic about his other businesses; he has, usually in annual general meetings of shareholders, spoken animatedly about refining, life sciences, and gas. The passion, though, has been reserved for new businesses.  Illustration: Jayachandran/Mint Reliance Infocomm. Mukesh Ambani would move from one conference room to another, arriving at just the right juncture for one meeting, participate in a crucial discussion, and then leave for the next meeting. This writer’s meeting with him happened at the end of a long day replete with such meetings. Mukesh Ambani started off by speaking about how his father had wanted to make it possible for people to make a mobile phone call for less than the price of a post card but as he warmed up, the conversation turned visionary even by today’s standards. He spoke of creating a developer community to create applications for the company’s phones and phone service; using the company’s fibre optic backbone to carry voice, data, audio and video (even TV signals); even enterprise services. That may explain why, on Friday, when Mukesh Ambani spoke at the company’s annual general meeting, he occasionally sounded the way he had at that meeting eight years ago. A substantial part of the speech he gave was dedicated to telecommunications, a business Mukesh Ambani has been able to re-enter after recently making his peace with younger brother Anil Ambani. The two brothers have been fighting continually since late 2004, though they did arrive at a settlement in 2005, carving up the Reliance empire between themselves and agreeing not to encroach into each other’s territory. Under the terms of that settlement, Anil Ambani, inconceivably, ended up with the business closest to Mukesh Ambani’s heart, telecommunications. Friday’s speech by Mukesh Ambani referred to e-banking, using the developer community to create applications that will increase the reach of broadband in India, and several other things that he had first spoken off when he was building Reliance Infocomm (it became Reliance Communications after Anil Ambani took over). Mukesh Ambani’s passion for telecommunications may have had something to do with the fact that it is clearly a business of the future, as compared with any business based on fossil fuel that, while being immensely lucrative, is oh-so-yesterday. Telecommunications is a business that can propel Reliance Industries into an entirely different orbit. It’s already making many people see Mukesh Ambani in an entirely new light. Write to acuteangle@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 12:11 pm Market movements and sports wins, the deep connectionVery often, market participants find it difficult to attribute any reason to market movements. The usual response to a question on why stock prices have moved in a particular way is put down to “sentiment”. There has been a lot of research on how stock markets are affected by mood. For instance, a paper by Carroll et al (2002) found the very interesting fact that admissions for heart attacks in the UK increased by 25% during the three-day period starting 30 June 1998, the day England lost to Argentina in a football World Cup penalty shootout. Edmans, Garcia and Norli cite several other research papers on the connection between results in sports and general well-being.  Graphic: Jayachandran/Mint The authors also expanded the scope of their study to investigate the effect on the markets of rugby, ice hockey, cricket and basketball results, but they say that the impact of soccer is much greater, since it is the most followed sport in the countries that they studied by a wide margin. What are the results? The authors find that losses in international soccer matches depress the national mood in the losing country and “have an economically and statistically significant negative effect on the losing country’s stock market”. For example, a loss in the World Cup elimination stage leads to a next-day abnormal stock return of minus 49 basis points. But they find no corresponding positive impact after wins in soccer matches. That’s because soccer fans seem to expect their own teams to win, so a win is not taken as a great surprise, while a loss is. The other reason is that often while a win merely advances the country to the next stage, a loss eliminates it from the competition. The paper also finds that the effect is more pronounced in small stocks, which have more local investors and are therefore more strongly affected by the negative sentiment from a loss for the national team. And finally, the researchers also find that the impact is smaller for the other sports such as rugby, cricket and basketball. Incidentally, the researchers also test the hypothesis whether the fall in the market is due to investors suffering from a hangover after a losing match and conclude that it isn’t true. If the conclusions of this paper are correct, one could construct a market strategy of shorting the markets that play in the World Cup to take advantage of the skewed outcomes—you win if they lose, and nothing happens if they win. But with small stocks being affected the most, such a strategy will be difficult to execute. In India, considering the national obsession over cricket, we badly need a research paper on the link between cricket matches and stock market returns. Write to simplyeconomics@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:43 am Meru founder plans return to roots with service centreMumbai: Neeraj Gupta, founder and managing director of Meru Cab Co. Pvt. Ltd, plans a return to his roots by setting up a dedicated workshop that will maintain and repair the company’s 1,700-strong taxi fleet in Mumbai, thus saving on costs and improving efficiency. The workshop, which is to be set up in the suburb of Mira Road, may eventually alsoservice non-Meru cars, said Gupta, who will float a new company for the venture along with India Value Fund, the private equity investor that has an 80% stake in Meru. “The new company would be having the same shareholding pattern of 20:80 (with Gupta holding one-fifth of the equity). This new workshop is expected to bring down the maintenance cost by 20-25% and increase efficiency by 5-7%. We are working on separate branding for this venture,” he said in an interview.  Spreading wings: Neeraj Gupta will float the venture with India Value Fund, the private equity investor that has an 80% stake in Meru. The new venture may stem driver complaints that the current maintenance schedule is time-consuming. The service centre, land for which has already been acquired, is expected to start functioning in two months. The concept may be replicated in the other cities where Meru operates, in Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore, Gupta said, declining to reveal the investment figures for the venture. If Gupta’s plan is executed fully, it will follow a similar project by former Maruti Suzuki India Ltd boss Jagdish Khattar, who set up a chain of workshops after retiring from India’s biggest car company under the brand name Carnation Auto India Pvt. Ltd. Khattar had raised first-round funding of Rs108 crore from PremjiInvest and IFCI Ventures. “I see no reason why people would not opt for such third-party garage services provided there are quality services at a reasonable rate,” said Vishal Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer at Tuscan Ventures Pvt. Ltd, a Mumbai-based venture capital firm that focuses on the logistics sector. “Since Meru has strong brand recall, the logic for garage services is compelling. The organized garage service will offer economies of scale and scope,” he adds. Meru owns nearly 4,500 cabs in the four cities, most of which are painted a distinctive metallic green. India Value Fund, which manages assets worth more than $650 million (Rs2,996.5 crore), picked up its equity stake in Meru in 2006. While Chlorophyll Brand and Communications Consultancy worked on the branding, Accenture Plc advised Gupta on his business model. The firm’s key current aim is to build up its fleet and it may sell shares at a later date. “As of now, we have no plans to go public. We will go for it at a later stage. Now the idea is to have 10,000 vehicles by 2012-13,” Gupta said, adding that his company also has plans to enter cities such as Pune, Chennai and Ahmedabad. There were no plans to enter overseas markets in the near future, although he had made a survey of the Bangladesh market, Gupta said. pr.sanjai@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:42 am RIL takes aim at $160 bn EVMumbai: Mukesh Ambani on Friday outlined the contours of what could be the next growth phase for Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), India’s largest private sector company. In the course of his speech to shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting, the RIL chairman spoke of doubling the firm’s enterprise value (EV)—or market capitalization plus net debt—to $160 billion (Rs7.4 trillion) in less than 10 years. Also See Game Plan (Graphic) “It took three decades for Reliance to create an enterprise value of over $80 billion…I feel hopeful and confident that Reliance can accomplish value creation of a similar magnitude in less than a decade,” said Ambani, dressed in his quintessential black suit and white shirt with a red tie. The ambitious business plan comes with risks since RIL wants to expand in areas such as telecom and retail, where it will face strong competition. It also plans to seed new initiatives in fourth-generation (4G) telephony, solar power and shale gas, where technologies are still untried. The telecom and retail initiatives also give a strong consumer services flavour to a group that has been dominated by manufacturing prowess. “I think it is optimistic to think at the moment that RIL can achieve in a decade what they did in three. The new businesses they are entering such as retail and power are already very competitive, and revenues and margins have to be observed for at least two-three years before we can come to any conclusion,” cautioned Asish Bhattacharyya, a professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata. The vision statement has laid out an ambitious investment plan (see graphic) that stretches across several sectors and over three strategic horizons. The most immediate strategic move by RIL will be to build on its current strengths in plastics and petrochemicals through capacity expansions. Further out is the diversification into newer opportunities such as power generation and distribution as well as a reiteration of commitment to the struggling retail business. And then there are the more long-term bets in untested areas such as 4G telecom services, development of shale gas assets and solar power. Ambani has said in various statements over the past year about how RIL is preparing for its next “value creation cycle”. RIL has compeleted yet another capex cycle and is expected to generate free cash flow of $18 billion between fiscal year 2011 and 2014, according to the estimates by investment bank Goldman Sachs. RIL has usually finalized large investment plans at the end of each capex cycle, a process that saw it move from its origins in textiles to sequential moves into petrochemicals, oil refining, telecom, organized retail and natural gas. Ambani went into the shareholders’ meeting against the background of heightened expectations and drama, after the cessation of hostilities with younger brother Anil Ambani. The scrapping of a non-compete agreement between the two brothers last month has created room for Mukesh Ambani to invest in sectors such as power, telecom and finance that were earlier reserved for Anil Ambani. The RIL chairman said in his speech that he looked forward to “a harmonious and constructive” relationship with the business group controlled by his brother, though he did not mention him by name. The entry into power and telecom are the clearest indications that the elder brother is moving into territory that a family agreement had reserved for the younger brother. The man who had initially taken the undivided Reliance group into telecom reiterated his old belief that high-quality telecom services could “provide us with whole new ways to run our homes, communities, enterprises and our economy”. RIL recently bought 95% of Infotel Broadband Services Pvt. Ltd, the only company with nationwide rights to offer wireless broadband services. Ambani described the ambitious entry into power generation, transmission and distribution as a “transformational initiative”. “The power sector is a logical extension for us and we will bid for all the UMPPs (ultra mega power projects). In the next few months, we will have a concrete investment programme,” Ambani said, while responding to shareholders’ queries. Earlier in his speech he had mentioned that in addition to solar power, RIL would also enter nuclear power when the government allows it to. Another pillar for RIL’s future growth would be its retail businesses, according to Ambani. Though Reliance Retail Ltd is still posting losses, Ambani said that his aim was to grow the company’s turnover 10-fold in the next five years, to Rs45,000 crore. “The market competition in the new verticals Mukesh Ambani is planning to enter has increased over time, especially in telecom where it was present almost a decade back. Having said that, RIL has the financial muscle and human resource to see it through,” said Arvind Mahajan, head of business performance services at audit and consulting firm KPMG. “The Street was expecting the RIL chairman to elaborate how Anil Ambani and he would collaborate following the scrapping of the non-compete. But he focused on highlighting his own business plans, much of which was already known,” said Kishore Ostwal, chairman and managing director of investment research firm, CNI Research (India) Ltd. RIL shares declined 1.5% to end at Rs1,055.25 on the Bombay Stock Exchange, even as the benchmark Sensex index lost 0.26% to end at 17,570.82 points. Shares of the firms controlled by Anil Ambani also fell more than the overall market. aveek.d@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:34 am Quick Edit | Left-wing golf swingThe government of Kerala has been allowed to fulfil one of its long-standing ambitions —taking over the Trivandrum Golf Club, thanks to the Supreme Court, according to a report on the website of The New Indian Express. While it’s not clear whether chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan has any inclination towards the game, part of the state government’s determination to take control may stem from the current stewards having their say over 25 acres of prime property in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram. This could be another first for Kerala: a golf club run by a Communist government. Still, the episode could have been an opportun- ity for a newly adopted son of the city to assert himself in his newfound role. Shashi Tharoor is said to have decided to focus vigorously on his constituency, the Kerala state capital. Then again, he’s probably decided to stay off sports for a while. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:34 am Anjali Mendes, Pierre Cardin’s muse, diesNeew Delhi: In 1971, before Parisian ramps had seen women of colour, before Grace Jones and Naomi Campbell, a dark, 6ft- 1-inch tall, sari-clad model waited in French designer Pierre Cardin’s salon for eight hours. Cardin’s assistant called a manager, telling him that an Indian princess had come to buy clothes. When Cardin finally met her, she was hired on the spot. He called her ‘a jolie’ (Anjali), and Phyllis Mendes became Cardin’s muse for a little over 12 years. She also modelled for designers such as Ungaro, Scaperelli and Givenchy. But the former supermodel remained a Goan girl who served her sorpotel with champagne at her apartment in Paris. Mendes, 64, passed away on Thursday in a hospital in Aix-en-Provence after suffering from an unidentified stomach infection. She had just moved from her apartment in Paris to a chateau in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. Her friends from the fashion and advertising fraternity in India are shocked. Several of them met her during her last visit to India about three weeks ago. “She was remarkably healthy and disciplined. She did her yoga and prayers everyday and ate carefully. This is all too surprising,” designer Wendell Rodericks said over the phone from Goa. Mendes returned to India frequently to visit friends and family. She was the fourth of seven children born to Cajetan and Flo Mendes. While in college, she worked as a secretary to ad guru Bobby Sista. “She was extremely sharp, had thick glasses, long limbs and hair that went down to her knees,” Sista recalls. One day, while on a bus to office, a magazine editor suggested that she apply for a forthcoming fashion show. Mendes went on to walk the ramp with the likes of Zeenat Aman and Shobhaa De, but the Indian fashion industry largely rejected her for being “too tall, dark, gawky and skinny”—all unattractive traits to the industry back then. The press even called her an “Ethiopian princess”. In a 2004 interview with The Times of India, she had said: “I am an ugly duckling who transformed into a swan on her own.” De recalls becoming fast friends with Mendes from the day they met around 40 years ago at an audition. “Those were the early, heady years when modelling was just about coming of age in India. She was ridiculed here and going to Paris was one of her best decisions,” says De, adding that Mendes rose rapidly to become something of a cultural icon, feted and adored by the press in Europe, courted by visiting royalty, movie stars and the international jet set that famously included the late Princess Margaret. Mendes never married, but while in Paris, she met an English aristocrat who groomed her for Parisian high society. He succumbed to cancer shortly before they were to be wed. Friends remember Mendes for her humility and gregariousness. “She may have been the toast of tout Paris and presiding deity at the House of Pierre Cardin for decades, but her heart remained in India,” says De. Ad man Gerson da Cunha adds that though she spoke fluent French, she never attempted to hide her strong Indian accent. “I think she betrayed her most noteworthy quality by getting into modelling,” says da Cunha. “She was so smart and focused that she would have made a great manager.” Cardin believed so too. So, after Mendes quit modelling, he asked her to look after the India side of his operations, which she did for 18 years. When the design house completed 50 years in 2000, it shut down the overseas offices. Mendes then moved on to her other great love—gastronomy. In 2004, she also published a Indian cookbook called Cuisine Indienne De Mere En Fille. Indian models found substantial work overseas after the 1970s, but the successes of Mendes and later, Shyamoli Varma, were exceptions. The fashion world only really noticed when models such as Ujjwala Raut and Laxmi Menon followed in the 1990s, earning substantial global experience. De shares that her friend was working on an autobiography. “It is one book I would love to publish,” said De, who’s launching her own publishing imprint with Penguin. “Phyllis was like a rare and precious black diamond, whose real value is only known to connoisseurs and lovers of beauty.” anindita.g@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:33 am The Week in ReviewNew Delhi: India’s biggest company has a big plan. Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani announced an ambitious agenda for his company’s expansion into the power sector on Friday. Addressing RIL’s annual general meeting, Ambani said the company was making plans to invest in coal-powered plants, hydroelectric projects and even nuclear power once it opened up to the private sector. RIL’s meeting came in the backdrop of dramatic developments. It came less than a month after the Ambani brothers scrapped their old non-compete agreement. The meeting also took place barely a week after RIL re-entered the telecom sector with its purchase of Infotel. On Tuesday the cabinet committee on economic affairs approved stake sales in Coal India and Hindustan Copper. The government will sell 10% of Coal India through an IPO for an estimated $2.7 billion. As for Hindustan Copper, the government will divest a 10% stake and sell another 10% through fresh equity. That deal is expected to bring in a total of about $1.06 billion. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 11:06 am UP bans political parties from contesting urban civic pollsNew Delhi: The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in Uttar Pradesh on Friday cleared a Bill banning political parties from contesting in urban local bodies. The move, ostensibly aimed at de-politicizing the electoral process in civic polls, has been opposed by rival parties saying it would only help the BSP, led by chief minister Mayawati, manipulate results. Urban local bodies elections in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state, are due next year. The Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Congress, the main opposition parties in the state, said the legislation violated the Constitution and that they would fight it both legally and politically. The Constitution empowers state governments to determine electoral rules for local governments such as corporations, municipalities and panchayats. All major political parties in Uttar Pradesh had filed objections to the notification on the Bill, but the state government has overruled them. “We will certainly go to court against the legislation. The Mayawati government is trying to take away the rights of the people to elect the heads of the municipalities and corporations,” said Ram Gopal Yadav, national general secretary of the SP. Congress spokesman Akhilesh Pratap Singh said the Bill will be damaging for his party, “which has been performing better in urban areas... We will fight it politically too”. Uttar Pradesh has 12 corporations, 191 nagar parishads (town municipalities) and 414 nagar panchayats (rural municipalities). liz.m@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:53 am Maytas Infra may induct an investor to improve financial positionHyderabad: Maytas Infra Ltd (MIL), the ailing infrastructure firm now controlled by private lender IL&FS Ltd, is likely to induct an investor to improve its financial position. The Maytas board is to meet on Saturday to consider a proposal to induct an investor and offer it equity stake through preferential allotment route, the company said on Friday in a statement to the stock exchanges. The Maytas board will also discuss the terms indicated by its lenders to restructure its debt in a corporate debt restructuring, or CDR. The company received a provisional letter of approval from the CDR empowered group of lenders on Wednesday. IL&FS chairman Ravi Parthasarathy had on 1 September said he plans to partner foreign firms to revive Maytas Infra. He said it would take at least two quarters to stabilize operations and revive the company before fresh capital infusion can be considered. IL&FS holds a 37.1% stake in Maytas. The Company Law Board (CLB), a quasi-judicial body for corporate oversight, on 31 August ordered IL&FS to take over Maytas as its new promoter. Maytas Infra, promoted by the family of B. Ramalinga Raju, the jailed founder of Satyam Computer Services Ltd, has been in trouble since he confessed to the country’s biggest accounting fraud at the software firm in January 2009. C.R. Sukumar Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:36 am Irda committee recommends tightening KYC norms to stop mis-sellingMumbai: In an effort to stop mis-selling of insurance policies, the Insurance Regulator and Development Authority, or Irda, on Friday issued draft regulations asking insurers to supervise agents and submit a complete needs analysis report for each prospective customer. In a first of its kind move, the report has recommended that life insurers compulsorily collect details of customers’ lifestyle, financial health, future plans, and exact need of insurance and so on. “ ... keeping the vulnerable public protected from unfair practices is of utmost importance. Unfair practices could arise in a scenario of increasing number of insurers, intermediaries and insurance products and severe competition for business,” the report said. In order to assess the exact financial needs of customers, it has been proposed to monitor the role of the intermediaries by the insurers. Irda should require insurers to establish a system to supervise the recommendations made to customers by intermediaries, it said. Irda has sought feedback on the proposals by 5 July. Anirudh Laskar Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:27 am ITC to issue bonus shares in 1:1 ratioKolkata: Shares of consumer goods and cigarette maker ITC Ltd rose to a 19-year high of Rs299.70 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), according to Bloomberg data, after it announced on Friday that it would issue one free share for each held in the company. ITC’s board on Friday approved a 1:1 bonus issue. The company would seek shareholders’ approval at its annual general meeting on 23 July to double its authorized capital to Rs1,000 crore, ITC said in a stock market filing. The company’s shares eventually closed on the BSE at Rs294.20 apiece, marginally higher than Thursday, while the bourse’s benchmark index Sensex closed 46 points lower at 17,570 points. ITC turns 100 on 24 August and it wishes reward shareholders for their unstinted support, the company said in a statement. ITC had last issued bonus shares in 2005. That year it had offered one free share for every two held in the company. Staff Writer Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:14 am LG plans big bang India expansionConsumer electronics major LG India has set a sales target of Rs 19,000 crore for the country, across all its products by the end of 2010.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:09 am SEBI cracks down on shady practices in HDFC MFThe Securities and Exchange Board of India has banned a dealer at HDFC Mutual Fund for front-running, the market regulator said in a statement on its website.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:06 am Electric cars can’t save climate: expertsAccording to experts, the technology used for electric car batteries is so backward that they will die within two years.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:03 am Chindia, Brazil to drive growth for Eaton GroupUS-based diversified power management company Eaton Corp on Thursday said it expected emerging economies like China, India and Brazil to contibute more to its global revenues, and at the expense of developed markets like North America, Europe and Japan.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:00 am Lollywood’s last reelThe once booming Pakistani film industry known as Lollywood—a term coined by Glamour magazine in 1989—is on its last legs. The Karachi-based magazine that created the neologism is defunct. The industry survived many setbacks. After its most successful era, spanning the 1960s and 1970s, it suffered a huge blow after Gen. Zia-ul-Haq’s military coup in 1977. Haq’s Islamization of the country led to the forcible closure of many theatres and stringent censor laws forced film-makers to abandon popular themes of love and jealousy. Click here to view a slideshow on Lahore’s film industry, Lollywood The industry saw some resurgence when Gen. Pervez Musharraf served as president (2001-2008). Seen by many as a patron of the arts, even he couldn’t reverse the downward spiral the industry had fallen into. Cable television and pirated DVDs of local and international cinema had their own roles to play in strangling what was once a cultural institution. The most potent enemy of all, however, has been cinema from India. With the ban on the screening of Indian films lifted a couple of years ago, Bollywood has fast-tracked what was already doomed. And a huge and growing fan base of the likes of actors Shah Rukh Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Akshay Kumar will soon ensure that Pakistan’s greying heroes and heroines are a fading past. Lollywood once produced several hundred movies a year. Each year now sees a handful of low-budget films. Production costs have been slashed by up to 90% in recent years, according to Mohan Bhatt, manager at Evernew Studios in Lahore, once the country’s most successful production house. Bhatt says both government and private funding is scarce. In 2007, Pakistani director Shoaib Mansoor released Khuda Kay Liye. The film released in around 100 cinemas in 20 cities in India. But this was a flash in the pan at best. Fresh blood Ironically, most productions from Pashto-language cinema (predominantly spoken in north Pakistan and Afghanistan) have been forced to relocate from Peshawar to Lahore as a result of the troubles ravaging the country’s restive North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Pashto cinema is known for its feudal themes involving tribal honour. Many Pashtun directors and actors have come under direct threat from the Taliban. Bombings have deterred the public from visiting theatres and cinemas that screen these movies in the NWFP region. A visit to the set of a Pashto-language film will reveal makeshift props and technical equipment. Directors wield handwritten scripts and actors who starred in the Pashto cinema of the 1970s still play lead roles. With not much to compete with, they are still free to produce their fabled low-budget movies with ketchup-for-blood effects, dwarf comedians and explosive action scenes. These anachronistic films find a safe haven in Lahore under the crumbling auspices of Lollywood. Niklas Halle’n is a Swedish-born photographer who is presently based in New Delhi, covering news and features from around Asia. These pictures were shot on location at Evernew and Bari Studios in Lahore, Pakistan. feedback@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 10:00 am G20 nears accord on deficit cutsCanada’s finance minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday that the Group of 20 nations hopes to announce an agreement on deficit reduction targets at next week’s economic summit here.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 9:57 am White House piles pressure on China over currencyThe White House added more pressure on China to revalue its yuan currency on Friday, saying the world would be "better off" if Beijing implemented a market-based exchange rate.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 9:55 am Calibrated policy exit: RBI guvThe Reserve Bank of India will exit from its relaxed policy at a “calibrated” pace, the governor said on Friday, remarks which sowed doubts about an early interest rate rise.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 18 Jun 2010 | 9:54 am Raavan | The demon’s doomsdayFrom the very first scene, Raavan is a visual whirl. In hippy language, trippy. In one of the earliest sequences in the film, Raagini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) is on a boat alone in the middle of a ferocious river when an eagle swoops down. She looks at it, the bird looks at her. And then she looks up, to where her predator Beera (Abhishek Bachchan) is staring menacingly at her. Thick, misty air; howling waterfalls; barren trees; pouring rain; gigantic, ancient Vishnu statues surrounded by deep green trees—the forests where the film is shot make for our own natural Na’avi land (from Avatar). The film is a visual paean to Lal Maati, the fictional place where nature is beautiful and inscrutable. But the technical inventiveness, unparalleled in Indian cinema, is a waste.  Satanic: For his role as Beera, Bachchan resorts to awkward physical gestures—primarily growls. In stylistic terms, there are some inventions. Visuals convey Ragini’s thoughts in one of the scenes. Intercut between a scene where she is lying inert on a damp, mossy gorge, is a scene of her crying out to her husband, standing by the river, to be rescued. There are a number of scenes like this, where desires, thoughts and imagination get translated into visuals. But how much can visuals speak the creator’s thoughts? Ratnam’s heroes are Santosh Sivan and V. Manikandan, the cinematographers of Raavan. Only because of them is the film worth your money and time. Also SeeLounge talks to Mani Ratnam Set in a forest inhabited by a tribal community, somewhere in the south, the demon is Beera. Beera bhaiyya is a terror. The village is his fiefdom and he is both loved and hated by his people. His foe is the local superintendent of police Dev (Vikram), who is posted in the district. Ragini, Dev’s wife, is a dance teacher who is besotted with him. Beera and his band of men are armed goons who are fighting the establishment to avenge atrocities on them. Beera kidnaps Ragini, and Dev’s efforts to rescue her and kill Beera propel the rest of the story. While in the forest, Ragini is defiant, refusing to give in to Beera’s growing interest in her. Ratnam turns the Ram-Ravana-Sita triangle around, giving it a radical twist. The subtext is, of course, Maoist rebellion. The tribal men are plunderers who, Ratnam suggests, turned violent after years of injustice. The government’s armed forces can’t get to them, although they are shown making constant inroads into the thick jungles. Ratnam has treated the forest with reverence. There are certain rules here, and some logic-defying situations. Human beings here can read thoughts and understand what another human being needs. Often, Raavan is ghostly, vanishing from a place in a fraction of a second. But Ratnam is not making overt judgements. In theory, he must have been interested in exploring what drives people to cruelty and violence. He has engaged with this theme in some of his earlier films, most recently in Kannathil Muthamittal. In this film, however, Ratnam’s unique capability of turning big ideas about politics and society into commercially viable films about human relationships suited to very Indian emotions is woefully missing. That makes Raavan the most disappointing film of the year so far. There are some improbable and absurd situations, which shocked me, coming as they did from a team of seasoned and knowledgable artists. Absurdity in itself, when used to interpret metaphors, dreams, or even real life, can be a very effective screenwriting or literary technique. But when it obfuscates real situations and real places, it is inexcusable. It is amply clear in Raavan that it is set in a forest in the south. Sleeping Vishnu, idols of which appear in more than two scenes, is worshipped mostly in temples of the south. The flavour of the setting is distinctly southern. But in the middle of the story, there is a wedding sequence in which villagers are dressed in north Indian costumes (a sherwani and turban, for example). Why can’t a story set in the south be true to its setting and yet be watchable all over India? The north-south or Bollywood-regional divide, which Ratnam seemed to have bridged, becomes a bit of a mockery in Raavan. The performances are mediocre; some, even silly. Abhishek Bachchan depends entirely on histrionics—growls and scowls, largely. We come to know he is many men in one through villagers describing him to the cops: a devil, a poet, a charmer. Bachchan does not convey any of those shades at all. He has some memorable dialogues which reveal bits of the character: for example, “Jo marne se darta nahin, use marenge kaise?” (How do I kill someone who does not fear death?) or a monologue on jealousy where he implies he is the luckiest man in the world because he is jealous in love. But most of the time, he gesticulates or growls. The role itself seems to be in splinters. There are no strands merging in one solid centre for his character to be believable. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is more in control, largely because there are no moral complexities or shades to her role. Sita is the victim here, a feisty tone with a mind of her own, but she is always right. As the cop, Vikram seems rather indifferent to his role. In the Tamil and Telugu versions, he has played the role of Raavan, which has been appreciated by some critics in Chennai. But in this role, he is unimpressive. In cameos, Govinda (as the equivalent of Hanuman) and Ravi Kishen as Beera’s brotherly comrade are convincing. A.R. Rahman’s music is a foil for the hypnotic visuals; he is ingenious yet again. The technical trappings are worth giving in to, if you are a fan of such things. You won’t take away much, although the visuals may perhaps repeat themselves in your dreams. It has been years since Ratnam made a masterpiece. His last few films don’t match his classics such as Iruvar, Mouna Raagam and Agni Natchathiram. His Hindi films are always shades worse than his Tamil ones. Ratnam himself told Lounge in an interview that he is much more in control in Tamil. You’ll have to watch the Tamil version to find out. Raavan released in theatres on Friday. sanjukta.s@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 8:48 am The price of progressWith the exception of M.F. Husain, it is rare for Indian artists and art to feature on page 1 of newspapers. In the last 10 years, this happened when Francis Newton Souza died in 2002, when Tyeb Mehta’s Mahisasurabecame the first artwork by an Indian to sell for over a million dollars in 2005, when Mehta died in 2009, and then on 10 June, when S.H. Raza’s painting, Saurashtra, sold for $3.4 million (around Rs16 crore) at the Christie’s auction in London, setting a new record price for an Indian artwork. Raza, Souza, Mehta and Husain all belong to a generation that came of age around 1947—and they were all members of the Progressive Artists’ Group (PAG), which was established in Bombay in 1947 by artists who wanted to give a new direction to art in India. Now six decades later, the Progressives, as they are called, remain India’s most influential and, by extension, highly valued artists. Because their works were fresh, bold and good, in due course, they received support from patrons, critics and galleries, which helped them build enviable reputations. Today, when there are so many with the means and inclination to buy art, the iconoclastic Progressives, who often struggled in near poverty in their early years, have become akin to the Old Masters—safe and solid bets for the collector and the investor alike. Who are the Progressives?  Photo: Leon Neal/AFP “We discussed with each other (how) we should (move beyond) this concept of realism—that is, painting the world (as) looked at by the eyes alone. We wanted to add some imagination to it.” The idea of establishing PAG was Souza’s, who was a member of the Communist party. As artist Akbar Padamsee recalls, Souza was one of the few in the group who had had the benefit of a modern education and was fluent in English. “There was a progressive writer’s group among the Communists and Souza wanted a similar group for artists,” Padamsee says. Besides Souza, Raza and Husain, members of PAG included K.H. Ara, H.A. Gade and S.K. Bakre. There were others associated with them, such as Padamsee, Mehta, Krishan Khanna and Bal Chhabra. It was always an informal group whose members basically sought to move away from the academic realism that was a British legacy, as well as the revivalist art of the Bengal school. “It wasn’t a group guided by great philosophical ideas,” says Padamsee. “What the members had in common was that they didn’t like the prevalent paintings.” The urge to break free of the old and create something new was strong. “We were concerned with the formal elements of painting,” says Khanna. “That painting has intrinsic laws and adhering to them is important….The language of painting had to be understood.” After only three years, the PAG dissolved and its key members headed overseas—Souza left for England and Raza for France, taking Padamsee with him. Why do they matter? “They were the first generation of the post-colonial artist and they had to create a context for themselves,” says art critic and curator Ranjit Hoskote. “It was a historically self-conscious movement. The group didn’t last long but its concerns and struggles shaped the direction of modern Indian art.” According to Hoskote, there was a heroic and epic quality to their work, which accounts for their lasting influence. There were critics, patrons, art gallery owners and collectors who supported them. “The reputation and the prices have come out of a lot of branding and positioning done by a lot of other people,” says Hoskote. He cites the three influential European Jewish patrons, Emmanuel Schlesinger, Rudi von Leyden and Walter Langhammer, who had sought refuge from the Nazis in Bombay, the redoubtable Ebrahim Alkazi who was a colleague, patron and friend to the artists, and art critics such as D.G. Nadkarni, Richard Bartholomew and Sham Lal, who, over the years, focused attention on the Progressives along with other modern Indian artists. Besides the quality and pathbreaking newness of their work, the reputation of the Progressives rests on other factors, such as their early struggles in the 1950s and 1960s. They were, in Hoskote’s words, full of “tigerish confidence” in themselves, even when they were starving. And they continued to toil even after they became successful. Collectors’ favourites  Photo: Dinodia “The Modernists and the Progressive have been around for four-six decades…This body of work extending over 40-60 years allows you to trace the evolution of their art practice,” says Arvind Vijaymohan of Japa Arts, a Delhi-based art advisory for collectors. Keen students of art love a large body of work, that too of exceptional quality. It is also something investors love. “Given the importance of their practice, a selection of powerful works from the strongest periods of the finest modernists is least prone to market-driven instability,” he explains. In other words, the value of a Saurashtra or a Mahisasura will never fluctuate wildly; in fact, over time, their prices can head in only one direction—up. A work by a younger contemporary artist, howsoever good, can never be such a safe bet. As Vijaymohan points out, “While a popular contemporary artist might be selling for millions in current auction, there is a possibility of his fading away within the decade due (to) a host of reasons.” “Indian art values are still minor when compared to the international markets,” he adds. “Consider the fact that the three most expensive works of Indian art— two works by Raza and one by Souza—collectively add up to just above $8.3 million, whereas the international record for the top three works sold is $443 million.” “Collecting leads to the commodification of art,” says Khanna. “People buy to invest and sell. And the death of the artist is looked forward to. I prefer my painting to be with people who will see it; their children and grandchildren will see it.” He goes back to the basics: “A painting has a spirit. When you see a Piero della Francesca or an Ajanta (fresco), it still talks to you if you have the eyes and ears to listen to it…I am still pursuing things that one learnt with the Progressives.” ********* Best Sellers Sample recent auction sale figures of the Progressives Maqbool Fida Husain b. 1915 ‘Horses’ Oil on canvas 78.4x164.1cm €169,470 (around Rs96.7 lakh) Christie’s, London, 10 June Syed Haider Raza b. 1922 ‘Saurashtra’ (1983) Acrylic on canvas 200x200cm €2,542,050 Christie’s, London, 10 June Francis Newton Souza 1924-2002 ‘Down at the Lotus Pond’ (1984) Mixed media on board 60.6x76.2cm €42,297 Christie’s, London, 9 June Krishnaji Howlaji Ara 1913-1985 Untitled Gouache on paper 74.9x54.6cm $10,925 (around Rs5 lakh) Saffronart Autumn Auction, 9-10 September Hari Ambadas Gade 1916-2001 Untitled Watercolour, Gouache on paper 53.5x68.5cm €3,825 Sotheby’s, London, 2 May 2008 Sadanand K Bakre b. 1920 Not available Courtesy Japa Arts Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 8:39 am Finding El DoradoIt had rained most of the five days we had been in Bogotá. The sun was barely visible, except at the golden hour of twilight, and clouds covered the Andean peaks surrounding the city. The rain knew its place, as it fell lightly, a thin lace cascading on the city, like silken strands. On Saturday, the sun came out as my friend Jose Rafael had promised it would, and it shone brightly as we made our way on winding roads, headed for a reservoir outside the city, to Guatavita. The ride to La Macarena, the home of our friend Ernesto, was long. As we got off when we reached his house on a hill, we saw flowers growing randomly in the verdant valley. Also Read | Salil’s previous Lounge columns A vast reservoir filled the valley between us, and the hills across. Three boats sailed smoothly, leaving a meandering trail, the water looking like a sheet of grey steel. A few huts were scattered on the hill. There were grey clouds on the horizon to our right, but the sun was still bright.  Magic realism: Lake Guatavita, where the legend of El Dorado began. Salil Tripathi Then, out of nowhere, I saw that bolt of lightning. Sharp and bright, it dived like an arrow, leaving its jagged signature behind which disappeared quickly, an imprint impossible to forget. The cloudburst that followed, and the thunder that accompanied it, resounded in the valley. It was loud, as if the sky was falling apart, and its echo could be heard for miles. The sky had darkened; my friends had moved back into the house, safe behind those large glass windows, as we saw that celestial drama, of light and darkness, rain and wind, clouds and lightning, rising and falling as if choreographed, the thumping sound reaching Wagnerian proportions. A stream of yellow light filled parts of the sky, which had vainly tried to prevent the cloud from covering the entire sky with its dark shroud. When the clouds managed to hide parts of the mountain, they looked as though they were emerging from its peak, like billowing smoke. “It looks like a volcano,” said Ted, our friend, the anthropologist. The sailboats had disappeared: We sat at the large wooden table, ready to eat the Colombian puchero that Ernesto had been cooking slowly, with chunks of beef, pork, chicken and sausages boiled in a stew, and served when tender, with rice, cassava, cabbage, sweet potato and corn; the stock poured over the dish, or left next to the dish in a cup, and drunk slowly. It was delicious and nourishing, filling us with warmth, even as the sky outside had turned dark, and the rainstorm had lowered the temperature by a few degrees. We were 2,000m above sea level, which made the afternoon pleasantly chilled. As we saw the view from the large window, it seemed as if the mountain had disappeared behind the mist and rain, but if you looked closely, you could make out its bare, grainy outline. The tall glass window had kept the sound of the rain silent, but we could see the bursts of lightning, which continued to reverberate, the thunder obediently following the bolt seen moments earlier. But this rain was not cruel, the kind Isabel saw in Macondo, which stole everything, washing away pasts, obliterating stories, leaving only a sad and desolate sunset, which would leave “on your lips the same taste with which you awaken after having dreamed about a stranger”, as Gabriel Garcia Marquez described the torrential rain in Monologue of Isabel Watching it Rain in Macondo. Here, we weren’t among strangers. We had witnessed a different kind of dance all right. The clouds had tried to devour the mountain, but sunlight had squeezed through, pushing aside the clouds from every gap it could find, as if playing out an epic war between good and evil. We knew the sun would win, just as we knew the clouds would part, and the verdant valley would be bright again, and the colour of the sky would match the mood of the chardonnay in my glass. The stream of light that emerged from the clouds looked like pure gold. That yellow light bathed us, and we looked as though we were covered in gold dust. In the Spanish chronicle El Carnero, Juan Rodriguez Freyle wrote of the priest of Muisca covering himself with gold dust at the Lake Guatavita. My friend Luis Fernando told me that the lake at the summit of the mountain where Ernesto’s house is located was the same Lake Guatavita, and the legend of El Dorado, which sparked the greed for gold that brought the conquistadores here, had begun there. That lagoon was the sacrificial site where people offered gold to the gods to appease them. The elegant simplicity of that meal and the warmth of friends had given us a different kind of protection from those mythical powers. The lake below now looked serene, like the woman who didn’t need gold to look beautiful. The divine landscape and the company of friends made us richer than all the gold offered to that other lake on the hill. Write to Salil at detours@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 8:32 am Rupee strengthens to 1-mth high on weak dollar - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 18 Jun 2010 | 7:24 am Second strike hits China Toyota supplierBeijing: A parts supplier for Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday it was dealing with its second strike this week, the latest in a rash of factory labour disputes spreading across China. The chance of more industrial action also loomed over a Honda plant in the southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong, where workers are waiting for a new pay offer later on Friday before deciding whether to resume a strike they suspended on Tuesday. Spreading appetite for unrest among an estimated 130 million strong army of migrant workers, whose toil has powered China’s growth, could undermine the government’s legitimacy and erode the nation’s competitiveness as a low-cost global factory hub. Wages only make up around 5% of overall manufacturing costs but other inputs like energy and water are also getting dearer. Some firms are already moving production to cheaper neighbours such as Vietnam or Bangladesh. China’s leaders, who are obsessed by stability but also say they can ensure a better life for those at the bottom end of an expanding rich-poor gap, have muted coverage of the unrest in state media while expressing public support for workers. Police Parts supplier Toyoda Gosei said production had stopped since Thursday afternoon at a plant in the northern port city of Tianjin, where it makes parts like instrument panels. Workers leaving the factory in heavy rain declined to speak to journalists, but a visiting employee of a nearby factory said there was a strike on, and police were inside the plant. Police vehicles could be seen parked inside the factory’s grounds. A separate stoppage halted work at another Toyoda Gosei plant on Tuesday. While management say output is back to normal after they promised to discuss wages, some workers there have said they are still striking or on a go-slow. In southwestern Chongqing city, a short strike at Chongqing Brewery Co Ltd ended on Friday after talks with management, said Danish brewer Carlsberg, a part owner of the plant. Workers feared that a plan by Carlsberg to raise its stake in the firm to nearly 30% would threaten their benefits, a local official told Reuters by telephone. “There was not good enough communication to the employees about the agreement,” said Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke. “They were informed, and now they have gone back to work.” China’s Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, this week called for higher workers’ incomes to protect stability, while Premier Wen Jiabao called for better treatment of workers. The sympathetic, if tightly limited, accounts of worker grievances in state media suggest Beijing wants to avoid outright confrontation with the workers and may welcome some concessions. Why Japan? Relations between Japanese auto firms and their Chinese units and suppliers can be more complicated than those of other foreign investors, which may have contributed to making them some of the main flashpoints for unrest in recent weeks, an expert said. “In our investigations, we consistently found that the most tense relations were with the Japanese and South Korean partners,” said Wen Xiaoyi, a researcher at the China Institute of Industrial Relations in Beijing who specialises in labour relations in the automotive sector. “You find the Japanese and South Korean companies are much more involved in managing production at the factories. Also, they don’t have a tradition of collective bargaining or give-and-take in their Chinese factories,” Wen said. In Guangdong, workers at the factory which makes locks for Honda Motor downed tools last week but agreed on Tuesday to go back to work until Friday on the understanding management would present them with an improved deal on wages and benefits. Honda’s new package for workers in the lock factory is expected to be presented later on Friday but negotiations between management and employee representatives continued to show signs of strain, workers said, and some are willing to resume striking. “If it’s not acceptable, we’re prepared to strike again,” said one female worker among a largely reticent crowd streaming in for morning shift in the Pearl River Delta town of Zhongshan. Honda has also been taking dozens of potential new hires to a training centre, possibly hedging against further unrest. The strike at Honda Lock, which manufactures locks, mirrors and wheel sensors, is the third to hit an auto parts supplier for the giant Japanese carmaker in recent weeks. Workers at Honda Lock said spreading word of successful strikes at other Honda auto parts suppliers had inspired them to agitate for improved compensation as living costs rise. Labour relations expert Wen warned more spontaneous unrest could be hard for firms to handle because workers, although extremely discontented, were afraid of putting themselves forward in negotiations with management for fear of repercussions. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 5:14 am Second strike hits China Toyota supplierBeijing: A parts supplier for Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. said on Friday it was dealing with its second strike this week, the latest in a rash of factory labour disputes spreading across China. The chance of more industrial action also loomed over a Honda plant in the southern manufacturing heartland of Guangdong, where workers are waiting for a new pay offer later on Friday before deciding whether to resume a strike they suspended on Tuesday. Spreading appetite for unrest among an estimated 130 million strong army of migrant workers, whose toil has powered China’s growth, could undermine the government’s legitimacy and erode the nation’s competitiveness as a low-cost global factory hub. Wages only make up around 5% of overall manufacturing costs but other inputs like energy and water are also getting dearer. Some firms are already moving production to cheaper neighbours such as Vietnam or Bangladesh. China’s leaders, who are obsessed by stability but also say they can ensure a better life for those at the bottom end of an expanding rich-poor gap, have muted coverage of the unrest in state media while expressing public support for workers. Police Parts supplier Toyoda Gosei said production had stopped since Thursday afternoon at a plant in the northern port city of Tianjin, where it makes parts like instrument panels. Workers leaving the factory in heavy rain declined to speak to journalists, but a visiting employee of a nearby factory said there was a strike on, and police were inside the plant. Police vehicles could be seen parked inside the factory’s grounds. A separate stoppage halted work at another Toyoda Gosei plant on Tuesday. While management say output is back to normal after they promised to discuss wages, some workers there have said they are still striking or on a go-slow. In southwestern Chongqing city, a short strike at Chongqing Brewery Co Ltd ended on Friday after talks with management, said Danish brewer Carlsberg, a part owner of the plant. Workers feared that a plan by Carlsberg to raise its stake in the firm to nearly 30% would threaten their benefits, a local official told Reuters by telephone. “There was not good enough communication to the employees about the agreement,” said Carlsberg spokesman Jens Bekke. “They were informed, and now they have gone back to work.” China’s Communist Party mouthpiece, the People’s Daily, this week called for higher workers’ incomes to protect stability, while Premier Wen Jiabao called for better treatment of workers. The sympathetic, if tightly limited, accounts of worker grievances in state media suggest Beijing wants to avoid outright confrontation with the workers and may welcome some concessions. Why Japan? Relations between Japanese auto firms and their Chinese units and suppliers can be more complicated than those of other foreign investors, which may have contributed to making them some of the main flashpoints for unrest in recent weeks, an expert said. “In our investigations, we consistently found that the most tense relations were with the Japanese and South Korean partners,” said Wen Xiaoyi, a researcher at the China Institute of Industrial Relations in Beijing who specialises in labour relations in the automotive sector. “You find the Japanese and South Korean companies are much more involved in managing production at the factories. Also, they don’t have a tradition of collective bargaining or give-and-take in their Chinese factories,” Wen said. In Guangdong, workers at the factory which makes locks for Honda Motor downed tools last week but agreed on Tuesday to go back to work until Friday on the understanding management would present them with an improved deal on wages and benefits. Honda’s new package for workers in the lock factory is expected to be presented later on Friday but negotiations between management and employee representatives continued to show signs of strain, workers said, and some are willing to resume striking. “If it’s not acceptable, we’re prepared to strike again,” said one female worker among a largely reticent crowd streaming in for morning shift in the Pearl River Delta town of Zhongshan. Honda has also been taking dozens of potential new hires to a training centre, possibly hedging against further unrest. The strike at Honda Lock, which manufactures locks, mirrors and wheel sensors, is the third to hit an auto parts supplier for the giant Japanese carmaker in recent weeks. Workers at Honda Lock said spreading word of successful strikes at other Honda auto parts suppliers had inspired them to agitate for improved compensation as living costs rise. Labour relations expert Wen warned more spontaneous unrest could be hard for firms to handle because workers, although extremely discontented, were afraid of putting themselves forward in negotiations with management for fear of repercussions. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 5:14 am Markets snap 7-day rally to end 0.3% downMumbai: Indian shares snapped a 7-session winning run and shed 0.3% on Friday dragged down by fall in index heavyweight Reliance Industries as its short-on-specifics annual shareholders meet failed to meet huge investor expectations. The Mukesh Ambani-led energy conglomerate, unfettered by a pact that banned it from competing with his younger brother Anil’s firms, announced an aggressive push into the power sector during a hotly anticipated shareholders meeting. Investors were disappointed, however, that Mukesh Ambani, the world’s fourth-richest man, did not unveil more specific plans, and that Anil Ambani was not in attendance. “There were a lot of unrealistic expectations built around the Reliance AGM (annual general meeting). People had expected a Bollywood kind of reunion between the two brothers at the meeting,” said Arun Kejriwal, director of research firm KRIS. “The hype created obviously led to a disappointment and dragged the stocks of companies controlled by the (Ambani) brothers lower.” The 30-share BSE index closed 0.26% or 45.87 points lower to finish at 17,570.82, after hitting 17,721.99 points, its highest since April 27. The 50-share NSE index dropped 0.2% to close at 5,262.60 points. Seventeen of its components lost ground. World stocks gained for the ninth straight day, as worst fears about the euro zone’s fiscal woes eased and risk appetite was seen returning. A report from EPFR Global showed investors set aside sovereign debt fears and shifted their money to higher-returning assets in mid-June, with emerging market assets and US equities among the recipients of fresh cash. Foreign funds, that had dumped $2 billion of Indian stocks last month, have bought around $773 million of India equities so far in June, pushing the benchmark index 3.7% higher. Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources and Reliance Power shed 7.5% and 3.6% respectively. Reliance Communications, also led by the younger Ambani, shed 3.6% after Reliance Industries did not make any indication about any potential deals with the country’s second-largest mobile phone operator. The Times of India newspaper had reported the telecoms firm was in advanced talks to sell fibre optic cables and telecoms tower business to Reliance Industries. Reliance Natural Resources, Reliance Power and Reliance Communications were the main most-traded stocks on the BSE. Non-ferrous metals producer Sterlite Industries fell 2.3%, as Shanghai copper fell more than 1%, following a 3.1% tumble in London prices. Other metal makers Hindalco and Tata Steel dropped 0.7% and 1.6% respectively. Engineering major Larsen & Toubro aced gainers and climbed 1.3%, extending Thursday’s gains after provisional data showed its June quarter tax payment rose 18% from a year earlier, indicating stronger profits. The company said on Friday it had received orders worth 14.4 billion rupees ($312 million) for building residential towers and factories. Export-focused software majors rose on hopes a global recovery will boost outsourcing orders. Tata Consultancy Services rose 0.9% and Infosys climbed 0.5%. In the broader market, declining shares outnumbered advancing ones in the ratio of 1.7:1, on volume of 347 million shares. In the broader market, declining shares outnumbered advancing ones in the ratio of 1.7:1, on volume of 347 million shares. STOCKS Sun Pharmaceutical closed 0.5% higher at Rs1,710.25, after the drugmaker said it got USFDA approval for generic Xanax, Alprazolam tablets. Cigarette-to-hotel business ITC closed 0.1% higher at Rs294.20 after its board approved a 1:1 bonus share issue. Cairn India, an unit of UK’s Cairn Energy, dropped 0.4% to Rs305.55 as crude oil prices eased. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 4:55 am Facebook ’09 revenue neared $800 mnSan Francisco: Facebook’s financial performance is stronger than previously believed, as the Internet social network’s explosive growth in users and advertisers boosted 2009 revenue to as much as $800 million, according to two sources familiar with the situation. The company also earned a solid net profit, in the tens of millions of dollars last year, one of the sources said. That growth in profit and revenue underscores how Facebook is increasingly making money off its 6-year-old service, which ranks as the world’s largest Web social network with nearly half a billion users. That sort of performance is likely to whet the appetites of investors keen for a public share float, despite the company’s insistence that an IPO is not a near-term priority. Palo Alto, California-based Facebook, the booming social networking site dreamed up by Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies in a Harvard dorm room in 2004, is privately held and has released only very limited nuggets of financial information. The 2009 results are significantly higher than some of the figures that Facebook had suggested earlier in 2009, as well as analysts’ estimates that have appeared in various media reports. Last July, Facebook board member Marc Andreessen told Reuters the company was on track to surpass $500 million in annual revenue for 2009. And in September, Facebook said that it had become free cash flow positive, meaning that the company was generating enough cash to cover its operating expenses as well as its capital spending needs. Estimates in various media reports had previously pegged the company’s 2009 revenue at $550 million to $700 million. The two sources said revenue in 2009 was in fact $700 million to $800 million. “They are downplaying their performance,” one source said, adding that 2009 revenue was more than double the previous year’s total. “There’s no upside in getting people’s expectations high, it’s always better to go low.” If Facebook eventually seeks to go public, unveiling financial figures above expectations could help bolster investor interest. Facebook declined to comment. Ratcheting up Since its inception, Facebook has emerged as one of the Internet’s most popular destinations. The social network is increasingly challenging more established Internet players such as Yahoo Inc and Google Inc for consumers’ online time and for ad dollars, even as it tries to strike a delicate balance between protecting privacy and promoting social sharing by its users. In May, Facebook said it would introduce new tools to give users more control to limit how much of their profile information is publicly accessible, following criticism by privacy advocates about certain new Facebook features. Facebook’s backers include Digital Sky Technologies, Microsoft Corp, Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing and venture capital firms Accel Partners, Greylock Partners and Meritech Capital Partners. As investors wait for signs of a Facebook IPO, a vibrant market has developed for private shares of Facebook in specialized exchanges like Sharespost and SecondMarket. Combining a large audience of Web surfers with innovative online advertising has become a recipe for super-charged revenue growth in the Internet business. In 2002, after Google overhauled its AdWords search advertising system and introduced its cost-per-click pricing model, annual revenue quadrupled to $347.8 million. The following year, revenue surged to roughly $962 million. Google finished 2009 with nearly $24 billion in annual revenue. Facebook’s revenue growth has come as the number of users on its website has exploded. The company started 2009 with the January announcement that it had reached 150 million users. By December, that number had swelled to 350 million. “We can provide really good, relevant advertising to people because they tell us exactly what they are interested in, and who they know, and those people tell us what they’re interested in,” Facebook chief executive Zuckerberg said at the All Things Digital conference this month. He cited statements by other Facebook executives that the number of advertisers on Facebook had increased by a factor of four during the past year-and-a-half. “Just having all those different ads in the system makes it so there’s more to draw from and people get more relevant ads,” he said. Big brands such as AT&T Inc, Ford Motor Co and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion all advertised on Facebook during the first four months of 2010, according to Internet analytics firm comScore. In addition to courting household names, Facebook also allows smaller companies to craft their own targeted pitches on its site, using a Web-based self-service advertising system. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 4:51 am Investor mood lifts as BP survives spill grillingLondon / New York: BP Plc shares climbed in London on Friday after its boss survived a bruising encounter with US lawmakers and as hopes rose its $20 billion oil spill compensation and clean-up fund will cap public anger. The worst oil spill in US history from a leaking deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico has strained the reputation of US President Barack Obama, sullied the region’s rich wildlife, and wounded its fishing and tourism industries. The likely cost of cleanup, compensation and fines has almost halved the value of BP — once Britain’s biggest company. But after chief executive Tony Hayward survived attacks on him by a congressional committee on Thursday, investors in London were in a mood to heed some analyst upgrades. “I think it’s just follow through from the relief that maybe the worst of US public opinion might have been capped, if not the leak or the bill,” says Oriel Securities analyst Brendan Wilders, who has a “buy” rating on the stock. At 0955 GMT, shares in BP were trading up 4.7% at 376.6 pence a share, — 40% below their value 60 days ago, before the 20 April explosion that killed 11 people. Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s downgraded BP on Thursday, describing the fund as a competitive disadvantage, and said it could cut again if costs rise, while BofA Merrill Lynch and Seymour Pierce also cut their recommendations. But Collins Stewart and Societe Generale, which had been cautious on BP since the accident, upped their ratings to “Buy” from “Hold”, saying the share drop was so severe that BP now offered good value. Most analysts kept “buy” or “outperform” ratings on BP as the shares collapsed, citing their cheapness relative to the company’s asset base and rivals’ shares, only for the worsening technical and political situation to push the shares lower. Oil spill spewing From a mile (1.6 km) below the surface, crude oil continues to gush into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of up to 60,000 barrels a day, although BP is siphoning off some using a containment cap system and is drilling relief wells it hopes will halt the leak in August. Louisiana Treasurer John Kennedy estimates environmental and economic damage could range up to $100 billion for his state and others along the Gulf Coast. Hayward survived a trip to the White House with his chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg to meet an angry President Obama on Wednesday and then endured a verbal assault from lawmakers on Thursday. But his failure to explain the causes of the spill led to renewed calls for him to go. “No one at BP has been fired,” Florida democratic representative Kathy Castor told Reuters Insider after the hearing. “It’s time for heads to roll at BP.” In the meantime, some in the industry see BP as vulnerable to a takeover — weakened by the $20 billion fund it is having to create. “I would be shocked if two years from now BP is still an independent company,” said Christopher Zook, chairman and chief investment officer of CAZ Investments in Houston. Political ammunition The disaster has fouled at least 120 miles (190 km) of US coastline, threatening multibillion-dollar fishing and tourism industries and killing birds, dolphins and other sea life. The resulting political storm picked up when Republican congressman Joe Barton of Texas, a major recipient of oil and gas industry campaign contributions, apologised to BP at the hearing. “It is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown, a $20 billion shakedown,” Barton said. Hours later, under pressure from his own party leaders, he withdrew his apology to BP and said he was sorry for using “shakedown.” Democrats hungry for electoral ammunition jumped on the gaffe. Executives from rivals Exxon Mobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell distanced themselves from BP at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, saying BP had failed to adhere to industry standards in the construction of the well. Decades of impact on the ground The undersea leak began with the explosion on an offshore rig, unleashing a torrent of crude into the Gulf of Mexico. Environmentalists worry the political theater in Washington is taking the focus off the disaster in the Gulf. “This oil is already into the wetlands and more is coming up every day. You cannot clean it out of there,” John Hocevar, a marine biologist with Greenpeace, told Reuters in Louisiana. “The impact of the spill is going to be felt for decades.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 18 Jun 2010 | 4:51 am
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