|
|
|
|
Bharat Gears targets to double bottomline in FY11In an interview with CNBCTV18, Surinder Kanwar, CMD, Bharat Gears spoke about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 8:37 am SBI to continue with home loan rate of 8% till SepAfter the banks have announced base rates, the worry on the street is how much will it pinch a consumers pocket? State bank of India has said that it will continue its scheme of offering home loans at 8% till September 30, reports CNBCTV18.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 8:36 am ACC sees cement capacity at 300 MT in FY11Cement capacity is expected to be 300 million tonne this fiscal as compared to 193 million tonne yearonyear, said Sumit Banerjee, Managing Director, ACCSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 8:12 am Asian Paints hikes decorative paints prices by 2.8%Asian Paints has hiked prices of decorative paints reports CNBCTV18 quoting sources. Effective from 1 July, decorative paints prices will be increased by 2.8%.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 5:17 am Banks likely to set base rate between 7% and 8%: IndusIndRomesh Sobti, MD and CEO, IndusInd Bank, said public sector banks will place their base rate around 7.5%. \"There may be a variation of 0.51% in the base rate.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 4:56 am See no impact of 16% duty levy on soda ash prices: GHCLThe Indian government has imposed a 16% safeguard duty on soda ash imports from China. This move is likely to benefit companies like Tata Chemicals and Gujarat Heavy Chemicals (GHCL).Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 4:29 am What led Uday Kotak to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking CorpUday Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank said the deal with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation meets the dual objective of Reserve Bank requirement and strategic fit.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:52 am A glance at base rate of all the banks - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:50 am Sundaram Finance to buy BNP Paribas 49 9 stake in AMC arm - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:38 am China to slow, easing possible in Q4 - think tankBEIJING (Reuters) - China will suffer an economic slowdown in the third quarter as export and investment growth weakens, which may then prompt Beijing to relax policy, a former vice commerce minister said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:33 am Google confident of positive outcome for AdWordsBRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google said on Wednesday it was confident of reaching a positive outcome over accusations raised by France's antitrust regulator against the search engine's keyword advertising service AdWords.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:30 am Nifty near 5275; BPCL, IDFC, Kotak Bank up - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:30 am Reuters Summit-UPDATE 1-SMFG eyes Asia retail banking via tie-up - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:16 am Rupee pulls back from 2-week lows as shares inch upMUMBAI (Reuters) - The rupee retreated from its lowest level in two weeks on Wednesday afternoon as domestic shares pared early losses while the dollar's drop against major currencies also helped.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:15 am World stocks steadier as torrid quarter ends, ECB eyedLONDON (Reuters) - World stocks steadied on Wednesday after their biggest one-day plunge in over a year but fresh banking stress and fears of a double-dip global recession preyed on investors on the final day of a torrid second quarter.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:15 am Don\'t see impact of base rate on cos\' cost of funds: ICICIChanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank doesnt see any impact of the base rate on companies cost of funds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:12 am Internet and mobile banking to be expandedInternet and mobile banking would be expanded during the coming days and more facilities would be added to ATMs, State Bank of India, Kerala Circle, Chief General Manager B S Bhasin said.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:10 am Deloitte CEO looks to buy - WSJNEW YORK (Reuters) - Deloitte LLP Chief Executive Barry Salzberg is "very willing" to make acquisitions to build up his business, according to the Wall Street Journal.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 3:06 am JSW Steel raises Rs 750 cr via NCD - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:58 am ONGC signs new oil and gas block contracts - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:52 am Anil plans Ambani 8,000 MW plant in GujaratThe ADAG power company, Reliance Power, had submitted a proposal for setting up an 8,000 MW power plant near Bharuch or Dahej.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:48 am Mitsubishi, Peugeot in electric commercial vehicle tieTokyo: Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen said on Wednesday they have agreed to work together to develop electric vehicle powertrains, initially focusing on light commercial vehicles. “This new step results from continuing discussions between the companies to expand their existing collaboration on electric vehicles,” the two car makers said in a joint statement. Mitsubishi Motors said the deal was aimed at developing a commercial vehicle to be sold by PSA. The Japanese and French partners last September signed a contract under which Mitsubishi Motors will supply electric cars to the Peugeot and Citroen brands based on the egg-shaped i-MiEV model. In the past few weeks, the two companies have also started discussions on possibly sharing Mitsubishi Motors’ low-cost “Global Small Car” to compete in emerging markets, a Mitsubishi Motors spokesman said. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:47 am Mexico denies refinery project with RelianceMexico\'s energy ministry has denied a media report saying it was planning to construct a new oil refinery in partnership with Indian energy company Reliance Industries.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:18 am Kraft revamps developing markets after CadburyKraft Foods Co is revising the brands and countries it will focus on in developing markets as a result of its acquisition earlier this year of Cadbury Plc.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:18 am Banks fix base lending rate between 7-8%The Reserve Bank of India introduced the new lending rate system, or the base rate, to ensure that larger borrowers do not bargain for cheaper rates from banks, distorting their asset liability management.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:14 am AstraZeneca shares rally to life high on delistingAstraZeneca Pharma AB, the parent company, holds 89.99% in AstraZeneca Pharma India and the latter's board approved a proposal to delist its shares from stock exchanges.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:06 am M&M counters lawsuit by US dealer Global VehiclesNew Delhi: Mahindra & Mahindra on Wednesday said that it has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit by its US distributor Global Vehicles over delay in the launch of the company’s pick-up truck in the American market. “Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit that Global Vehicles USA, Inc. (GV) filed against Mahindra in the US District Court for the Northern Georgia,” the company said in a statement. “Mahindra firmly believes that GV’s claims are without merit and will vigorously contest the lawsuit,” it said, adding it would like to expeditiously arbitrate the matter. On 14 June, Atlanta-based GV, M&M’s exclusive dealer in the US, filed a lawsuit before an Atlanta district court and alleged that there has been inordinate delay in the launch of the pick-up truck. M&M, which had planned to launch the vehicle by the end of 2009, missed two deadlines since, due to regulatory issues. It had again set 2010-end as the possible time for launching the vehicle in the US. The statement further said: “Mahindra is diligently working towards satisfying all US homologation (making the vehicle comply with regulatory standards) requirements and intends to submit its final application as soon as possible.” Claiming that the firm has not intentionally delayed the process, it said that M&M has committed substantial amount of resources behind this effort. “The fact that GV has agreed to extensions of the deadline, demonstrates that GV was well aware of the situation and its impact. Mahindra remains committed to launch its products in the US market,” it said. In its lawsuit, GV said that it spent close to $35 million in preparation for the launch of Mahindra vehicles in the US and had signed with as many as 360 dealers nationwide. This also includes an initial distribution appointment fee of $8.5 million. GV had also claimed that that the US dealers have spent more than $60 million in franchisee fees for the right to sell Mahindra vehicles and asked the court to prevent M&M from selling its vehicles through any other dealer or distributor. M&M and Global Vehicles had entered into an agreement on 28 September 2006, according to which the latter became the sole distributor of the Indian company’s motor vehicles in the US. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:04 am Asian stocks fall; worst quarter since LehmanSingapore: Asian stocks fell on Wednesday and ended the second quarter with their worst performance since the collapse of Lehman Brothers as investors got out of shares and high-yielding currencies on concerns over bank funding in Europe. Asian stocks have slipped nearly 10% in the past three months and are on course for their worst quarterly performance since last three months of 2008, when investors fled to safety after the Lehman collapse and Asian shares dropped 23%. European shares are set to open mixed, with financial spreadbetters expecting Britain’s FTSE 100 to open 0.1% down, Germany’s DAX to open 0.2% up, and France’s CAC-40 to open almost flat. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan dropped 0.7%. Japan’s Nikkei average fell 2% to a seven-month low after breaking below a support level. South Korea’s bechmark KOSPI fell 0.6%, driven by falls in exporters and banks such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc and Shinhan Financial Group Co. “Given that the market has risen pretty sharply since late May, I am not overly alarmed by the size of falls we are seeing today,” said Choi Seong-lak, a market analyst at SK Securities. KOSPI has gained 8% in the past month after hitting a six-month low on 25 May. Fears of a potential liquidity shortfall of more than euro100 billion in the financial system as European banks repay euro442 billion ($546 billion) in emergency loans sparked the latest sell-off in equity markets, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index tumbling more than 3% to an eight-month low. Risk reduction was fuelled by a report that showed a slump in US consumer confidence. Chinese stocks fell 1.2%, extending a 4% slide on Tuesday to a new 14-month low, as tight market liquidity forced investors to sell shares to make room for a major initial public offering by Agricultural Bank of China. The euro edged up but stayed near recent lows, after a heavy round of leveraged trade unwinding, while the euro was also within range of a record low on the haven Swiss franc. The euro got a bit of a lift from light short-covering from Middle East investors and an Asian investor, one dealer said, but chartwise needed to hold above $1.2145-55 and then $1.2110 to avoid a slide towards its four-year low at $1.1876. The euro edged up 0.2% to yen108.15 but remained well within sight of its 8-“ year low of 107.30 yen on trading platform EBS struck on Tuesday. Against the Swiss franc, it clawed 0.2% higher to 1.3213 francs after hitting a lifetime low of 1.3165 on Tuesday. The Australian and New Zealand dollars were stuck to two-week lows as sharp losses in stocks and commodities benefited safe havens like gold and US treasuries. The yield on the two-year US Treasury note fell to the lowest on record on Tuesday, while the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury slid below 3% for the first time since April 2009, and interbank euro funding costs hit an eight-month high. Oil prices fell as much as 61 cents to $75.33 a barrel, heading for its first quarterly drop since 2008 as risk aversion caused by Europe’s debt crisis offset rising demand in the United States and China, the world’s top two consumers. Meanwhile, spot gold rose $3.65 to $1,241.65 an ounce, heading for its seventh quartely rise and its biggest increase since end-2007, as investors rushed for safety from tumbling stock markets. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 2:02 am Govt, oil companies to discuss petrol pricing - oil secyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Oil firms and the government will jointly take a decision on how often petrol prices should be revised, Oil Secretary S. Sundareshan told reporters on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:48 am SMFG to invest in Kotak Mahindra Bank in Asia pushMUMBAI/TOKYO (Reuters) - Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will buy a 4.5 percent stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank for $296 million, as Japan's No. 3 bank steps up efforts to expand overseas.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:35 am Firms to invest $1.1 billion in oil exploration: Murli DeoraIndia aims to launch the ninth round of oil and gas blocks licensing in the third quarter of 2010, oil minister Murli Deora said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:34 am Banks fix base lending rate between 7-8 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - Smaller Indian banks have set their base lending rate between 7-8 percent on Wednesday after largest lender State Bank of India set its base rate for loans at 7.5 percent a day earlier.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:21 am Dubai seen as preferred FDI destination: reportDubai: Foreign investors are looking at the UAE as an established, more advanced market as it has the experience, infrastructure and dynamic business environment, says a report. According to the 2010 A T Kearney FDI Confidence Index report, to a great extent, Dubai is facing challenges similar to many developed economies, which is a sign of economic maturity. However, this presents Dubai with a new set of policy challenges to support the on-going strategic investments, it added. The report ranked UAE as the 11th global FDI destination. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region Dubai was listed as the preferred destination of choice for future Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) serving a major gateway for fortune 1000 global investors. Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Foreign Investment Office (FIO) part of the Dubai Department of Economic Development believes that the results will support in maintaining and eventually improving Dubai’s FDI status, thus supporting the overall economy of the UAE. “We are pleased to see the confidence investors have in Dubai. It is now up to us to seal our position as a FDI destination of choice for future investments in the MENA region and fulfill our obligations to maintain and grow current and future investors.” According to the FT Intelligence Report, in 2008, Dubai’s FDI contributed $21 billion (77.3 billion dirhams) to the GDP, hence positioning Dubai as one of the most attractive markets for investment. There are still challenges to be met, but with the strength of existing businesses and the commitment to develop the emirate further, Dubai aims to attract more FDIs in the years to come, Gergawi said. “We have plans to further increase investors confidence that Dubai offers the right environment for any business. We will make every possible effort to leverage the enormous advantages Dubai offers. Moving forward, FIO will continue to develop policies and legislation to enhances the competitiveness of Dubai and promote the interests of investors,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:11 am Mukesh Ambani, DE Shaw close to JV: reportMumbai: Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani is close to signing an equal joint venture with US private equity and hedge fund giant DE Shaw to enter the financial services sector, the Economic Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The tie-up will enable the Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani group, whose flagship is Reliance Industries, to offer services like energy and carbon trading and related derivatives, the newspaper said, citing one of the sources. It will also participate in sectors such as private equity and mutual funds, the other source told the newspaper. No financial terms were available and it was not clear whether the joint venture would be set up under Reliance or held directly by Ambani, the report said. Reliance Industries declined to comment. A front-desk attendant at DE Shaw’s office in India said there was no one available for comment. Mukesh Ambani and his long-estranged younger brother Anil recently scrapped a pact that forbade them from competing on the each other’s turf, opening up sectors to the elder Ambani including telecom and financial services. Mukesh has been widely expected to enter the financial sector since he and his brother ended the non-compete pact in May. A source familiar with the matter has told Reuters Ambani is in talks to buy a majority stake in JM Financial Asset Management, which oversees $1.8 billion in assets. At 0650 GMT, shares in Reliance were trading up 1.8% at Rs1,086.60 in a Mumbai stock market that was up 0.3%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:08 am Saudi Telecom denies stake talks in Reliance's InfratelSaudi Telecom Company has denied that it was discussing a stake in India’s GTL-Reliance Infratel tower unit.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 1:03 am Service tax on air travel: some issuesAs a part of the taxation proposals presented by the finance minister in February this year, the scope of Service Tax on air travel services was proposed to be expanded. Earlier, the tax was limited to international journeys in classes other than economy class. It was proposed to expand the ambit to cover both international and domestic journeys, and in any class of travel. Service Tax is charged at 10.3% of the cost of the ticket. Since the cost of air travel was expected to go up by nearly 10%, the proposed levy ruffled quite a few feathers in the aviation sector. Heeding to the concern that the levy would adversely affect the civil aviation sector and make air travel prohibitive, the finance minister announced in his speech before Parliament on 29 April that: “The effective rates of levy, when they come into effect, would be a maximum of Rs100 per travel for domestic journey in any class and a maximum of Rs500 per travel for international journey by economy class. Further, domestic air travel to and from the North-Eastern sector would be exempt even from this moderate tax.” The Finance Act 2010 has since been passed, and the Government has notified on 22 June that the new levy will come into effect from 1 July. A notification has been issued regarding the concessional rate of Service Tax of Rs100 for domestic journeys and Rs500 for international economy class journeys. Another notification has been issued fully exempting from Service Tax journeys terminating or originating in the North-East sector. There is no concession for international journeys by first / business class, for which Service Tax continue to be charged at the normal rate. Although the expanded scope of the levy will come into effect from 1 July, one could book tickets on the websites of most airlines and travel portals as late as on 29 June without any Service Tax being charged. This raises the question as to what happens to air tickets for journeys on or after 1 July which have been booked and paid for much before this. There would be many instances where tickets have been booked before the Finance Act 2010 was passed, or even before the taxation proposals were announced by the finance minister in February. In all fairness, passengers would feel that they should not be called upon to pay Service Tax on tickets booked and paid for much before the levy became effective. There is no clarity regarding the effective date for reckoning the rate of Service Tax. In the past, the Central Board of Excise & Customs has clarified regarding how services for which payments have been received in advance should be dealt with. In 2009, enabling provisions have also been introduced which empower the Government to notify rules regarding the date for determination of the rate of Service Tax. However, such rules have not been notified so far. Service Tax is chargeable on any taxable service provided or to be provided, and the amount on which tax is to be charged includes any amount paid before, during or after providing the service. Hence, one view is that in respect of tickets booked before 1 July, the amount received by the aircraft operator is liable to be taxed as an advance for providing the taxable service. There is also case-law wherein it has been held that the taxable event is providing of a service, and the rate of duty on the date when the service is provided is the relevant rate. However, a contra view is that the effective date is the date on which payment for the service is received, since a service provider is liable to pay Service Tax to the Government after receiving the payment from the client. There are also decisions wherein this view has been upheld. Another question relates to treatment of journeys involving connecting flights. If a passenger books a ticket from Jammu to Mumbai via Delhi, would that be treated as one journey for the purpose of charging the concessional rate of Rs100? Would the answer to this question depend upon whether or not a change of aircraft / airline is involved in the connecting station? Similar issues pertain to journeys terminating or originating in the North-East. What happens if a passenger travels from Jammu to Guwahati via Delhi, with a change of airline or aircraft at Delhi? Will only the second leg of the journey (i.e. between Delhi and Guwahati) be exempted? What happens if, due to the timing of the available flights, the passenger has to take a forced halt at Delhi? There are other problems which may beset the new levy. The cap on the rate of Service Tax has been made subject to a condition that credit of duty paid on inputs used for providing the service has not been taken. In effect, this condition means that if an aircraft operator is to charge Service Tax at the concessional rate of Rs100 for domestic journeys, and Rs500 for international journeys by economy class, the aircraft operator cannot take credit of duty (commonly known as CENVAT credit) paid on the inputs used for providing air travel services to passengers. However, the finance minister’s speech dated 29 April did not mention that the cap on the effective rate of Service Tax would be subject to any condition regarding CENVAT credit. Denial of CENVAT credit to the airlines would effectively negate the concession announced by the FM. Another problem may arise in international flights where the aircraft has economy as well as first / business class facilities. The concessional rate of Rs500 for economy class is subject to a bar on taking CENVAT credit, but there is no such bar for the tariff rate of 10.3% chargeable form first / business class passengers! How will the airline distinguish between the inputs used for transporting economy class passengers from the inputs used for transporting first / business class passengers? Further, it may not be possible for an aircraft operator to know at the stage of taking CENVAT credit (which is usually at the stage of procurement of the inputs), whether the input in question is to be used for providing service at the concessional duty rates of Rs500 or Rs100, or at the applicable tariff rate of 10.3%. These are some of the questions which come to mind regarding the scope and the applicability of the expanded ambit of Service Tax on passenger air travel services. The sooner the authorities come out with suitable clarifications, the better it will be for both aircraft operators and passengers. Otherwise, let us brace ourselves for a fresh round of disputes and litigation! (The authors work with Luthra & Luthra Law Offices. Views expressed are personal.) Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:53 am Dubai seen as preferred FDI destination: ReportForeign investors are looking at the UAE as an established, more advanced market as it has the experience, infrastructure and dynamic business environment, says a report.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:50 am AstraZeneca shares rally to life high on delistingMumbai: Shares of AstraZeneca Pharma India continued the rally on Wednesday rising by their daily maximum upper limit of 20% to an 52-week-high after its Swiss parent decided to delist the company. Shares of AstraZeneca opened up 18.34% on Wednesday against Tuesday’s close of Rs1,207.05 and hit a high of Rs1,448.45 when the BSE 30-share index Sensex opened down 0.72% on weak global cues. The shares had jumped 20% on Tuesday as well and hit Rs1,207.05 on the announcement. AstraZeneca Pharma AB, the parent company, holds 89.99% in AstraZeneca Pharma India and the latter’s board approved a proposal to delist its shares from stock exchanges. “Since the public shareholding is just about 10%, shareholders believe the company would offer a good exit price,” said Siddhant Khandekar, analyst with Sunidhi Securities & Finance. Latest regulatory rules mandate a minimum 25% public shareholding, forcing companies with small public holdings to choose to delist instead of diluting their equity. “The actual delisting might happen anytime. Hence, shareholders are trying to make the most of it,” another analyst from a Mumbai-based brokerage. At 12:00 noon, shares eased to Rs1,324.05, still up 9.69% in a firm Mumbai market that rebounded from early losses. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:50 am Republican lawmaker urges Obama to reverse Reliance decisionAn influential Republican lawmaker on Wednesday urged US President Barack Obama to reverse a recent decision of the EXIM Bank against financing Reliance Power's ultra-mega power project in Madhya Pradesh.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:42 am Firms to invest $1.1 bln in oil exploration - govtNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Oil Minister Murli Deora said on Wednesday companies have committed an investment of $1.1 billion in the eighth oil and gas blocks auction round held in 2009.Source: Reuters: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:40 am Google sets timeframe to end China rerouteGoogle Inc said it will end the automatic redirection of users from its China portal within the next 24 to 48 hours, while Beijing kept silent on whether the move would allow Google to keep its China business.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:14 am Tweeters in Japan fall silent in election campaignTokyo: Japan is in love with Twitter with one notable exception: political campaigns. The Twitter accounts of most candidates have gone silent in the run-up to parliamentary elections on 11 July. The reason: strict laws regulating Internet use. Even voters are banned from tweeting or blogging about a campaign. This in a country that set a record of 3,283 tweets per second after a World Cup victory last week, surpassing the 3,085 when the Los Angeles Lakers won the NBA championship. Twitter Inc. estimates Japanese send nearly 8 million tweets a day, about 12% of the global total. The election laws, which also limit posters and TV air time, are meant to give a chance to less well-financed candidates. But in the Internet era, the restrictions deprive them of cheap tools that would make campaigns more democratic, some critics say. “As long as we ban Internet campaigning, Japanese politicians won’t mature, and voters also can’t mature,” said Masahiko Shoji, a leader of a movement to use the Internet to promote democracy. Attempts to change the law have met resistance from old-guard lawmakers, said Shoji, an assistant professor at the International University of Japan. Elsewhere, politicians from President Barack Obama to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have embraced Twitter. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev sent his first tweet last week from Twitter headquarters in San Francisco, exchanging greetings with other heads of state, according to Twitter spokesman Sean Garrett. The company is hiring a Washington, D.C., representative to promote Twitter’s use in politics and hopes to expand the initiative worldwide, he said. “Obviously there is a lot of potential for policymakers, government agencies, politicians of all stripes to use Twitter and to connect with their constituency,” Garrett said during a visit to Tokyo this week. Japan’s former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama tweets, as do more than 100 candidates for the 11 July upper house election. Almost all are refraining during the official campaign period for fear of running afoul of the law. “It makes absolutely no sense at all,” said Tomoya Sasaki, senior operating officer of Digital Garage, which supports Twitter’s operations in Japan. To skirt campaign rules, some people are tweeting about issues, such as U.S. military bases in Japan or an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock, he said. Campaigning in Japan is dominated by vans with loudspeakers that zip around, screaming the name of the candidate over and over and begging for votes. “Japanese people need more information, and they need to be able to debate the issues,” Shoji said. “People have the right to make intelligent choices, not just pick someone by a name.” Lawmaker Kenzo Fujisue, who is such an avid tweeter that he has earned the nickname “Twitter legislator,” is symbolically defying the ban by posting links to audio clips, because voice is not covered by the election law. His recordings are cautious and mostly chitchat, though, reflecting uncertainty about the legal limits. One is just an instrumental music piece. Taichi Irie, a freelance programmer who has created a website that shows live tweets of more than 560 politicians, said that Twitter is mostly used in Japan for personal posts or photos. It will take time to develop as a platform for political debate, he predicted. “I think Twitter use should be open,” he said. “But it is also important we are careful to pursue the true potential of what Twitter can mean in politics.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:03 am No need for Tobin-type tax on capital flows: PMThe Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today ruled out the Tobin-type tax on capital flows saying that while the Tobin tax has merit in particular situations, capital flows are not a problem for India, either in the case of portfolio investmentSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Global buyers' ‘green' demands spell trouble for textile units in SEZsThe growing green consciousness among major buyers in developed markets such as the US and Europe has put textile units in special economic zones (SEZ) underSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Monsoon hold-up in parts of east, central India may last until SundayIndia Meteorological Department (IMD) has said in a special bulletin on Tuesday that monsoon is unlikely to advance into the remaining parts of east and central India during the next fourSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Statues parade to protect Asian elephantIt isn't often that a project unites Prince Charles' brother-in-law, designer Abu Jhani and Lalit Modi, but they're among the many behind a huge fund-raising exercise to protect the Asian elephant inSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Prime Focus (Rs 299): BuyWe recommend a buy in the stock of Prime Focus from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts of the stock that its short-term downtrend which started from its April 2010 peak of Rs 365, found support around Rs 260 in late May. ThisSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am SEBI eases lending disclosure norms for FIIsSEBI on Tuesday said that FIIs will now have to disclose information on Indian securities lent by them to overseas entities (for the purpose of short selling) on a weekly rather than a dailySource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Markets trim fall; Kotak Mahindra ralliesMumbai: Indian shares pulled back from early lows on Wednesday and were on track to post their best monthly performance since March, but traders said the market would be choppy in the near term due to shaky world markets. A strong economic rebound and rising corporate earnings have boosted foreign fund investments in Indian shares, but lingering worries about the euro zone debt problems continue to keep investors wary. Kotak Mahindra Bank rallied as much as 3.1% after Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group <said it had agreed to buy a 4.5% stake in the Indian lender for $296 million. By 11:28am, the 30-share BSE index was trading down 0.07% at 17,521.26, with 19 of its components declining. It fell as much as 0.9% at one stage and had briefly moved into positive territory. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.03% at 5,254.70. The benchmark is up 3.4% so far this month and is on track to post its best monthly show since March when it had risen 6.7%. “In the near term, the market will continue to be choppy. Things will stay uncertain until there is stability overseas,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital. Asian stocks were trading weak as investors unwound risky positions before the quarter-end on concerns over banks’ funding conditions in Europe. Export-focused software companies dropped as traders booked profits. Bellwether Infosys Technologies shed 1.1%, but is up 5.5% so far this month. Leading outsourcer Tata Consultancy Services was down 0.4% while smaller rival Wipro dropped 1.1%. Foreign funds have bought shares worth $2.1 billion in June, after dumping $2 billion in May when the euro zone worries had dented risk appetite and sent the BSE index sliding 3.5% in the month. The Sensex is barely changed this quarter, and up 0.3% in the year to date. In comparison, the MSCI’s measure of Asian shares other than Japan has dropped 7.5% this year. The Indian benchmark may rise to 19,000 points by end-2010, the median estimate in a Reuters poll of 20 market participants showed last week, while 17 forecast it rising to 21,000 by end-June 2011. In the broader market, losers led gainers in the ratio of 1.1:1 on volume of 167 million shares. STOCKS Metal producers declined as base metal prices dropped in Shanghai. Tata Steel Sterlite Industries and Hindalco were down between 0.8% and 1.7%. Alstom Projects was up 2.6% at 668.15 rupees after the company, which provides power generation services and equipment, said it won a 4.58-billion-rupee order from Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am ‘125 lakh tonnes oilseeds yet to be crushed'Even as sowing for the kharif season has begun, there is still about 125 lakh tonnes (lt) of oilseeds from last year's crop lying uncrushed, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of IndiaSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am SBI sets base rate at 7.5%Most of the large public sector banks on Tuesday set their base rate at 8 per cent, taking the cue from SBI which kept it at 7.5 per cent — the lowest soSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideThe near-term outlook is bearish for the stock. We recommend a sell in theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Mahindra Satyam, law agencies differ over Raju's liabilitiesThe Mahindra group and the various enforcement agencies appear to have different viewpoints on the treatment of the Rs 1,230-crore, which Mr Ramalinga Raju had personally invested in the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services between 2007 andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 30 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am Reliance Comm may merge pay TV arm with Digicable: ReportsReliance Communications, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, was close to a deal to combine its pay TV businesses with unlisted cable TV distributor Digicable Network (India), newspapers reported.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:46 pm Japan’s SMFG to buy 4.5% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank for $296 mnMumbai/Tokyo: Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group said it has agreed to buy a 4.5% stake in lender Kotak Mahindra Bank for $296 million, as Japan’s No. 3 bank steps up efforts to expand its overseas operations. SMFG and other major Japanese banks are seeking partnerships with local banks in Asian countries as growth prospects at home are weak, hoping this will expand their overseas customer base beyond Japanese clients working abroad. SMFG has tie-ups with local banks in Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia and other Asian markets, including a 15% stake in Vietnam Export Import Bank. It said it would acquire the stake in Kotak Mahindra through a private placement of new shares to be issued in August or September for about Rs1,370 crore ($296 million), pending approval by the Indian bank’s shareholders and authorities. SMFG plans to team up with Kotak Mahindra in asset management, stock brokerage and investment banking operations, it said in a statement. Last week, Dutch financial services group ING sold its entire 3.1% stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank for $175 million. Many foreign banks are looking to build up their presence in India, which is on track for economic growth this year of more than 8% but also limits the participation of foreign lenders in the country. Last week, Dutch lender Rabobank moved a step closer to setting up its own banking unit in India by cutting its stake in midsize local lender Yes Bank for about $213 million, to meet regulatory requirements. Goldman Sachs has applied for a banking licence in the country, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group is planning a return to India after a 10-year absence, and numerous foreign banks are building up their private banking operations in India. UK lender Standard Chartered last month raised $530 million in the first ever issue of Indian depositary receipts (IDRs), a move that was less about raising capital than about boosting its profile in India. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:37 pm Put 3G allocation on hold: Tata - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:36 pm Expert cheat sheet: All you need to know about the FIFA World Cup 2010Today we launch our “Expert cheat sheet” series, which condenses nuanced, complicated subjects into ten easy-to-read bullet points (In Internet speak, we give you the tl;dr version). These are essentially a quick, easy way for you to sound knowledgable on topics in the news, or that are bound to come up in conversation. Today we give you ten key points about the ongoing FIFA worldcup which will ensure that you can hold your own on any conversation about the tournament - even if you haven’t watched a single game: 1. This is the first ever World Cup where both finalists from the previous edition (Italy and France) where knocked out in the first round. Out with the old kings, long live the new pretenders. Which leads us to point 2. 2. This is Italy’s worst performance at a World Cup ever. 2 draws, 1 loss, and the defending champions are out. This is the first time they have failed to win a game at the tournament, and the first time they finished bottom of their group. 3. You might be banking on Brazil winning again (no please, not again!) but mark this - they are the oldest squad in this World Cup, with an average age of 29 years and 3 months. In fact they are the oldest Brazil team ever to play at a World Cup. Watch out, those legs might soon run out of steam. 4. The name you should know - Messi, Messi, Messi. Even Maradona says he’s the next Maradona. The 23 year old Argentine forward is regarded as the best footballer in the world right now. Plays for Barcelona when he is not in the Argentine shirt. He runs the Leo Messi Foundation, which pays for education and healthcare for underprivileged children in Argentina. 5. Footballers are probably the fittest athletes in the world. Apart from all the pushing, shoving, sliding, jumping, heading, falling, a player runs an average of 10 kms per game, and can hit top speeds of upto 35 km/hr. That’s 100 metres in less than 11 seconds! 6. The German team is as consistent as clockwork. They have now reached the Quarterfinal stage of the World Cup 16 times out of the 18 they have participated in. 7. Ghana is the only team African team who have gone through the first round, and are now in the Quarterfinals - the third African team to do so in the history of the Cup. 8. Uruguay, the winners of the first World Cup in 1930 (and the 1950 edition) had to wait 40 years before they could make it to the Quarterfinals. They beat the former USSR in the 1970 Quarterfinal before disappearing from the world scene. This time they are back with a vengeance, led by their striker Diego Forlan. 9. Cameroon’s Rigobert Song made history in this World Cup - his World cup career has lasted him 16 years and 9 days, the longest serving player to take the field in 2010. He has been taking the field since 1994! 10. Well, the World Cup is being held in an African country for the first time. If you didn’t know that, just don’t enter into a conversation about the Cup. Walk away with dignity. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:36 pm Google scrambles to save Internet license in ChinaBeijing: China is threatening to revoke Google’s business license over the company’s decision to redirect Chinese traffic to computers in Hong Kong that are not governed by the communist government’s censorship practices. The latest skirmish between Beijing and the Internet search leader threatens to cripple the company in one of the Web’s biggest markets. Google agreed Tuesday to dismantle the virtual bridge to its Hong Kong site that was created in March, but it was unclear whether that will be enough to stay in business in China. The license is required for the company to continue providing its mapping and music services in China. Google hopes to keep its license by turning its Chinese website into a “landing page” anchored by a link that users must click on to send visitors to the Hong Kong search service. The company has no plans to revert back to its previous practice of omitting search results that the Chinese government considers subversive or pornographic. “This new approach is consistent with our commitment not to self-censor and, we believe, with local law,” David Drummond, Google’s top lawyer, wrote in a blog post. A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said he had not seen Google’s announcement and could not comment on it. However, he added, “I would like to stress that the Chinese government encourages foreign enterprises to operate in China according to law.” The impasse could drag on for months, analysts predicted, as both Google and the Chinese government jostle in a heavyweight wrestling match unfolding on an international stage. Google Inc. announced in January that it would no longer comply with Chinese censorship after being hit by a hacking attack traced to China. The high-profile challenge irritated Chinese leaders, even though they want foreign companies to help develop the country’s technology industry. Google met a Wednesday deadline to apply to renew its Internet license in China. It’s not clear how long the Chinese government will take to review the application, but BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis expects the company “to twist in the wind for a while.” Google’s uncertain fate in China could become a distraction for management, but it’s one that is probably worth the trouble, said Gartner Inc. analyst Whit Andrews. That’s because China already has about 400 million people online, making it the world’s largest Internet market, and that figure is expected to steadily grow for decades to come. “Google knows its shareholders think it’s important to be in China, and a lot of its future value is riding on that,” Andrews said. And China’s government knows it has to flex its muscle because “if it looks like Google is running the show, it could affect their power.” Google shares fell $17.82, or nearly 4%, to $454.26 on a rough day throughout the stock market. China has not produced a big windfall for Google yet, partly because it’s one of the few markets where the company’s search engine is not the most popular. (The homegrown Baidu.com holds a 60% share compared with about 30% for Google.) Analysts estimate Google gets $250 million to $600 million in annual revenue from China, or about 1% to 2% of its total revenue. Even if Chinese regulators approve Google’s new navigation tool, the added click to reach Hong Kong could still drive away some users. If that were to happen, “then advertisers will panic and cut spending,” said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, an Internet research firm in Beijing. Google could still remain in China even if the government pulls the plug on its website in that country. The company has indicated it would like to retain its engineering staff in China to take advantage of the country’s technology talent and to maintain a sales force that also sells ads to Chinese businesses trying to reach customers outside the country. If Google.cn is shut down, mainland Chinese users could still reach Google’s services by manually typing in the address of the Hong Kong site. But China’s government could also use its own technology tools, sometimes called a “Great Firewall,” to prevent its citizens from connecting to Google’s sites outside the country. The Mountain View, California-based company launched its China-based site in 2006 after Chinese government filters blocked many users from reaching the company’s US site. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:35 pm Google scrambles to save Internet license in ChinaBeijing: China is threatening to revoke Google’s business license over the company’s decision to redirect Chinese traffic to computers in Hong Kong that are not governed by the communist government’s censorship practices. The latest skirmish between Beijing and the Internet search leader threatens to cripple the company in one of the Web’s biggest markets. Google agreed Tuesday to dismantle the virtual bridge to its Hong Kong site that was created in March, but it was unclear whether that will be enough to stay in business in China. The license is required for the company to continue providing its mapping and music services in China. Google hopes to keep its license by turning its Chinese website into a “landing page” anchored by a link that users must click on to send visitors to the Hong Kong search service. The company has no plans to revert back to its previous practice of omitting search results that the Chinese government considers subversive or pornographic. “This new approach is consistent with our commitment not to self-censor and, we believe, with local law,” David Drummond, Google’s top lawyer, wrote in a blog post. A foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, said he had not seen Google’s announcement and could not comment on it. However, he added, “I would like to stress that the Chinese government encourages foreign enterprises to operate in China according to law.” The impasse could drag on for months, analysts predicted, as both Google and the Chinese government jostle in a heavyweight wrestling match unfolding on an international stage. Google Inc. announced in January that it would no longer comply with Chinese censorship after being hit by a hacking attack traced to China. The high-profile challenge irritated Chinese leaders, even though they want foreign companies to help develop the country’s technology industry. Google met a Wednesday deadline to apply to renew its Internet license in China. It’s not clear how long the Chinese government will take to review the application, but BGC Financial analyst Colin Gillis expects the company “to twist in the wind for a while.” Google’s uncertain fate in China could become a distraction for management, but it’s one that is probably worth the trouble, said Gartner Inc. analyst Whit Andrews. That’s because China already has about 400 million people online, making it the world’s largest Internet market, and that figure is expected to steadily grow for decades to come. “Google knows its shareholders think it’s important to be in China, and a lot of its future value is riding on that,” Andrews said. And China’s government knows it has to flex its muscle because “if it looks like Google is running the show, it could affect their power.” Google shares fell $17.82, or nearly 4%, to $454.26 on a rough day throughout the stock market. China has not produced a big windfall for Google yet, partly because it’s one of the few markets where the company’s search engine is not the most popular. (The homegrown Baidu.com holds a 60% share compared with about 30% for Google.) Analysts estimate Google gets $250 million to $600 million in annual revenue from China, or about 1% to 2% of its total revenue. Even if Chinese regulators approve Google’s new navigation tool, the added click to reach Hong Kong could still drive away some users. If that were to happen, “then advertisers will panic and cut spending,” said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, an Internet research firm in Beijing. Google could still remain in China even if the government pulls the plug on its website in that country. The company has indicated it would like to retain its engineering staff in China to take advantage of the country’s technology talent and to maintain a sales force that also sells ads to Chinese businesses trying to reach customers outside the country. If Google.cn is shut down, mainland Chinese users could still reach Google’s services by manually typing in the address of the Hong Kong site. But China’s government could also use its own technology tools, sometimes called a “Great Firewall,” to prevent its citizens from connecting to Google’s sites outside the country. The Mountain View, California-based company launched its China-based site in 2006 after Chinese government filters blocked many users from reaching the company’s US site. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:35 pm Google sets timeframe to end China rerouteSHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) - Google Inc said it will end the automatic redirection of users from its China portal within the next 24 to 48 hours, while Beijing kept silent on whether the move would allow Google to keep its China business.Source: Reuters: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:32 pm US investing heavily in its relationship with India: SummersWashington: The US is investing heavily in its relationship with India as it believes that Indo-US ties is going to be the defining partnership of the 21st century, a top White House official has said. “I don’t think there’s any question but that the relationship with India is going to be one of the most important relationships for the US over the next generation,” said Larry H Summers, director of National Economic Council. “That’s why we have invested heavily in that relationship and certainly, as (the US) president (Barack) Obama’s intention to continue investing in that relationship,” Summers said in response to a question after delivering remarks on technological opportunities, job creation and economic growth. “You realize that a generation from now they will be two of the three largest economies in the world. And I think we have an enormous stake in our relationship,” he said. “I hope it will be one of a deepening flow of everything: A deepening flow of telecommunications, a deepening flow of student exchanges, a deepening flow of tourism, a deepening flow of foreign investment, a deepening flow of international trade, a deepening flow of diplomatic contact that discussed the architecture of evolving global system,” Summers said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:29 pm Rupee hits 2-week low; shares, dollar moves eyedMumbai: The Indian rupee dropped to its lowest level in two weeks on Wednesday, weighed by early losses in local shares and weak regional peers. Traders said the dollar’s moves versus majors would be watched for cues. At 10:10am, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.62/63 per dollar after touching Rs46.7025, its lowest since 15 June and weaker than Tuesday’s close of Rs46.48/49. “Today’s theme is risk aversion. There is not much dollar demand seen yet, but we have big orders from oil companies,” a senior dealer with a large state-run bank said. Oil is India’s biggest import and refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the local currency market with demand tending to peak at the end of each month when they are required to make payments. “I guess it will be critical for rupee to hold below 46.70 if we are to trade in manageable ranges -- could well become ugly if we break and close above that level,” said R.K. Gurumurthy, head of treasury at ING Vysya Bank. Indian shares reversed most early losses and were trading down just about 0.2% tracking a pull-back in other regional markets. They had dropped as much as 0.9% earlier and then briefly turned positive. Foreign fund moves into and out of the sharemarket are monitored as they have a large influence on the rupee. Foreigners have bought a net $6.7 billion in 2010, in addition to last year’s record $17.5 billion inflow. Most Asian currencies dropped against the dollar. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was down 0.06% and would be watched, dealers said. The yen kept the euro and the Australian dollar pinned down near lows on Wednesday, after a heavy round of leveraged trade unwinding, and the euro also struggled above a record low on the safe-haven Swiss franc. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 46.78, weaker than the onshore spot rate. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were at 46.76 and 46.77 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $705 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:20 pm Foxconn shares at 8-month low; workers say told to moveHong Kong: Shares of Foxconn, the world’s largest contract cellphone maker, fell to an eight-month low on Wednesday after it warned its first-half losses may widen due to weaker pricing and higher depreciation expenses. Foxconn shares fell as much as 9.8% in early trade to its weakest level since October 5 last year. By 7:51am, it had pared those losses to trade down about 7% at HK$5.10 ($0.66). “This is a total surprise,” said Lu Chialin, an analyst at Macquarie Securities in Taipei. “Most cellphone brands are already experiencing a rebound in business, so it’s really strange that Foxconn is doing worse than 2009, which was already such a bad year.” Shares of Foxconn are down about 44% so far this year, worse than the 8% decline on the benchmark Hang Seng index. Foxconn, a key supplier to brands such as Nokia and Sony Ericsson has been struggling with a wave of labour unrest in China, where increasingly assertive migrant workers are calling for better conditions and higher pay. Together with its parent Hon Hai, it is moving much of its production away from China’s increasingly expensive coastal regions to cut its operating expenses, a process it started in 2008. Workers at Foxconn’s giant Longhua factory north of Shenzhen said the firm had notified them that it wanted to shift 300,000 of around 450,000 workers from several Shenzhen plants to a massive new factory planned in central Henan province. “The first workers may move in October,” said a production line worker surnamed Wang, who declined to give his full name. “Workers who originally come from Henan province and other northern provinces seem more interested in moving, but many others like myself want to stay here,” Wang added. Hon Hai has about 800,000 employees in China, and is one of the country’s largest private employers. A Hon Hai spokesman said the company would release a statement after the Taipei stock market close on its growth strategy in China, but declined to comment on any specific investments. Any major investment would also require approval from the company’s board of directors and Taiwanese authorities, he added. Foxconn will build a new plant in central Henan province that will eventually employ 300,000 people, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday, after authorities in a Henan city posted a job recruitment ad on a government website. Hon Hai had already said it intends to build a production facility that will cost at least $1 billion in the southwestern city of Chengdu, part of its overall strategy of moving to diversifying its production base. Hon Hai also has large production facilities in southwest Chongqing, where its client and the world’s largest PC firm Hewlett-Packard <HPQ.N> runs a factory. “Foxconn has been saying it wants to move inland for a while now, and the recent wage increases are all going to speed up the move,” Lu at Macquarie said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:16 pm Bank of Baroda, Allahabad Bank fix base rate at 8%Allahabad Bank also fixed its base rate at the same level and said it would review the rate and the spread once every quarter.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:14 pm Oil below $76 in Asian tradeNew York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, shed 13 cents to $75.81 a barrel, while London's Brent North Sea crude for August was down 23 cents to $75.21.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:00 pm Rupee weakens by 16 paise against dollar in early tradeForex dealers said weak opening on the stock markets following capital outflows by foreign funds in tandem with tumble on global markets, mainly weighed on the rupee sentiment.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:58 pm Rupee weakens by 16 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee depreciated by 16 paise against the US dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange today on capital outflows by foreign funds from equities.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:58 pm Kashmir thriller ‘Lamhaa’ set for release as anger mountsMumbai: Amid escalating protests in Kashmir, Bollywood is set to step into highly sensitive territory with a promise to tell the story of violence in the region “as never seen before” on the big screen. Lamhaa (The Moment), which arrives in cinemas on 16 July, has already fallen foul of censors and Kashmiri people and its release comes as anti-Indian feelings in the volatile Muslim-majority region run high. Six people have been killed in the last three days and eleven in less than three weeks during demonstrations against the killing of Kashmiris by Indian forces, which began with the death of a schoolboy on 11 June . India’s censor board took issue with promotional trailers for the thriller and reportedly objected to its description of Kashmir as “the most dangerous place in the world”, forcing director Rahul Dholakia to make cuts. During shooting, locals even forced the film crew to re-shoot a scene, angry at its depiction of the Himalayan region often referred to as “Paradise on Earth” but which has been wracked by fighting and protests for decades. Dholakia, whose previous film Parzania tackled Hindu-Muslim riots in western Gujarat state in 2002, said he expected action by the censor but hoped the film would help foster dialogue. “There is a tremendous trust deficit and we need to bridge that by talking and keeping our past prejudices aside,” he told reporters. The action-packed trailer now running in cinemas pledges to show “the breathtaking story of Kashmir as never seen before in the history of cinema.” The film offers lead actor Sanjay Dutt, famed for his tough guy roles and off-screen troubles, a chance to secure his return to superstardom as he plays a military intelligence expert sent to Kashmir to root out a web of corruption. Dutt deflected questions about potential solutions that could bring peace in the state, which is administered jointly by India and Pakistan but claimed in full by both. “I am too small a personality to talk about this issue. I am not a politician,” said Dutt. “All I know is that the people of Kashmir want peace in their day-to-day life and they don’t want violence.” Conflict in Kashmir is a legacy of the partition of the Indian subcontinent after the end of British rule in 1947, and has been the trigger for two of three wars between the South Asian rivals. Separatists and insurgents want the region to be independent or part of Pakistan but New Delhi considers it an integral part of its territory. Dutt said he was happy to return to the region’s spectacular mountains and valleys, which were a popular location for Bollywood films in the 1970s and 1980s until an upsurge in deadly violence against Indian rule. “Kashmir is a very beautiful place and it is like heaven. I love it more because 29 years ago I debuted in my film Rocky for which shooting had taken place over there,” he said. “I still have very fond memories of Kashmir.” Dutt also featured in Mission Kashmir in 2000, a tale of revenge set against the backdrop of relations between India and Pakistan and shot in part in the state’s summer capital Srinagar. Controversy over Lamhaa raises Dutt’s profile at a time when his star had been fading. The actor’s popularity was at its height in the mid-1980s to 1990s after a string of action movies in which he performed his own stunts, earning him the nickname “Deadly Dutt”. But he has battled to regain his on-screen profile since a conviction for buying illegal weapons from the plotters of the 1993 bombings in India’s financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai, which left 257 people dead. Dutt -- once a heavy drug user -- spent more than 18 months of a six-year prison sentence behind bars before being given bail in November 2007 pending an appeal. Now 50, Dutt has starred in dozens of films since then, including the popular Munnabhai series, Shootout At Lokhandwala in 2007 and last year’s underwater odyssey, Blue, defying a trend for casting younger male leads. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:58 pm New ULIP norms: What's in it for investors? - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:53 pm Wall Street sinks on economic alarmThe index closed at its lowest level since Oct 30, breaking its closing low for the year at 1,050.47 -- another bearish signal for markets.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:50 pm Sensex tanks 160 points in opening trade on global cuesThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today tanked over 160 points in opening trade on major sell-off by funds and retail investors amid slumping global markets.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:40 pm Alex becomes first hurricane of 2010 - The Hindu
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Jun 2010 | 10:18 pm Oil heads for 1st quarterly drop since 2008Singapore: Oil edged lower on Wednesday, heading for its first quarterly drop since 2008 as risk aversion over Europe’s debt crisis neutralised the effect of rising demand in the United States and China, the world’s top two consumers. The dollar’s rally continued on Wednesday, further eroding oil purchasing power for emerging economies, while Japan’s Nikkei slumped more than 2% to a seven-month low, tracking Tuesday’s sell-off in Wall Street. Crude pared losses after the United States late on Tuesday said Hurricane Alex had forced the shutdown of a quarter of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and after an industry report showed the nation’s inventories fell more than expected last week. US crude for August tumbled as much as 61 cents to $75.33 a barrel and was down 23 cents at $75.71 by 8:27am, ICE Brent crude slid 38 cents to $75.06. Prices have declined almost 10% from the end of March, the first quarterly drop since the October-December period in 2008. Still, in early May US crude hit a 19-month high above $87. “I am very bearish on Europe,” said Clarence Chu, an energy trader at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. “The market just wants to get higher and then there is bad news and it comes down again. The premium for Alex has evaporated, so I wouldn’t be surprised if prices come back down. It could get really close to the $75 support level.” Banks must repay euro442 billion ($545.5 billion) to the European Central Bank on Thursday, leaving a potential liquidity shortfall in the financial system of over euro100 billion. The yen and the Swiss franc held on to broad gains on Wednesday as nervous investors rushed to unwind leveraged carry trades on the back of a significant deterioration in risk appetite, while the dollar was up versus a basket of currencies. Investors fled the US stock market on Tuesday and the S&P 500 tumbled to its lowest level in eight months in a sell-off triggered by a wave of rising alarm over the global economic outlook. Tropical Storm Alex was upgraded to a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico late on Tuesday but was moving north of Mexican oil rigs and far southwest of US fields, easing concerns about a supply disruption. Precautionary evacuations and closures interrupted 395,878 barrels per day (bpd), or 24.7% of US oil output in the Gulf of Mexico, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement said late on Tuesday. “They will only shut down for a few days, but obviously there will be an impact on next week’s inventory figures,” Chu said. “It’s the hurricane season, but I don’t think there is any potential threat just yet. Damage to oil rigs could change fundamentals dramatically.” US crude inventories fell 3.4 million barrels in the week to 25 June, industry group the American Petroleum Institute said on Tuesday, outstripping analyst expectations of a 900,000-barrel draw in the latest Reuters poll. Gasoline stocks fell 908,000 barrels, versus analysts’ expectations of a 500,000-barrel draw, but distillates, including heating oil and diesel, rose 4 million barrels, above forecasts for a 800,000-barrel gain. The US Energy Information Administration will publish more closely-watched government statistics on inventories on Wednesday at 8:00pm. The United States will accept offers from a dozen countries and international agencies to help contain and clean up the BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the State Department said on Tuesday. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 8:48 pm Mukesh mulls financial services foray - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 29 Jun 2010 | 3:44 pm Loan rates now made transparentIf you are looking for a home loan, this is the right time to get one. A new system for interest rates will kick in on Thursday, which will be transparent, called the 'base rate' system. Basics of base rateSource: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 1:43 pm RCF may commercialize part of its Mumbai landMumbai/Bangalore: State-owned fertilizer maker Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers Ltd (RCF) is working on a plan to convert a portion of 277 acres of prime land it uses for employee residences into a commercial development of residential properties, two senior executives at the company said. The residential buildings in Mumbai’s Chembur area are due for redevelopment, which is estimated to cost between Rs390 crore and Rs400 crore. “A draft proposal to find a best alternative to this investment is ready with the company now,” a senior RCF official said on condition of anonymity. The land currently under residential use will be shrunk to 50 acres by converting about 100 two and three-storeyed buildings into high-rise apartment complexes. “The rest of the land can be offered for commercial development,” he said. RCF’s chief financial officer Gautam Sen confirmed the plan. “There will not be any finance induction by RCF for the redevelopment of its residential buildings as alternative options are being worked out, which includes a commercial development plan,” he said. RCF proposes to take up the project on the basis of a three-way agreement in which the Maharashtra government and a pre-qualified construction group will be involved, besides RCF, the senior official quoted earlier said. The construction group that leases the land for commercial development will be required to redevelop the company’s residential areas at no charge. According to real estate analysts, land costs in the area are between Rs10-15 crore an acre, going as high as Rs20 crore an acre depending on location. “At an average cost of Rs15 crore an acre, RCF’s land alone can be valued at Rs12,000 crore,” said Prakrut Mehta, national director (office and industrial agency) at property consultant Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd, adding that the location of the land, stretching right up to the sea, could substantially increase its commercial value. RCF has been exploring options to capitalize a large part of the surplus land, but a land utilization agreement that the company signed with the Maharashtra government at the time of the original allotment of the land for industrial use does not permit it to use it for any other purpose. Stretching along the Arabian Sea, in a north-south direction up to the Chembur suburb, is a huge tract of land that belongs primarily to the Mumbai Port Trust. Besides RCF, the Chembur stretch also has large refineries built by public sector oil firms such as Hindustan Petroleum Corp. Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) because of its proximity to the port and availability of large parcels of uninhabited land. Between them, HPCL and BPCL are estimated to have at least of 800 acres of land, said another analyst. “At least a few large companies have been planning to move industrial activity to cheaper locations, leaving this high-worth land for commercial development,” said this analyst, declining to be identified as he advises one of the companies on such a project. HPCL, for instance, has plans to relocate to Ratnagiri, a border district of Maharashtra, and will put up its Mumbai land for commercial development at a later date. However, real estate analysts cautioned against changes in land use for such industrial properties for residential purposes. “These industrial lands are difficult to develop for commercial purpose because of the nature of (industrial) activity,” said Ashutosh Limaye, associate director (strategic consulting) at Jones Lang La Salle Meghraj, a property advisory. Kight Frank’s Mehta also said that the entire stretch, including RCF and other firms’ properties, was a “high-risk zone with contamination of air, water and soil”. “The soil has to be treated before being put up for any development.” ch.unni@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 1:17 pm SBI fixes base rate at 7.5%; others 8%Mumbai: State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender, pegged its base rate at 7.5% on Tuesday, setting the stage for a new bank rate regime that will take effect on 1 July. SBI’s base rate replaces its benchmark prime lending rate, or BPLR, of 11.75%.  At least six other public sector banks, including Punjab National Bank and Bank of Baroda, announced their base rate—all pegging it at 8%. Private banks, including ICICI Bank Ltd, India’s second largest lender, and HDFC Bank Ltd, will announce their rate on Wednesday. For every bank, the base rate is lower than the BPLR which it replaces, but that does not necessarily mean that the cost of money will decline for borrowers. This is because no bank will be allowed to price loans cheaper than the base rate. The new regime has been put in place by the Reserve Bank of India to ensure that small businesses don’t end up subsidizing below-BPLR borrowings by top-rated firms that have been able to raise funds at much lower rates. Until now, around 70% of borrowers have been raising money at below BPLR. Although the BPLR of most public sector banks ranges between 11.5% and 12.5%, triple A-rated corporate borrowers were raising short-term loans at a rate as low as 6.75-7%. Private banks are expected to set their base rate lower, but their public sector counterparts are not worried about losing customers to the competition. Even if there is a wide divergence between the base rate of a private bank and a public sector bank, there won’t be much of a difference in the final applicable rates, SBI chairman O.P. Bhatt said. Customers getting loans at less than 7.5% account for only 3% of SBI’s corporate portfolio. Bank of Baroda chairman and managing director M.D. Mallya said that even before the introduction of the base rate, private banks had been giving some loans at a cheaper rate than public sector banks. SBI’s Bhatt does not see a dramatic change in loan rates under the new regime. “(The) rates could be different in most cases for new customers, but difference could be about 0.25% and not more,” he said. Bhatt did not say what will be the spread on the base rate for home loans and auto loans. SBI currently charges 8% for the first year for any home loan. He hinted that the bank could continue with the existing home loan rate as “it is anyway above our base rate.” The bank will announce its home loan rate on Wednesday. Top-rated corporations may continue to raise ultra-cheap money from banks not in the form of loans, but financial instruments such as commercial paper. They can even raise medium- and long-term money through bonds and debentures. Instead of giving loans, banks can subscribe to commercial paper, bonds and debentures. Commercial paper is an unsecured, short-term debt instrument issued by a company, typically to meet short-term liabilities. The debt is usually issued at a discount to its face value. This will lead to a structural change in banks’ balance sheets as instead of showing them as loans, banks will need to classify such exposures as investments. Unlike loans, investments run the risk of interest rate volatility. When bond yields rise and prices drop—they move in opposite directions—banks are required to set aside money to cover the drop in market value of their investments. In accounting jargon, the practice is called marking to market or valuing a financial asset in accordance with its prevailing market price and not the price at which it is bought. Hatim Brochwala, an analyst with Mumbai-based brokerage Khandwala Securities Ltd, said the banks will limit their exposure to such instruments when the liquidity in the banking system dries up. “I expect demand for commercial papers to rise slightly and not much. Eventually, companies may not find it that profitable to come to this market as interest rate will also go up in these papers due to a possible over-supply,” said Brochwala. Companies are, however, not overtly concerned. “We are an AAA-rated company and the impact won’t be much for us because 85% of our funds come from taxable bonds, commercial papers and external commercial borrowings,” said H.D. Khunteta, director (finance) at Rural Electrification Corp. Ltd. The company raised Rs3,000 crore last year at 7.38%. “We expect interest rate to increase for new borrowings, but there is no compulsion to borrow from banks. We can look for other cheaper sources like external commercial borrowings,” Khunteta said. Vinod Juneja, managing director of Binani Cement Ltd, said the base rate will increase its cost of borrowing. “Our current borrowing rate from banks is 9-9.5% and with the base rate kicking in, it will go up,” he said, adding, “I don’t know on what basis they will calculate the costs.” Whether borrowers will benefit under the new regime or not, one thing is for sure: banks are explaining the rationale behind the base rate, making the process more transparent. For instance, SBI has taken the six-month deposit rate as its main input to calculate its base rate. Bank of Baroda, in contrast, has taken the average cost of deposits in the last quarter to arrive at its base rate. “If we take one-year deposit rate (as the primary input for the base rate), it will not catch the current interest rate fluctuation. Similarly, the three-month deposit rate will not catch the historical rate movement,” said Bhatt. Old customers of all banks can continue with their existing rates for at least a year, but new customers will be given loans based on a bank’s base rate. Going by the Reserve Bank of India’s guidelines, banks can fine-tune their system of arriving at the base rate until December and from 2011, they can change their base rates at least once in three months. anup.r@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 1:05 pm Wrestlers get corporate identityA well-built man walks out from the ramshackled, asbestos-roofed akhara near Majnu Ka Tila in Old Delhi. He is very guarded about his address and identity. But he does not seem to be disappointed with the direction his life has taken.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 12:59 pm Diesel prices will also be freed, says PMPrime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government would free diesel prices, even as some of his allies and the opposition criticised the government's move last week to move petrol and petro-products from state-set prices to market-based rates.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 12:57 pm SBI sets base rate at 7.5%Four state-owned banks also announce rates; all eyes on private banks now.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 12:55 pm RCom close to striking a deal with DigicableMumbai: Reliance Communications Ltd (RCom), the mobile telephony arm of the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-Adag), is close to striking a second deal, even as it completes the merger of its hived-off telecom tower business with GTL Infrastructure Ltd.  This time, it is in talks for merging its direct-to-home (DTH) and Internet protocol television (IPTV) businesses with Digicable Network (India) Pvt. Ltd, a leading cable TV distribution company or a multiple system operator (MSO), according to two people with direct knowledge of the development. One of the two said that following the merger of RCom’s digital television businesses with Digicable, RCom would own a majority stake in the restructured entity. This person added that the deal would be an all-stock one and involve no cash transfer. Jagjit Singh Kohli, managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Digicable declined comment, as did an R-Adag spokesperson. The second person familiar with the development, an executive at Digicable, said that the promoters of the two companies were discussing a merger, but added that he hasn’t been part of these discussions. Neither of the two wanted to be identified. A third person, an executive at a rival of Digicable who asked that neither he nor his firm be identified said that rumours of the talks between the two companies had been doing the rounds for around three months. It is not clear whether Ashmore Investment Management Ltd, a private equity investor which holds 49% in Digicable, will exit after the merger. Mint could not reach out to Ashmore. Kohli and his associates hold 51% stake in the firm. Digicable is not a listed entity and its valuation is not known. Digicable has aggressively grown its subscriber base which is spread across Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. It claims to have a subscriber base of 8.5 million. The merger, if it goes through, will help R-Adag fill in a blank in its media and entertainment business. The conglomerate has a significant presence in movie distribution and runs a multiplex chain. Reliance MediaWorks Ltd, which operates the multiplex chain, is also eyeing a takeover of another mutiplex operator, Fame India Ltd, in which it has a 15.28% stake and is awaiting a nod from the capital market regulator to make an open offer to shareholders of the firm. Under existing takeover norms, a firm needs to make an open offer for at least a 20% stake in a listed company after it acquires at least 15% in it. A foothold in all forms of television distribution—DTH, IPTV and cable—would create synergy for the television content broadcasting business that R-Adag plans to enter. “Tapping into Digicable’s large existing customer base would help Reliance market the new channels it plans to launch better,” said a media analyst at a domestic brokerage who did not want to be named. Reliance BIG TV and Reliance IPTV are the two RCom units that currently operate DTH and IPTV businesses, respectively. Reliance BIG TV has 2.4 million subscribers and a 12% market share of the DTH industry, according to the firm. On 21 June, Reliance Broadcasting Network Ltd, previously known as Reliance Media World Ltd, announced that it plans to form a joint venture with CBS Studios International, a subsidiary of the US-based media house, CBS Corp. to launch English and regional language channels in India. On Sunday, R-Adag announced that it would merge the telecom tower assets of Reliance Infratel Ltd—an RCom unit—with those of GTL Infrastructure in a deal that would involve a cash infusion of around Rs16,000-18,000 crore in RCom and stakes for existing shareholders of RCom and Reliance Infratel in the merged entity. RCom’s board of directors approved on 6 June a proposal to offload a 26% stake in the company to a strategic investor at a premium to the ruling market price. “Joining hands with R-Adag would help Digicable gain access to a large optical fibre cable network and new verticals such as IPTV, while RCom would further deleverage its balance sheet by moving all the non-core businesses other than mobile telephony out of the company,” the analyst quoted earlier said. RCom’s share prices on the Bombay Stock Exchange dropped 3.82% to Rs193.75 on Tuesday, while the bourse’s benchmark Sensex ended the day 1.35% lower at 17,534.09 points. Digicable managing director and CEO Kohli is a pioneer in the industry who had helped set up WinCable for Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd, India’s largest MSO. He also founded ETC Networks Ltd which was later acquired by the Essel group. The group appointed him as managing director for its MSO arm—Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd, or WWIL. Kohli quit WWIL in 2007 and set up Digicable. A person familiar with Kohli’s work says he is adept at “creating networks” such as Digicable from scratch and has in the past sold businesses when offers are attractive. He has moved out of WinCable and ETC Networks, but the veteran with 30 years’ experience has always re-entered the cable TV industry. aveek.d@livemint.com Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 12:44 pm Maytas Infra claims Rs324 cr from Satyam ComputerHyderabad: Maytas Infra Ltd, the ailing infrastructure firm now controlled by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd, said it has found documentary evidence that Satyam Computer Services Ltd, now MahindraSatyam, was the ultimate beneficiary of some Rs324 crore of inter-corporate deposits (ICDs) issued by it. The erstwhile promoters of Maytas Infra—the family of the jailed founder of Satyam, B. Ramalinga Raju—had issued ICDs to various companies amounting to Rs391.64 crore. Of this, Rs323.78 crore ultimately flowed into Satyam, Maytas’ new management said in a statement on Tuesday. Maytas has now claimed the amount plus interest from Satyam. “The company is confident of recovering the inter-corporate deposits together with interest due thereon,” it said. Arun K. Saha, chairman of Maytas Infra, said the firm has moved the ministry of corporate affairs on the matter. “We had already made our stand clear earlier on such claims as untenable,” a Mahindra Satyam spokesman said. The software firm’s new management in November said it had received legal notices from 37 firms claiming a refund of Rs1,230.40 crore allegedly given to it as temporary advance. They had claimed the money back to repay their creditors, including Maytas Infra and Maytas Properties Ltd. Raju, who confessed in January 2009 to the Rs7,136 crore accounting fraud at Satyam, has in his letter to the stock exchanges referred to a net amount of Rs1,230 crore that he had arranged from 37 firms. Satyam has since changed hands and is now owned by Tech Mahindra Ltd, a Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd entity. “The claim of Maytas Infra for Rs324 crore from Satyam Computer comes in as a negative for the software firm, which could successfully manage to settle the claim of Upaid Systems,” said Srishti Anand, an analyst with ICICI Direct. “However, it is difficult now to predict the exact financial implication of the fresh liability on Satyam Computer.” In December, Mahindra Satyam had agreed to a $70 million (Rs326 crore today) legal settlement with British firm Upaid Systems Ltd to end all disputes between them. The disputes related to a project that Satyam and Upaid had jointly worked on in the late 1990s. Upaid had sought damages of at least $1 billion for the cumulative losses it claimed to have suffered as a result of Satyam’s actions. Earlier in the day, Maytas Infra said it had narrowed net losses for 2009-10 to Rs252 crore from Rs474 crore the previous fiscal, but its revenue declined to Rs1,150 crore from Rs1,719 crore earlier as it lost some key projects. “One of the biggest challenges the company had was its high debt compared to equity. We could successfully address the issue by entering into a corporate debt restructuring (CDR) with the lenders and rope in the global infrastructure giant Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) as co-promoter,” said Saha. Maytas Infra’s debt will decline to about Rs800 crore after the CDR programme, from Rs1,800 crore earlier. Saha added the firm expects to turn profitable in the next 12-18 months because of the debt restructuring, capital infusion (by SBG) and new contracts. Maytas Infra now has orders worth some Rs7,000 crore to be executed over the next 24-30 months. As a part of the CDR package, the company is offering Rs250 crore worth optionally convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares and Rs55 crore worth cumulative redeemable preference shares to its lenders. It is also offering 2.82 million equity shares of Rs10 each to the lenders at a price to be determined as per regulatory guidelines. The conversion of debt into equity will enable lenders to acquire a little more than 3.5% in Maytas Infra, Saha said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 12:43 pm SAP faces antitrust complaintA US software company has asked European Union regulators to stop Germany's SAP from tactics that it says illegally exclude it from a lucrative market for programs that help companies price their products.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:51 am Spice to push hotspot chain in 7 metrosHandset manufacturer Spice Mobility plans to substantially increase the number of its Spice Hotspot-branded phone stores across Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad. HT reports.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:48 am Denso, Subros in AC design JVThe country's largest car air conditioning manufacturer Subros Ltd has entered into a joint venture with Japanese auto component maker Denso Corporation to design automobile air conditioning systems and other devices. HT reoprts.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 29 Jun 2010 | 11:45 am Apple trods the iOS4 pathOn this weeks edition of the Playcast it’s all about the numbers. We discuss Wordpress 3.0, the E3 gaming convention, and Apple’s new operating system iOS4. And in an attempt to move away from the single digits to the really BIG numbers, we look at the top 10 most expensive domain names ever. Wordpress 3.0, code named Thelonious Monk, (purportedly the inspiration for the upgrade) allows users to do a host of new and exciting things with existing Wordpress domains, the most significant of which is the ability to create multiple blogs under the same domain name. This feature was previously only available under an iteration of the platform called Wordpress Mu, (which also powers Livemint blogs). Next we talk about the “epic” E3 gaming convention, the highlight of which was possibly the unveiling of the Nintendo 3DS. The 3DS is the successor to the phenomenally popular DS and has received rave reactions from observers and journalists present at the event. It is expected to be released early next year. Both Microsoft and Sony unveiled their admittedly late motion-controlled answers to the Wii - Microsoft’s ambitious controller-free “Kinect” (formerly known as Project Natal) and Sony’s ho-hum Playstation Move. Finally we give you a top 10 list of the worlds most expensive domain names. We won’t tell you what the most expensive one is, but we will tell you it cost $16 million. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 29 Jun 2010 | 8:01 am
|
