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Jai Balaji eyes Rs 2100cr sales in FY11In an interview with CNBCTV18, Aditya Jajodia, CMD, Jai Balaji Group, speaks about the latest happenings in his company and sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 8:31 am Bharat Forge Q1 net to soar on better sales, marginsBharat Forge, the world\'s second biggest forgings maker, is expected to report a huge jump in AprilJune net profit helped by a lower base last year and rising sales.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:53 am Tata Motors June global sales up 46%Tata Motors on Thursday said its global vehicles sales rose 46% in June to 91,608 units, compared with a year ago.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 7:12 am Taro case: US court rules in favour of Sun PharmaRuling in favour of Sun Pharma, a US District Court has dismisses all of Taro claims. However, the Israeli Supreme Court decision is still pending on the same.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:58 am Subdued AgBank debut casts doubt over fundraisingsAgricultural Bank of China\'s USD 22 billion IPO made a lacklustre debut in Shanghai, underscoring the challenges ahead for China\'s markets as other big banks look to tap investors for billions of dollars in funds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am Bank of Maharashtra says govt infuses Rs 588 croreBank of Maharashtra on Thursday said the government has infused TierI capital worth Rs 588 crore into the bank.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am Diesel underrecovery at Rs 1.60/litre: IOCSpeaking to CNBCTV18, IOC chairman said upstream companies are likely to share onethird of under recoveries and the government is expected to compensate for the balance twothirds.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 4:15 am Vodafone tests investors on possible A$ bondBritish telecom group Vodafone Group has approached investors through an investment bank to test their appetite for a possible Australian dollar bond issue, two fund managers said on Thursday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:57 am Reliance Comm may have to lower tower valueReliance Communications may have to lower the value of its tower assets being sold to GTL Infrastructure in view of a likely stake sale in the No. 2 Indian mobile operator to Abu Dhabi\'s Etisalat, the Economic Times reported.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:57 am Religare to buy part of Citi\'s India loan opsFinancial services firm Religare Enterprises Ltd has agreed to buy a part of Citigroup\'s home loan portfolio in India for nearly Rs 500 crore (USD 107 million), the Economic Times said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:57 am Google, Tata Comm partner for some services in IndiaMUMBAI (Reuters) - Google Inc's Indian unit and Tata Communications will partner to provide web-based business connectivity services to companies in India, where a fast-expanding economy throws up new opportunities.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:31 am Factbox: Developments in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:20 am Monsoon rains 24 pct below normal in past weekNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's monsoon rains, vital for the farm-dependent economy, were 24 percent below normal in the week to July 14, sources in the weather office said, reviving fears of crop loss if rainfall remains weak.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:18 am Axis Bank April-June net up 32 pct(versus the same period a year earlier, in billion rupees unless stated)Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:10 am Rupee gets a new symbol - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:08 am Nifty consolidates SAIL HUL Axis Bank IDFC top gainers - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 3:08 am Gartner sees mobile users at 993 mln in 2014MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's mobile subscriber base should grow to 993 million by 2014, according to researcher Gartner, which expects the world's fastest-growing mobile market to close 2010 with more than 660 million subscribers.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:53 am Liquidity tightness may continue in FY11 - GoldmanMUMBAI (Reuters) - Liquidity tightness in the banking system is likely to persist in the financial year ending March 2011, driven by rising demand for loans as compared with deposit growth, Goldman Sachs said in a note.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:52 am US bank nod to sale of equipment for Reliance Power plantThe US export-import bank has given a preliminary approval to a loan guarantee of $600 million for the sale of mining equipment for the 3,960 MW power plant of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firm, Reliance Power, in Sasan, Madhya Pradesh.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:49 am A 380 lands at Delhi's Terminal 3 today - NDTV.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:48 am Indian rupee to have a distinct symbolThe symbol will be printed or embossed on currency notes or coins, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:39 am Sensex down 51 pts as weakness persists; BPCL loses 7% - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:36 am Mid-cap drugmakers to see rupee dent on robust growthMUMBAI (Reuters) - Mid-cap Indian drugmakers are likely to post healthy quarterly earnings on rising sales across geographies but a strong rupee against the dollar through two-third of April-June period might shave off margins for some.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:36 am Cabinet approves merger of State Bank of Indore with SBI - Hindustan Times
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:34 am Fuel inflation eases RBI rate move eyed - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:29 am Cabinet approves merger of State Bank of Indore with SBIDecks have been cleared for the merger of State Bank of Indore with its parent State Bank of India, with the Cabinet approving the consolidation of the country's largest lender on Thursday.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:28 am World stocks slip, yen rises after FedLondon: World stocks slipped from a three-week peak on Thursday while the low-yielding yen rose after the Federal Reserve suggested additional measures may be needed to combat a weakening economy. Minutes of the Fed’s June meeting showed officials were concerned with the pace of the economic recovery and felt they should be ready to consider additional steps if an already softening outlook took a noticeable turn for the worse. Chinese data also injected caution. The country’s economic growth moderated to 10.3% in the second quarter from 11.9% in the first quarter, slightly below forecasts of 10.5% growth. Investors took profits on risky assets after a recent rally driven by strong US quarterly earnings. US banking giant JPMorgan is among the companies reporting results later on Thursday. “On one hand, we have very strong company results. On the other hand, we have lingering doubts about the pace of the economic recovery,” said Luc Van Hecka, chief economist at KBC Securities. “If you take into account what the underlying growth pace is in the US economy, if you take inventory affects and if you take economic stimulus packages, then it turns out that the economy is growing at a pace which is close to zero.” MSCI world equity index fell a third of a% after hitting the three-week peak on Wednesday. The Thomson Reuters global stock index lost almost 0.5%. The FTSEurofirst 300 index dropped 0.5% while emerging stocks also fell the same amount. China’s key stock index ended 1.9% lower, its biggest fall in two weeks, as Agricultural Bank of China disappointed with a lacklustre Shanghai debut. AgBank, the most active stock, ended up 0.8% at 2.7 yuan compared with its IPO price of 2.68 yuan. The yen rose 0.6% to 87.87 per dollar and the dollar was steady against a basket of major currencies. The Bank of Japan said it expected the economy to grow at its fastest pace in a decade in the year to March 2011, but said the euro zone debt crisis could pose a risk to the outlook. The central bank kept interest rates unchanged at 0.1%, as widely expected. Bund futures rose 15 ticks as falling stocks drew safe-haven demand into government bonds. US crude oil fell 0.6% to $76.57 a barrel. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:19 am Bharat Forge Q1 net to soar on better sales, marginsMumbai: Bharat Forge, the world’s second biggest forgings maker, is expected to report a huge jump in April-June net profit helped by a lower base last year and rising sales. Hurt by the slowdown that engulfed the global auto industry last year, Bharat Forge had reported a meagre net profit of Rs9.6 million on sales of Rs3.5 billion in the first quarter of FY10. A Reuters poll of brokerages expects Bharat Forge to post a net profit of Rs561 million in April-June on a likely rise in sales to Rs5.99 billion. “It’s the base effect,” said Vaishali Jajoo, analyst at Angel Broking, explaining the likely surge in Bharat Forge’s profits. “Many commercial vehicle companies are showing that kind of trend. For Bharat Forge 70-75% of revenues (domestically) come from commercial vehicles. Also, the operating profit margins improved for the company,” Jajoo said. Bharat Forge, which has benefited hugely from the buoyancy in India’s commercial vehicles sector, is one of the largest and most favoured stocks in the $20-billion auto components sector. Fourteen out of 18 analysts covering Bharat Forge have a ‘buy’ or ‘strong buy´ rating on the stock, according to Thomson Reuters estimates. Auto-component makers are expected to report a strong performance this quarter, analysts said. Earlier this week, Exide Industries, India’s top auto battery maker, reported a 35% rise in first quarter profit beating analysts’ expectations, aided by a revival in domestic auto volumes. Car sales in India rose an annual 30.8% in June, as a rapidly expanding economy continues to pull buyers to showrooms. They are expected to rise 12-13% in 2010-11, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. Sales of trucks and buses rose 44% in June to 52,211 units. In May commercial vehicle sales were up 58%. Bharat Forge, which counts top global and Indian auto makers among its clients, gets around 80% of its sales from the automotive business. It aims to raise its higher-margin non-automotive share to 40% by FY12. “A strong topline coupled with a better product mix should augur well,” for Bharat Forge, said Surjit Arora, analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher. The firm, which has a joint venture pact with French nuclear power major Areva, had in June raised around $134 million through a sale of securities to expand non-auto capacity. Arora expects the firm’s quarterly Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) margins to expand by almost 450 basis points from a year ago to 25.4%. Bharat Forge shares, valued at $1.6 billion, has risen over 14% in April-June, compared with a 5.5% rise in the midcap CNX Index. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:18 am Tata Motors June global sales up 46%The figure includes its British luxury unit Jaguar Land Rover, whose sales rose 47% in the month to 20,189 units, the company said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:16 am Food inflation rises to 12.81 per centAfter dropping for two straight weeks, India's annual food inflation rose to 12.81 per cent for the week ended July 3, reflecting the hike in fuel prices in the last week of June which made pulses and cereals costlier.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 2:03 am Fuel inflation eases; RBI rate move eyedNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Fuel inflation eased on lower industrial fuel prices, but food inflation snapped a two-week easing trend in early July, reinforcing expectations for a 25-basis points hike in Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) July policy review.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:42 am Bombay HC rejects Lalit Modi’s petition against BCCIMumbai: The Bombay High Court Thursday rejected the petition filed by suspended IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi seeking reconstitution of the disciplinary committee of BCCI to hear allegations against him relating to irregularities in the conduct of the T20 League. The High Court said that it was not going into the merits of Modi’s petition but disciplinary committee itself can decide on the reconstitution when it meets tomorrow. Modi had said that he wanted the committee of independent persons and not of those who are the members of BCCI, as they would be biased against him. The BCCI’s disciplinary committee comprises interim IPL chairman Chirayu Amin, Arun Jaitley and Jyotiraditya Scindia. Modi was slapped with three showcause notices after his suspension by the BCCI and has replied to all three notices. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:37 am Cabinet approves merger of State Bank of Indore with SBINew Delhi: Decks have been cleared for the merger of State Bank of Indore with its parent State Bank of India, with the Cabinet approving the consolidation of the country’s largest lender today. “Cabinet gave its nod to the merger of State Bank of Indore with SBI,” Information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni told reporters. This will be the second merger of an associate bank with the SBI after a similar exercise with the State Bank of Saurashtra in August 2008. The merger proposal was approved by the central board of SBI last year. Following this, the Centre also gave an in-principle approval. SBI holds 98% stake in State Bank of Indore. SBI has already announced a share swap ratio of 34:100 for the merger. It has agreed to give 34 shares of SBI for every 100 shares of State Bank of Indore held by minority shareholders. For this purpose, SBI would issue up to over 1.16 lakh shares of face value of Rs10 each to minority shareholders of State Bank of Indore. SBI had also said that the issued capital of SBI would increase from Rs634.96 crore to a maximum of Rs635.08 crore after the merger. Following the merger, SBI will be left with five associate banks — State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Patiala, State Bank of Mysore and State Bank of Hyderabad. Among these, the State Banks of Bikaner and Jaipur, Mysore and Travancore are publicly listed companies. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:33 am Food inflation rises to 12.81%; fuel prices up 14.27%In the previous week food inflation was at 12.63% and fuel inflation at 18.02%.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:27 am Food inflation rises to 12.81% - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:11 am Novartis raises forecast on strong first halfSwiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis on Thursday posted net profit growth of 19 percent in the second quarter, prompting it to raise its revenues forecast for the full year.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:06 am Cabinet approves merger of State Bank of Indore with SBINEW DELHI(Reuters) - The cabinet on Thursday approved the merger of State Bank of Indore with State Bank of India, the country's largest lender, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:06 am Sri Lankan refugees tailor their return homeChennai: Strips of cloth, boxes of thread, measuring tape and scissors lie strewn across a room crammed with eight sewing machines, arranged in double file. Six Sri Lankan Tamil girls, all in their mid-20s, pump their pedals sporadically, stirring up a deafening whir every now and then. One of the six, a 24-year-old dressed in a fluorescent-green salwar-kameez adorned with sequins, is working on a floral dress for a toddler. (Like the other Sri Lankan Tamil refugees who spoke to Mint for this article, she spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of police harassment.) Of the six, she is the most prepared to talk about her background—about how, two decades ago, she and her mother and three siblings fled their hometown of Kilinochchi in northern Sri Lanka as the civil war in that country intensified. That night, her family jumped on a fishing boat without her father, hoping to return in a few weeks. The trip to Tamil Nadu, which usually takes 120 minutes, took over eight hours, as the trawler moved with its human cargo at a snail’s pace across the Bay of Bengal, dodging various security outposts. For her, this three-month course in tailoring is, in a way, a hurried bid to unite with her father and build a future that looked dubious even early last year. When the war ended in May 2009, after nearly 30 years of fighting, the possibility of going back to Sri Lanka suddenly grew. With it, the question arose: What could a refugee do after returning to a war-torn home? These vocational courses, run by Organisation for Eelam Refugees Rehabilitation (OfERR), a non-governmental organization that represents Sri Lankan Tamil refugees in India, are a way of answering that question. Tailoring, in fact, is one of the top skills young Tamil refugees are rushing to acquire, as they chart their return to a country all of them have a connection with, but most have no attachment to. “We want to return to Sri Lanka, in maybe two years, as a family, with my mother and brothers,” the tailoring student says. “But I am so used to things in India that I am afraid of going back to the place I have no memory of.” Nearly 75,000 Sri Lankan refugees live in India, most of them in 115 closely monitored camps in Tamil Nadu. A small part of the displaced population is keen to return as soon as this year, says M. Sakkariyas, a refugee himself and an official at OfERR, the only organization allowed into the refugee camps, and they’re “trying to find out if the area they plan to return to is actually safe, by calling relatives, while others are hoping for an organized return sponsored by the Indian and Sri Lankan governments”. Besides the tailoring unit in Chennai, OfERR has been working with another not-for-profit—the Institute for Livelihood Education and Development—for two years, providing training in automobile and electrical repairs, and in sales and marketing, in and around refugee camps in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli, Madurai and Trichy districts. A return to Sri Lanka is, of course, more than simply a matter of earning a living; other complications of a bureaucratic or sentimental nature also exist. Sakkariyas, for instance, finds himself constantly fielding calls from refugees who want to acquire or amend birth, marriage or education certificates ahead of their return. Even the will to return isn’t necessarily uniform. Sakkariyas, a former Sri Lankan government official, escaped to India by sea with his wife and three daughters in 1985, sensing danger to his life. What he hoped would be a short sojourn stretched through a quarter of a century, and like thousands of others, he remained in Tamil Nadu. Now, with one of his daughters married to an Indian and another likely to migrate with her husband to Canada, where Sri Lankan Tamils are a fast-growing group, Sakkariyas is unsure if he would ever want to relocate to Sri Lanka. That is a sentiment another 29-year-old refugee, whose lifetime spanned the war, cannot fathom. This young woman, who is enrolled for a master’s degree in social work at one of Chennai’s top colleges, flew into India via Colombo from Sri Lanka’s Jaffna region in 2008. Soon after the war ended last year, she assumed that all refugees in India would be keen to return, a move that would strengthen their voice in Sri Lanka. “We are a minority, but we were hoping to get our old lives back, rebuild our homes and live with our relatives who return,” she says. Pointedly, as if to hold on to her identity, she always wears a sari, unlike her salwar-kameez-clad peers who grew up in Chennai. “We were expecting a crowd, but I guess I was wrong.” Roughly 800 refugees returned to Sri Lanka from India in 2009, and this year an estimated 1,000 facilitated returns are expected to take place, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was rewarded with a landslide election victory in January following the army’s triumph, has yet to spell out any assurances for the refugees’ return. Rajapaksa juggles several ministries, including defence and finance, and close family members control others; The Economist magazine has described Rajapaksa’s recent ascent as “remorseless”. “Only a regional power like India can put some pressure on its neighbour,” says Ponni Arasu, a lawyer and human rights advocate, about the rehabilitation of Tamil refugees in Sri Lanka. “But we would be very naïve if we reduced the relationship between the two countries to just the refugee issue. We have to also understand that there are a large number of economic issues in play. And in post-war reconstruction, India has several contracts to build roads and flyovers in Sri Lanka.” The fear, for some refugees, is not just of security, but also of assimilation. One 24-year-old chemistry graduate facilitates OfERR’s computer literacy programme, which was inaugurated last year to help Tamil-educated refugees come to grips with the digital world. Nearly 300 displaced Tamils have taken this course, which seeks to treat computer phobia amongst the largely Tamil-speaking refugees. The flexible 25-hour module includes training in Tamil- and English-language typing and Tamil-based word-processor, spreadsheet and Internet use, coupled with aspects of hardware assembly. Within four years, this chemistry graduate is convinced, every refugee will return to Sri Lanka, but he says later that he wouldn’t want to move back himself. He frets about job prospects, and about whether the Sri Lankan government will recognize his degrees. There are other nagging worries. The Tamil he speaks is slightly different from that spoken in Sri Lanka. While he would use the word milagai to describe a chilli, a Sri Lankan Tamil would call it kochikai. What’s soap to him is saukaram in Jaffna. On the other hand, the prospective seamstress, married now for a year to a Sri Lankan Tamil who arrived in India in 2008, is eager to return. The suffocation of living in cluttered refugee camps, devoid of privacy, is one reason she wants to “run away”. In Jaffna, her husband tells her, there’s no water scarcity and there are wide-open spaces. She has grown up hearing her mother lament about exactly that. Her father, who didn’t come with them to India, remains in one of the Sri Lankan military camps. All these years, she has heard from her father only through irregular letters, and even those stopped around four months ago, renewing concerns about his well-being. Her relatives assure her that he is all right. “We’ve been separate for so long,” she says fatalistically, “and the hope is for us to spend at least a few years together.” This is the third in a four-part series on people from neighbouring countries living in India. To read the previous stories in the series, log on to www.livemint.com/neighbours Next: Bangladeshis flock to Kolkata for even the simplest of medical treatment anupama.c@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 1:06 am BOJ sees fastest economic growth in decade in 2010/11TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan forecast emerging markets would help the economy grow 2.6 percent this fiscal year, its fastest pace in a decade, but it warned that Europe's debt woes could pose a risk to the outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:55 am Krishna meets Qureshi; India focuses on terror concernsIslamabad: Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan on Thursday met in the Pakistan capital with an aim to restore trust and increase confidence in bilateral ties, with New Delhi seeking strong action against those involved in 26/11 terror attacks, based on the inputs provided by David Headley. External affairs minister S.M. Krishna, who arrived Islamabad on Wednesday on a three-day visit, met his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi and the two are understood to have discussed bilateral issues, including terrorism. Both Krishna and Qureshi were accompanied by senior officials. While foreign secretary Nirupama Rao and joint secretary in-charge of Pakistan in the ministry of external affairs Yash Sinha were part of Krishna’s team, Pakistan foreign secretary Salman Bashir and spokesman Abdul Basit were part of Qureshi’s delegation. The talks are the second between the foreign ministers since the 2008 Mumbai attacks that left 166 people dead. They had earlier met in New York in September last year. Krishna had on Wednesday asserted that “time has come” when Pakistan needed to act on the “overwhelming evidence” which was of “irrefutable nature” and maintained that “tirade” by jihadi leaders will not “help smoothen” the relations between the two countries. Maintaining that the trial of seven accused in the Mumbai attacks in the Pakistani courts, including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, was moving at a slow pace, India has made it clear that it would like to see an expeditious and successful conclusion of the trial. Krishna’s focus on Headley assumes significance in the backdrop of comments attributed to home secretary G.K. Pillai that evidence based on his interrogation showed that ISI and LeT chief Hafiz Saeed played “a much more significant role” in Mumbai terror attacks than was thought earlier. “I also look forward to receiving feedback on the issues raised by our home minister (P. Chidambaram) during his visit to Pakistan last month on our core concern of terrorism, particularly in the light of the discussions our home minister had in Pakistan in the context of interrogation of David Headley regarding the Mumbai terrorist attack,” Krishna said. On Wednesday, the two foreign ministers had informal exchange of ideas at a dinner hosted by Qureshi. Tasked by their Prime Ministers, who met in Thimphu in April, the ministers, primarily, focused on ways to bridge trust deficit and to enhance confidence by building on various humanitarian issues, including people-to-people contact, exchanges of prisoners and bilateral trade. After his meeting with Qureshi, Krishna will call on Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and President Asif Ali Zardari. Before leaving for home Friday evening, the external affairs minister will meet delegations from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. Earlier, foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit said there is no fixed agenda for the talks and the two ministers will discuss all issues including Kashmir, terrorism and sharing of river waters. “Kashmir is the core issue between the two countries which should be resolved,” he said. Basit hoped the meeting would bring positive results and prepare the ground for a sustained dialogue. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:42 am Rupee dips on mixed cues; dollar eyedMumbai: Rupee eased slightly on Thursday as the dollar’s losses against major units were offset by a seesawing domestic sharemarket that provided little cues on the direction of capital flows. At 10:10 a.m. (0440 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 46.72/73 per dollar, marginally weaker than 46.69/70 at close on Wednesday. “The market is likely to be rangebound between 46.60 to 46.80 today amid lack of flows. The market will watch the dollar index and equity markets for direction,” the chief foreign exchange dealer with a large private sector bank said. The dollar’s index against six major units was down 0.1% and would be watched for cues, dealers said. The Australian dollar and the euro pared their hefty losses on Thursday after Chinese economic data pointed to a mild slowdown, rather than a deeper and more uncontrolled one as some investors had feared. Markets flip-flopped in early trade as investors were cautious after US Federal Reserve gave a downbeat assessment of economic recovery. Foreign fund flows into and out of the stock market have a large influence on the rupee’s fortunes. So far in 2010, foreigners have purchased a net $8.2 billion worth of shares, adding to last year’s record $17.5 billion inflows. “All the markets are dull, suggesting a quiet environment. It could well be the lull before the storm,” said Vikas Chittiprolu, a senior foreign exchange dealer with state-run Andhra Bank. He said dollar supplies were quickly absorbed by oil importers. “We may see equities driving the rupee today,”. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoted at 46.93, weaker than the onshore spot rate. “We could likely see a lot of action later once Europe comes in,” said R. K. Gurumurthy, head of treasury at ING Vysya Bank. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were both at 46.7925, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $500 million. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:41 am China economy slows, still in Beijing's comfort zoneBEIJING (Reuters) - China's economy cooled in the second quarter, a slowdown that is likely to extend over the rest of the year as Beijing steers monetary and fiscal policy back to normal after a record credit surge to counter the global crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:39 am Novartis raises sales goal as new drugs sell wellZurich: Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG raised its full-year sales goal on the back of strong demand for its newest products and stood by its offer to buy out minority shareholders in eyecare group Alcon. Second-quarter earnings per share rose 18% to $1.06, compared with the average forecast for $1.05 in a Reuters poll of analysts, as higher-than-expected demand for its pandemic flu vaccine also boosted its top line. Novartis bumped up its full-year sales guidance and now sees group sales growing at mid- to high-single-digit rates in constant currencies. The group also sees operating and core margins rising as it keeps a close eye on cost control. Sales at its pharmaceuticals unit are still seen growing at a mid-to high-single-digit rate in constant currencies this year and chief executive Joe Jimenez said on a conference call top-selling Diovan was performing well in the face of new generic competition. Novartis shares were indicated to open nearly 1% higher, according to premarket data provided by Clariden Leu. “Very solid Q2 figures. Novartis is doing fine with its productivity initiatives and showed an excellent cost control. The improved sales guidance is a little positive surprise,” DZ Bank analyst Thomas Maul said in a note. Novartis, which agreed to buy a 77% stake in Alcon from Nestle in two stages, is holding firm on its offer of 2.8 Novartis shares for each Alcon share despite fierce opposition from Alcon’s independent director committee. The bid, which equates to $142.4 per Alcon share, is significantly below both the average price of $168 paid to Nestle and Alcon’s Wednesday closing price of $156.11. Novartis is buying Alcon to diversify and insulate itself from the effects of losing patent protection on big selling medicines such as blood pressure drug Diovan, but many analysts have said it is paying too much for the deal. The group still expects its purchase of the majority stake to close either late in the third quarter or in the fourth quarter, and Novartis still plans to push through buying the remaining 23% under Swiss law, Jimenez said. Swiss mergers require approval of two-thirds of shareholders and a simple board majority. Novartis, which is kicking off Big Pharma’s reporting season, trades at around 9.4 times 2011 earnings, at a discount to Swiss rival Roche Holding AG, but at a premium to AstraZeneca Plc and GlaxoSmithKline Plc thanks to its promising pipeline. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:33 am Hindustan Media IPO issue price 166 rupees/shareThe publisher of the third biggest Hindi daily in India had received 73.8 million bids, mostly towards the lower end of the price band, and the offering was subscribed 5.34 times.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:24 am Fuel inflation eases; RBI rate move eyedNew Delhi: India’s fuel inflation eased on lower industrial fuel prices, but food inflation snapped a two-week easing trend in early July, reinforcing expectations for a 25-basis points hike in the Reserve Bank of India’s July policy review. Headline inflation in June was 10.55%, data released on Wednesday showed. The fuel price index rose 14.27% compared with the previous week’s 18.02%, while food price index rose an annual 12.81% in the year to 3 July against its 12.63% reading in the previous week. Food inflation edged up marginally because of higher rice and wheat prices, data showed. The RBI is widely expected to raise key policy rates by 25 bps in its policy review later this month, after three rate hikes this year, including a 25-bps raise in key policy rates on 2 July. Analysts say the sharp revisions in the headline inflation number in March and April have maintained the case for further monetary tightening by the central bank on 27 July and even after that. The RBI could raise the repo rate, the rate at which it lends to banks by another 50 bps by the end of December, a Reuters poll of 21 economists showed. India’s April headline inflation number was revised to 11.23% against 9.59% earlier, government data showed on Wednesday. “I won’t be surprised if the June numbers will be revised to 10.8 or 11%. Given the fuel price increase, I don’t see any reason for headline inflation to be less than 11% in June,” said N R Bhanumurthy, professor at New Delhi-based think-tank National Institute of Public Finance and Policy. The yield on India’s benchmark bond was unmoved at 7.62% after the data. Key policymakers have been saying that food prices will moderate by the end of this year, betting on good monsoons and strong harvest to cool the prices from the high levels touched towards the end of last year, when the worst drought in 37 years hit farm output. But, this may not be enough to bring down headline inflation to the 5% to 6% level by December projected by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A Reuters poll of 21 economists showed that a high expected growth rate of 8.4% for the fiscal year that ends in March 2011 is expected to keep headline inflation elevated at 8.6% in the same period. With over 40% of India’s 1.2 billion people living on under $1.25 a day, high prices are a liability for the ruling Congress party which could see a voter backlash in about a dozen state elections later this year and next. The hike in fuel prices saw some of the largest protests in recent years and rallied together the often-squabbling opposition parties against the government. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:08 am Licence fee: DoT rejects BSNL plea for level fieldThe Department of Telecom has rejected Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd's request seeking a level playing field with the private operators on the issue of paying of licence fees and spectrumSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am HDFC net rises 23% on higher interest incomeHousing finance major HDFC Ltd posted a net profit of Rs 695 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2010, an increase of 23 per cent over Rs 565 crore in the same period lastSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Firms go for ‘alumni hiring' to woo talent backWith companies back in the growth mode, employees who quit, voluntarily or involuntarily, are likely to be seen on old turfs again. Boomerang hiring or alumni hiring will be one of the pipelines that talent managers would look into to strengthenSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Serum Institute launches nasal vaccine for swine fluAs swine flu continues to take a steady toll, the country's largest vaccine-maker, Serum Institute, has rolled out its indigenously developed intra-nasal vaccine, Nasovac, to prevent H1N1 infection or swineSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideInitiate fresh long position if the stock climbs above the key resistance level of Rs 900 with stiffSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am L&T set to bag Rs 12,132-cr Hyderabad metro rail projectConstruction major L&T is all set to bag the mandate to develop the Rs12,132-crore Hyderabad Metro Rail Project Ltd (HMRL), by virtue of seeking the lowest viability gap funding (VGF) support of Rs 1,458Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Piramal Healthcare sells diagnostics biz to SRLPiramal Healthcare has formalised the sale of its Rs 200-crore diagnostics business to Super Religare Laboratories Ltd (SRL) for Rs 600Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am 3 killed as protest at power plant site turns violentThree persons were killed and several injured, including policemen and media persons, as the protests by the local people against the proposed thermal power plant by Nagarjuna Construction Company (NCC) near Sompeta in Srikakulam district turnedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Lloyd Electric (Rs 86.8): BuyInvestors with short-term perspective can buy the stock of Lloyd Electric and Engineering. It is seen from the charts of the stock that it has been on an intermediate-term uptrend since its March 2009 low of Rs 13.6, forming higher peaks andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am NYSE Euronext woos cos with ‘London listing'A London listing — especially on the London Stock Exchange — has long had a prestige like no other when it comes to international companies looking to list abroad, Essar Energy's April $1.9-billion IPO being a primeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Bank of Maharashtra says govt infuses Rs5.88 billionThe instrument used is perpetual non-cumulative preference shares with an annual floating coupon amounting to the repo rate plus a spread of 100 basis points, readjusted each year, the bank said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:45 pm Taxi strike in West Bengal on - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:33 pm Govt may sell stake in ONGC, IOC: SundareshanNew Delhi: The government may sell stake in Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Indian Oil Corp., petroleum secretary S. Sundareshan said on Thursday. “These are interesting ideas in the case of ONGC and Indian Oil and we are looking into this,” he told CNBC-TV18 on the scope of stake sale in state-run oil firms. “The scope of this (stake sale) does not exist in the case of Hindustan Petroleum Corp., Bharat Petroleum Corp. and GAIL (India), where the holding of the government is 51% to 57%.” India plans to sell government stake in 60 firms in next few years and aims to raise Rs400 billion in the current fiscal ending March 2011 to fund its social welfare schemes and infrastructure programmes. The government currently holds 74.14% stake in in ONGC and about 79% in IOC. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:27 pm Markets flip-flop; banks down, Infosys upMumbai: Shares were choppy on Thursday as investors adjusted their positions after a sharp rally, and subdued Asian markets cast a long shadow. The Federal Reserve’s suggestion that additional measures may be needed if an already softening US economic outlook took a turn for the worse and slower growth in China also put the brakes on stocks buying. China’s annual economic growth slowed to 10.3% in the second quarter from 11.9% in the first quarter, a touch weaker than expected, in response to credit curbs and the fading of fiscal stimulus. Financials led the losers with the banking sector index dropping 0.1% after gaining 5.2% over past five sessions. Mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp was down 0.8% at Rs3,051. Top lender State Bank of India dropped 0.5% while rival HDFC Bank shed 1.1%. By 11:09 a.m., the 30-share BSE index was trading up 0.11% at 17,957.55 points, with 13 of its components gaining. “The market is just consolidating,” said R.K. Gupta, managing director of Taurus Mutual Fund. “The sentiment is cautious, but not worrying.” The benchmark, which had climbed to its highest in nearly two-and-a-half years on Wednesday, is up 2.8% so far this year outperforming the broader MSCI’s measure of Asian shares other than Japan which has dipped nearly 4% in the year to date. Foreign funds who have been chasing domestic plays have poured $8.2 billion into Indian equities this year, data from the exchange regulator showed. India has taken in 59% of the net foreign buying seen so far in 2010 in emerging Asia, excluding China and Malaysia. Credit Suisse said. Reliance Communications was down 0.9% after the Economic Times reported the telecom operator may have to lower the value of its tower assets being sold to GTL Infrastructure. Top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services was down 0.7% ahead of its results scheduled after market hours. A Reuters poll showed analysts expect TCS to report a 15.6% rise in net profit. IT bellwether Infosys Technologies rose 0.4% after disappointing quarterly result had sent the stock down 5.3% over two sessions. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.5:1 on volume of 110 million shares. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.1% at 5,389.05. The MSCI’s measure of Asian shares other than Japan was down 0.4% while Japan’s Nikkei shed 1%. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:21 pm BP runs crucial test on Gulf oil leakHouston: BP Plc was running a crucial test on Thursday on its ruptured Gulf of Mexico oil well that could stanch the flow of crude that has polluted the ocean and shoreline since April. BP began the process on Wednesday night, which could stretch up to 48 hours. The British energy giant began the tests after getting the green light from top US government officials who had delayed the plan by 24 hours on concerns the process could irreparably damage the well. If tests, which will be assessed every six hours, show that closing the cap might cause further damage to the well, the capping device could instead be used as part of a complex system to capture the oil and siphon it to ships on the surface. Kent Wells, BP’s senior vice president of exploration and production, said undersea robots working a mile (1.6 km) below the surface had started shutting a series of three valves designed to ultimately stop the oil flow completely. Critically, BP has closed the main valve in the middle of the cap, “and we no longer have flow out the top,” Wells said. BP said late on Wednesday it had isolated a leak it detected in a line connected to one of the valves and was repairing it before proceeding with the test. The developments will be watched by investors on Thursday as BP’s ultimate costs may hinge on how much oil is judged to have flown freely into the Gulf. The disaster is the largest offshore oil spill in US history. On Wednesday, shares in BP ended 2.3% down in London in slow trading and were off about 1.9% in New York, with some analysts saying investors were likely cashing in profits ahead of further news on the new cap. After losing over half of its market value at one point in the wake of the 20 April rig explosion that killed 11 workers and unleashed a flow of crude, its share price had been staging a rally, spurred by talk that company executives were seeking investors and optimism of a turning point in the spill. day of intense deliberation that reached the level of President Barack Obama and his Cabinet, reflecting the stakes involved. Retired Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen, who is overseeing the US response to the spill, has said if tests show the well can withstand certain pressures, odds are good it could be “shut in” indefinitely. The disaster has soiled hundreds of miles (km) of shoreline, shut down about a third of Gulf fisheries, put BP on the hook for billions of dollars in cleanup costs and legal liabilities and prompted Obama to temporarily halt deepwater drilling. Anger over spill Anger among Americans over the failure to halt the spill added to Obama’s political problems, distracting him from his legislative agenda and denting his popularity as his Democratic Party faces tough congressional elections in November. In Buras, Louisiana, crabber Larry Tew said he was hopeful about the cap tests. “I think it’s going to work. ... I mean, they don’t have any other choice,” he said. At least some of the oil from the well has been siphoned off to ships in the past few weeks, but that operation was halted while the tests are undertaken. BP has said by the end of July four vessels can be hooked up and collect up to 80,000 barrels (3.34 million gallons/12.7 million liters) per day. That should be more than enough to capture the whole well output, as estimates put the spill rate between 35,000 barrels and 60,000 barrels a day. The only proven way to kill the leak lies in the drilling of relief wells to intercept the ruptured one. The first of two such wells started in May is expected to intercept it by the end of July and plug by mid-August. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:13 pm Bringing transparency backThe Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) filed an affidavit before the Delhi high court last week, contending that the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was a public entity—in that a majority of its shareholding was held by the government or government-owned entities. This was in response to an NSE plea before the high court that the stock exchange was not bound by the Right to Information Act, and hence not bound to disclose details about its functioning. After Sebi’s affidavit, NSE has claimed that governmental entities do not own a majority in it. The question then is: Who owns NSE, the platform that decides the market capitalization of all major listed companies—one which has an overwhelming presence in the determination of what is happening in India’s financial markets? If media reports are to be believed, the majority ownership rests with foreign entities. Either Sebi is not aware of all this, or those changes in ownership took place behind the back of both Sebi and the finance ministry. In short, this is also the question agitating both the media and Parliament when it comes to franchise ownerships of the Indian Premier League (IPL): Who are the owners, what are their financial credentials, has there been round tripping of funds, have commissions been paid or matches been fixed? Perhaps NSE is equally, if not more, important. Consider another example. The National Highways Authority of India issues tenders for national highways projects. Any entity wishing to submit bids has to satisfy a number of conditions, as set out in a draft concession agreement that has been developed assiduously over three years. One of the stipulations is that the bidding entity should own at least 51% stake in the executing entity and that it cannot divest its 51% stake from the executing body for at least three years after the successful bid. However, there is no stipulation on the ownership of the bidding entity—that is to say, as long as the executing entity is owned 51% by the bidding entity, the latter can change hands freely, as many times as needed. Is this what we had in mind while looking for transparency in corporate governance? In short, the IPL saga has only brought to light the different legal structures that we have allowed to proliferate in this country over the last few years—which have ended up reducing corporate transparency, boosting flow of funds through tax havens and entities, and establishing complex mechanisms to avoid detection and taxation. It is also clear that most of these are legal, in the sense they comply with existing laws; yet are anti-public and anti-national in the sense that they have allowed corporate entities to get away with structures and actions certainly not in the public interest. Nothing will come of investigations into such structures, for they would all be shown to be legitimate and legal. The debate over participatory notes a few years ago was the beginning of this problem, followed by the government’s recognition that entities registered in tax havens are legitimate sources for even public-private partnerships—bodies that involve substantial stakes in public funds. To put it bluntly, this is our subprime crisis—a disaster, but also an opportunity to clean up the mess that we have created for ourselves. It is perhaps a lesson that we can draw from the US that in spite of powerful lobbies and strong advocacy, the administration is determined to bring in regulation into the financial sector. The IPL and other stories should be an opportunity to bring in similar regulatory oversight into the functioning of the corporate sector. Among the first of these could well be regarding the holding company structure for raising funds and making investments. Sebi is already reported to be addressing this issue. However, this needs to be extended to unlisted entities as well. In the area of infrastructure financing, for roads and ports and other construction projects, a number of entities are being set up with cross holdings to separate risk from project to project while retaining control through a web of cross holdings. A second regulatory oversight, perhaps through both the ministries of corporate affairs and finance, is a requirement that would make equity and debt of all the related entities transparent. There should be no attempt to push project financing liabilities away into undertakings that insulate the promoter from damage. Third is, of course, through the tax authorities. They must develop some confidence that all their raids and investigations do lead to the discovery of illegal acts and the eventual penalty for them. Why not put out a list of taxes collected from or penalties levied on suspect companies as a result of searches and seizures in the past? Even the wider public can then take up the hunt for wrongdoing and a drive for corporate cleanliness. S. Narayan, a senior research fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies, Singapore, is a former finance secretary. We welcome your comments at policytrack@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 11:10 pm Rupee weakens by 4 paise against dollar in early tradeThe rupee had ended 7 paise higher at 46.69/70 a dollar in the previous session.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:49 pm Market recovers 40 points in opening tradeMajor support to the market came in from the auto, oil and gas, banking and metal sector stocks.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:45 pm Wall Street bill nears the finish line in CongressWashington: The broadest overhaul of US financial rules since the Great Depression is likely to clear a crucial hurdle in Congress on Thursday, paving the way for President Barack Obama to sign the measure into law. Democrats are expected to muster the 60 votes they need -- if just barely -- to advance the legislation in a vote likely to take place around 11a.m. Final approval in Congress could come soon after, though Republicans who oppose the measure could delay a final vote until Friday evening. The House of Representatives has already approved the bill, which tightens regulation across the financial industry in an effort to avoid a repeat of the 2007-2009 financial crisis. With Republicans poised for big gains in the November congressional elections, Democrats are eager to show voters that they are cracking down on an industry that touched off the worst recession in 70 years. The bill “substantially reduces the risk the financial markets will cause the economy to implode again, and it empowers consumers and small businesses to make better financial choices”, Democratic Senator Dick Durbin said on the Senate floor on Wednesday. It is not clear whether voters will give them credit. Nearly half of those surveyed in a Bloomberg poll released on Tuesday believe the bill will do more to protect the financial industry than consumers, while only 38% believe it will protect consumers more. A Washington Post/ABC News poll also released on Tuesday found 50% disapproving of the way Obama has handled financial reform, with 44% approving. The bill has also won Democrats few friends on Wall Street as wealthy donors have started to steer more campaign contributions to Republicans. Few corners of industry untouched The Dodd-Frank bill -- named for chief authors Senator Christopher Dodd and Representative Barney Frank -- leaves few corners of the financial industry untouched. Mortgage brokers, student lenders and other financial firms would have to answer to a new consumer-protection authority, though auto dealers will escape scrutiny. Regulators will have new power to seize and dismantle troubled firms and impose leverage limits on firms that threaten financial stability. Large banks would face new limits on risky trading activities, and many would have to set aside more capital to help them ride out times of crisis. Large private-equity and hedge funds will face more scrutiny from federal regulators, and credit-rating agencies could potentially see their entire business model upended. Much of the $615 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market will be routed through more accountable and transparent channels, and banks would have to spin off the riskiest of their swaps clearing desk operations. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:39 pm Subdued AgBank debut casts doubt over fundraisingsShanghai: Agricultural Bank of China’s $22 billion IPO made a lacklustre debut in Shanghai, underscoring the challenges ahead for China’s markets as other big banks look to tap investors for billions of dollars in funds. AgBank’s listing caps years of planning and preparation, completing its transformation from technical insolvency to a sprawling giant with assets of around $1.2 trillion and a customer base of 320 million — larger than the population of the United States. However, it comes against a less-than-ideal backdrop of a weak stock market, questions over economic growth and rival banks returning to capital markets to supplement their coffers after a state-decreed lending spree last year. “Apparently, investors think the AgBank IPO was overvalued, and the only reason it isn’t falling is that it’s a political task to keep it above the IPO price,” said Qiu Zhicheng, an analyst at Guosen Securities Co in Shanghai. “This is not good for other banks’ fundraisings going forward.” AgBank shares were up 0.8% to 2.70 yuan ($0.40) by mid-day on Thursday, versus its IPO price of 2.68 yuan. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had expected the stock to gain about 5% to 2.81 yuan or less. The Hong Kong shares list on Friday and are seen making similarly modest gains. Low key approach AgBank, which is aiming to raise a record $22 billion after exercising an overallotment option, took a low-key approach to its listing, not opening the debut ceremony to foreign media. Chairman Xiang Junbo marked the occasion by giving a crystal model of AgBank’s Beijing headquarters to the head of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, who gave Xiang a bronze opening gong in return, live television pictures showed. Investors around the country watched the debut of the last of China’s “Big Four” lenders to go public closely, looking for signs of whether the beleaguered stock market might find relief after shedding about a fourth of its value so far this year. At one brokerage in downtown Shanghai, individual investors, many of them retirees, swapped theories on how much the government was controlling the stock market while watching with disappointment as AgBank’s share price failed to take off. However, some retail investors looked to AgBank’s modest day-one performance as a positive sign for the long run. “A debut like this means the stock price will soon choose a direction, and I think it’s more likely to rise,” said Tony Shu, a lawyer who bought 20,000 shares in the IPO. “I won’t sell AgBank until it reaches 3 yuan, which I think is very possible,” he said. The lacklustre debut for China’s third-largest bank by assets weighed on other banking stocks, despite encouraging economic data that showed inflation stayed in check in June. The main stock index fell by 0.4% in morning trade. AgBank has a 5.3% weighting in the index, making it the third-biggest component. A weak performance in its first days of trade could bode ill for upcoming fundraisings by peers including Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and Bank of China, who are returning to capital markets to raise tens of billions of dollars to supplement their capital. Fundraisings in focus The debut bucked the typical trend, registering a much smaller price gain than its rival banks, whose shares jumped up to one-third in their first day of trading in Shanghai. ICBC shares rose 5% on its first day of trading in Shanghai in October 2006, compared with 23% for Bank of China also in 2006 and 32% for China Construction Bank (CCB) in 2007. After exercising its over-allotment, ICBC raised $21.9 billion, which stands as the world largest IPO to date. AgBank, chaired by former soldier and scriptwriter Xiang Junbo, was founded by Mao Zedong in 1951 and now has some 441,000 employees in more than 23,000 branches. Investors have cast doubt over Chinese banks’ growth prospects after last year’s lending spree weakened their balance sheets and threatened asset quality. AgBank has said it would grow at a faster pace than its major rivals, reporting on Tuesday a 40% jump in first-half net profit. AgBank, which was technically insolvent just three years ago and had non-performing loans of around 24%, sold 22.2 billion yuan-denominated shares in Shanghai at the top of an indicated range. The Hong Kong deal priced in the middle of its original range. AgBank has sold 40% of the Shanghai offering to 27 strategic investors including China Life Insurance and China State Construction. They are subject to lock-up periods of 12-18 months. Eleven cornerstone investors have been selected for its Hong Kong share offering, including Qatar Investment Authority and Kuwait Investment Authority, taking a combined $5.45 billion worth of shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:26 pm Oil falls for 2nd day on China slowdown, Fed minutesSingapore: Oil fell for a second day on Thursday to below $77 after a slowdown in Chinese economic growth in the second quarter and US Federal Reserve minutes renewed concerns about the recovery of the world economy. Annual gross domestic product growth in China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, moderated to 10.3% in the second quarter from 11.9% in the first quarter, slightly below forecasts of 10.5% growth. Front-month US crude fell as much as 54 cents to $76.50 a barrel and was down 42 cents at $76.62 at 0407 GMT, after touching a two-week high of $78.15 on Wednesday. ICE Brent shed 34 cents on Thursday to $76.43. “We believe the international economic recovery will continue, but it will be a fairly rocky road,” said David Moore, an analyst at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. “Sentiment is quite fragile and dependent on the economic data flow. The Chinese and US data will dominate the near term direction,” Moore said. Prices this year have traded in a range of less than $23, peaking just above $87 in early May before tumbling to below $65 on 20 May. The Chinese government has this year steered monetary and fiscal policy back to normal after a record credit surge last year to counter the global crisis. Asian stocks virtually erased losses after the Chinese economic indicators showed concerns abut a steep slowdown in the world’s third-largest economy were overblown. Inflation at the producer and consumer level eased in June from May, reducing the need for further policy tightening. But other data from China suggested that curbs on lending to home buyers and local authorities, along with an ebbing of government stimulus spending and an end to inventory rebuilding, were biting with greater force as the quarter drew to a close. Oil market participants also awaited US economic indicators, including industrial output, due later on Thursday. A bearish tone prevailed after Fed minutes on Wednesday showed officials last month felt they should be ready to consider additional steps to boost the US economy if an already softening outlook took a noticeable turn for the worse. That countered news of a drop in US crude stockpiles, which last week plunged a greater-than-expected 5 million barrels for the second straight week, as crude imports declined and refinery demand rose, according to US Energy Information Administration statistics released on Wednesday. Crude inventories at the key Cushing, Oklahoma delivery point for New York Mercantile Exchange oil futures rose 314,000 barrels to 36.1 million barrels. Gasoline and distillate inventories at a nationwide level rose more than expected, by 1.6 million barrels and 2.9 million barrels respectively. BP Plc on Wednesday started a crucial test on its ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico that could lead to halting the flow of crude that has polluted the ocean and shoreline since April. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:19 pm Honda to focus on hybrids, drop microcar plant: paperTokyo: Honda Motor Co, Japan’s No.2 automaker, will drop plans to build a new minivehicle factory and focus on its green vehicles business, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. Soon after the global financial crisis hit in 2008, Honda had announced plans to delay construction of the Yorii factory, north of Tokyo, and a plant for 660cc minivehicles at subsidiary Yachiyo Industry Co, both originally scheduled to start production in 2010. Honda had initially planned to build clean-diesel and other fuel-saving vehicles at the Yorii factory, but has since abandoned the development of clean diesel engines, planning instead to come up with a new hybrid system to boost fuel economy on its bigger vehicles. A Honda spokeswoman declined to confirm the report. The Nikkei said the Yorii factory would likely begin production in 2013, in line with Honda’s latest plan to start in or after 2012. The paper also said Honda would review its strategy on minivehicles, with a market limited to Japan. Honda, which had earmarked about ¥50 billion ($565 million) to build the minivehicle plant in western Japan, plans to stop developing commercial-use minivehicles to narrow its product line, the paper said. Honda chief executive Takanobu Ito, who took his post about a year ago, has said he wanted to accelerate the roll-out of hybrid cars as environmental regulations tighten around the world. He is scheduled to brief on Honda’s medium-term strategy at a news conference next Tuesday. Honda’s shares were down 0.9% at ¥2,717 in early trade, in line with other auto stocks and the broader market. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:14 pm Honda to focus on hybrids, drop microcar plant: paperTokyo: Honda Motor Co, Japan’s No.2 automaker, will drop plans to build a new minivehicle factory and focus on its green vehicles business, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. Soon after the global financial crisis hit in 2008, Honda had announced plans to delay construction of the Yorii factory, north of Tokyo, and a plant for 660cc minivehicles at subsidiary Yachiyo Industry Co, both originally scheduled to start production in 2010. Honda had initially planned to build clean-diesel and other fuel-saving vehicles at the Yorii factory, but has since abandoned the development of clean diesel engines, planning instead to come up with a new hybrid system to boost fuel economy on its bigger vehicles. A Honda spokeswoman declined to confirm the report. The Nikkei said the Yorii factory would likely begin production in 2013, in line with Honda’s latest plan to start in or after 2012. The paper also said Honda would review its strategy on minivehicles, with a market limited to Japan. Honda, which had earmarked about ¥50 billion ($565 million) to build the minivehicle plant in western Japan, plans to stop developing commercial-use minivehicles to narrow its product line, the paper said. Honda chief executive Takanobu Ito, who took his post about a year ago, has said he wanted to accelerate the roll-out of hybrid cars as environmental regulations tighten around the world. He is scheduled to brief on Honda’s medium-term strategy at a news conference next Tuesday. Honda’s shares were down 0.9% at ¥2,717 in early trade, in line with other auto stocks and the broader market. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:14 pm AIG names Miller chairman, Golub resignsNew York: American International Group Inc named director Robert “Steve” Miller as its new chairman, replacing Harvey Golub who resigned after clashing with chief executive Robert Benmosche over the botched sale of the insurer’s Asian life unit. AIG is set to move forward with an initial public offering for the Asian unit, AIA Group Ltd, a source familiar with the situation said. “Bob Benmosche has informed the board that he believes our working relationship as Chairman and CEO to be ineffective and unsustainable,” Golub, 71, wrote in a 14 July letter to George Miles, an AIG director. “At this point, I view asking the board to choose between us would be an abdication of my responsibility to lead,” Golub said. “Consequently, I’m resigning for the simple reason I believe it is easier to replace a chairman than a CEO.” Golub, a former American Express CEO, and Miller were nominated to AIG’s board last year by the government, which owns nearly 80% of the insurer. A turnaround specialist, Miller, 68, has come out of retirement several times to work with troubled companies in many industries. His expertise would be useful for AIG, which is trying to restructure operations after receiving a $182.3 billion rescue from the US government. Miller served in a number of corporate restructuring situations, heading Delphi Corp, Bethlehem Steel, Federal-Mogul, Waste Management and Morrison Knudsen. He was also a director at UAL Corp during its reorganization. He retired as executive chairman of Delphi in 2009 and is chairman of MidOcean Partners, a New York private equity that specializes in middle market investments. He is also a director of Symantec Corp and UAL. “AIG has established strong momentum over the last year,” Miller said in a statement. “We remain fully committed to delivering on AIG’s core priorities: repaying taxpayers, meeting all of the company’s obligations to its various stakeholders, and restructuring the company so that it emerges as a smaller, more focused enterprise worthy of investor confidence.” Tensions in boardroom Golub was named AIG’s nonexecutive chairman in August 2009 to replace Edward Liddy. At the time Benmosche said Golub would help AIG “realize the true value” of its businesses “for the benefit of all of our stakeholders, including clients, employees and the US government.” Tensions between the two, however, built up over over the future of AIA. AIG was well on its way to doing an IPO of the unit when Britain’s Prudential Plc stepped in with an offer to buy it for $35.5 billion, but the deal soon ran into trouble. Benmosche was in the favor of selling the business to Prudential on revised terms, which included a cut in the price, but was overruled by the board, which lost confidence in the British insurer’s ability to close the deal. That led to tensions within the boardroom, with media reports saying that Benmosche told the board at a meeting last month he wanted Golub to leave the company and would himself resign if that did not happen. A source told Reuters on 1 July that the mood subsequently took “a conciliatory direction,” but that was not to be. Golub said in the letter that it was easier for the company to find a new chairman at a time when it was in the midst of a major corporate restructuring and developing an exit plan from government control, “both of which involve executing a long list of difficult tasks.” “I appreciate the support I’ve received from my fellow directors and their desire to have me remain as chairman,” Golub said, who also resigned as AIG director. AIG’s board was scheduled to meet on Wednesday and a public float for AIA was seen as the most likely outcome, sources told Reuters previously. AIA, seen as AIG’s Asian crown jewel, is a key cog in the bailed-out insurer’s plans to repay US taxpayers, who are owed more than $100 billion. Chances of an AIA IPO were bolstered after strong institutional demand for Agricultural Bank of China’s roughly $20 billion IPO. Banking sources have previously told Reuters AIG could sell up to a 50% stake in AIA to raise up to $15 billion through a Hong Kong listing. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 10:12 pm Auto, furniture stocks affect US marketsHere’s what moved markets on Wednesday: total retail sales figures for June came in weaker than expected, slipping 0.5%, due to a slump in auto sales. Sales at petrol stations dropped 2% while furniture sales fell for a third straight month and building materials saw a downturn in sales for a second straight month. In the six months prior to May, total retail sales had been increasing at a average monthly rate of 0.6%. Since consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity, this gauge is considered a barometer of the country’s economic health and reiterates that the recovery continues to be choppy. In housing, mortgage applications to buy a new home sank to its lowest in 13 years. Much of the sluggishness came after April 30, which is when a homebuyer tax credit expired. Minutes from the June Federal Reserve meeting showed policymakers acknowledged a slowing economic recovery with GDP forecasted to grow between 3 –3.5% versus an earlier forecast of 3.2%-3.7%. Markets ended the day relatively flat as a result of the news. Europe ended mixed while Asian indices ended the day in the green. In commodities, US light crude oil for August delivery fell 16 cents to $76.99 a barrel while gold fell $3.80 to $1,209.60 per ounce. In bonds, the 10-year note fell to 3.05% from 3.12% on Tuesday. vaishali.j@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 9:57 pm Apple to hold iPhone press conference FridaySan Francisco: Apple Inc has called a surprise press conference for Friday to talk about the iPhone 4, as the company continues to deal with fallout from reported reception problems on its popular smartphone. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said late on Wednesday the company would hold the event at 10 a.m. on Friday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. He declined to provide further details, or to say whether the event will address the signal-strength problems that some people have reported having with the iPhone 4 when the device is held in a certain way. Apple has faced mounting criticism from analysts and consumers over its handling of complaints about the reception issues on the newest iPhone, which was launched last month. Analysts say Apple has created a public relations headache for itself by appearing to dismiss or ignore the problem, allowing a minor issue to be turned into headline news. Although most analysts believe a recall of the device is unlikely, a growing chorus have urged Apple to resolve the matter, perhaps by offering free iPhone cases, which appear to solve the problem. The iPhone 4 has been an unqualified hit with consumers, and sales have so far been unaffected by the controversy, analysts say. Apple sold 1.7 million units in its first three days to become the fastest selling device in the company’s history. But scattered reports cropped up early on from users who complained about decreased signal strength when they touched certain parts of the phone. The company has been sued by several consumers over the matter. Still, the problem does not appear to be widespread. Earlier this month, Apple issued a statement, saying the problem was caused by a software glitch that overstates network signal strength. But some found that explanation wanting. Many who follow the company believe the problem is with the hardware itself. A steel band runs along the outside of the iPhone 4 and acts as the antenna. The influential publication Consumer Reports said on Monday it could not recommend the iPhone 4 to buyers because of problems with its signal-strength. It has called on Apple to provide a free fix to iPhone 4 buyers. Shares of Apple closed up 0.4% at $252.73 on Nasdaq on Wednesday. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 9:46 pm Apple to hold iPhone press conference FridaySan Francisco: Apple Inc has called a surprise press conference for Friday to talk about the iPhone 4, as the company continues to deal with fallout from reported reception problems on its popular smartphone. Apple spokesman Steve Dowling said late on Wednesday the company would hold the event at 10 a.m. on Friday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. He declined to provide further details, or to say whether the event will address the signal-strength problems that some people have reported having with the iPhone 4 when the device is held in a certain way. Apple has faced mounting criticism from analysts and consumers over its handling of complaints about the reception issues on the newest iPhone, which was launched last month. Analysts say Apple has created a public relations headache for itself by appearing to dismiss or ignore the problem, allowing a minor issue to be turned into headline news. Although most analysts believe a recall of the device is unlikely, a growing chorus have urged Apple to resolve the matter, perhaps by offering free iPhone cases, which appear to solve the problem. The iPhone 4 has been an unqualified hit with consumers, and sales have so far been unaffected by the controversy, analysts say. Apple sold 1.7 million units in its first three days to become the fastest selling device in the company’s history. But scattered reports cropped up early on from users who complained about decreased signal strength when they touched certain parts of the phone. The company has been sued by several consumers over the matter. Still, the problem does not appear to be widespread. Earlier this month, Apple issued a statement, saying the problem was caused by a software glitch that overstates network signal strength. But some found that explanation wanting. Many who follow the company believe the problem is with the hardware itself. A steel band runs along the outside of the iPhone 4 and acts as the antenna. The influential publication Consumer Reports said on Monday it could not recommend the iPhone 4 to buyers because of problems with its signal-strength. It has called on Apple to provide a free fix to iPhone 4 buyers. Shares of Apple closed up 0.4% at $252.73 on Nasdaq on Wednesday. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 9:46 pm AIG names Robert Miller chairman, Harvey Golub resignsGolub, a former American Express CEO, and Miller were nominated to AIG's board last year by the government, which owns nearly 80% of the insurer.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 9:30 pm Apple to hold iPhone press conference FridayApple spokesperson Steve Dowling said late on Wednesday the company would hold the event at 10 a.m. on Friday at its headquarters in Cupertino, California.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 9:19 pm PSU price-fix mutes fuel decontrol - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 14 Jul 2010 | 5:33 pm Ministries locked in mining bill warSteel ministry wants power of 'prior approval' to continue; Mining min wants cos -- pvt & public -- to win mines through biddingSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Jul 2010 | 2:32 pm Petrol price review every monthGovernment-controlled oil marketing companies (OMCs) today decided to review retail prices of petrol on a monthly basis. However, the date for the next price review and the mechanism to fix the price are yet to be finalised.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Jul 2010 | 1:22 pm NHAI may go bankrupt in three years: Plan panelA report by a senior official in the Planning Commission has said the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is heading towards bankruptcy, as its debt is set to increase five times in the next three years.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Jul 2010 | 1:20 pm All essential drugs may come under price controlThe Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers has initiated a move to bring all essential medicines sold in the country under a price cap.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Jul 2010 | 1:18 pm In TN, mixing Tamil and tech to boost computingChennai: It’s a recent—almost chauvinistic—fad with mobile phone retailers in Tamil Nadu. They no longer just write cellphones in Tamil for their advertising. They use selpesi, kaipesi or alaipesi, roughly translating into walkie-talkie, handset and wireless phone—the coinages earning their existence from new Tamil technical dictionaries. It’s been a quest for the International Academy for Internet Tamil, earlier known as the Tamil Virtual University, to come up with Tamil words for all scientific and technical terms. The academy has published 10 of 14 planned Tamil technical dictionaries in the past two years and hopes to complete the remaining over the next three months, all at a total cost of Rs32 lakh. “The publications will have to be updated on a continuous basis, based on technological developments and evolution in usage,” says academy director P.R. Nakkeeran. A case in point is the word computer. For some time now, it’s been called kanipori in Tamil. “But somewhere along the way, we Net enthusiasts felt it didn’t quite capture the essence of an efficient, thinking, versatile machine, and so started calling it kanini,” says T.N.C. Venkata Rangan, a founding member of the International Forum for Information Technology in Tamil (Infitt). The dictionaries were originally associated with a lobby that called for making Tamil the medium of instruction in all engineering colleges in the state. The Net enthusiasts now see a larger calling for these word guides. Rangan says there’s a potential user base of 60 million people—the population of Tamil Nadu. Besides, Tamil’s an official language in Malaysia and Singapore, the countries having a sizeable population of immigrants from the south Indian state. At the public exhibition of the Tamil Internet Conference (TIC) in Coimbatore in June, held alongside the World Classical Tamil Conference, the technical dictionaries were a huge draw. Some 25,000 were sold over five days to scores of Tamils comfortable with computers but not English. TIC, a regular feature now, aims to make computing easier for this demographic and, for the first time, had the state’s backing. “Tamil computing refers to developing software applications in Tamil for the local user,” says Badri Seshadri, a member of the TIC organizing committee and Infitt. Not an easy task. The Tamil alphabet has 247 letters, compared with English’s 26. “Every verb or noun can take up to 3,000 forms, compared to just six forms for English verbs,” says Deiva Sundaram, a Tamil computing expert. “But among Indian languages, Tamil is easier as it doesn’t have nasal and aspirated characters.” Badri adds: “A Tamil font can, at the most, enable entry-level word processing and Web pages with Tamil content. But for a local business to use billing software or for a Tamil medium school student to use Web pages that are user-friendly in English, those applications need to be developed in Tamil.” The Tamil Nadu government is putting its might behind this mission. At the Tamil conference, the state government was clearly promoting the language and information technology (IT) as its key strengths. In Coimbatore, wall paintings—sort of official graffiti—depicting scenes from the Tamil epic Silapathikaram were interspersed with hoardings advertising IT special economic zones (SEZs) the state government has developed. Advertisements for Web services had lines from Tamil classic Thirukkural as a footer. “The TN government has allotted Rs800 crore for developing its websites alone, Rs450 crore for computerizing the public distribution system (PDS), and Rs1,000 crore for e-governance, all of which will be bilingual—Tamil and English—henceforth,” says state IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna. The state government’s recent order standardizing the 16-bit Unicode as the official coding for its websites is touted as one of the successful outcomes of the Tamil conference, as this would ensure that software developers don’t build applications using the Tamil-incompatible 8-bit coding. Symbolisms apart, Infitt is confident in its venture and says Tamil and computing have gone rather well together so far. “Optical character recognition, text-to-speech and speech-to-text conversions, and handwriting recognition are already there in Tamil,” says Badri. “This was, in part, fuelled by the usage of Tamil as one of the official languages in Malaysia and Singapore. When those governments started adopting IT, Tamil computing emerged.” The first TIC, in fact, was held in Singapore in 1997, with just two ministers from Tamil Nadu attending. Badri realizes a private IT company in India might prefer computing solutions in Hindi because of the potential size of the language. “But there is the advantage of existing, consistent initiatives in Tamil computing, a proactive state IT department, and a tech-savvy user base here.” Aruna says Tamil Nadu contributes around 35% of the employees in IT companies in India. The state’s already giving tough competition to Bangalore, considered the country’s software capital, in attracting IT product and services companies. “It is only a matter of time,” says the minister, “before this indigenous talent pool and the private sector realize the potential usage for Tamil computing here.” niranjana@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 1:12 pm Cloud computing is biggest change in ITBangalore: Google Inc.’s engineering centres in India primarily focus on building technologies for cloud computing—a metaphor for computing using resources over the Internet, and what Dave Girouard says is the single biggest change to have happened recently in information technology (IT). Girouard, president of Google’s enterprise unit, says India and other emerging countries are moving on to cloud computing. Edited excerpts: Pricing your Apps at one-tenth of the cost of competitors—is that the selling point for Google (Enterprise) now? I think originally cost savings has been driving Google Apps and cloud computing in general. Today, it has grown far beyond that. Companies now want to build on new platforms and the old way is not sustainable, too complicated, and users don’t like the products. I think cost savings continues to be an important part; it is just the piece of a puzzle. What is the revenue for your enterprise business? We have grown a lot. We are just a few percentage of the revenue of Google, because Google has grown a lot. We are growing very rapidly and are profitable, and we are growing in a business that is tens of billions of dollars of opportunity... We have unique capabilities to become the leader in cloud computing. Can you give us a forecast of how much revenue you would contribute in coming years? We don’t forecast. Our general belief is that what percentage of Google’s revenue is from Enterprise, doesn’t matter. I do believe that we have an opportunity to grow into a billion dollar business for Google and, hopefully, beyond that. What time frame and all, we don’t know. But it is a giant market opportunity and we are putting in our resources to take advantage of that. Your main competitor, Microsoft, is also aggressive in cloud computing. Certainly, Microsoft is a challenge in this... But we think we have lot of unique capabilities in respect to the cloud. In our view, we are the only ones who speak the cloud natively. We grew up entirely delivering services via the Web. And we don’t have any legacy to drag along. We think we have some unique capability to get Google a step up than any other competitor. But you still have technical issues in your Google Apps portfolio. We always have to get better. The products have to mature, the services need to be better, we need to get more people on the street and we have to get more people aware of the enterprise products. These are all solvable problems. Cloud computing is the single biggest change that has happened in IT. And where there is a change, there is an opportunity for new leaders to emerge... Where do you see growth coming from? I think cloud computing is growing across markets. It is not disproportionate to one market, either US or Western Europe...Having said that,...in many ways, in the lesser developed economies, the legacy systems are not as entrenched. People are hopping or jumping to new ways of technology... Many countries are skipping client server and moving to cloud computing. Are you seeing traction in Google applications in developing markets? We have something in the range of hundred, thousand businesses in India...In developed markets, there are lots of Fortune 1,000 companies using Google Apps. People like Jaguar Land Rover, Seagate (Technology) are using (it). Do you plan to replicate your experience with Jaguar Land Rover with other Tata group companies? We have a partnership with TCS and I think the Tata group will be important partners beyond that. We will continue to build our relationship. It is important to say here that we certainly believe in India. What is the partnership with TCS? TCS is a reseller and integration partner for Google Apps. They are building a Google Apps practice to help enterprises move to the cloud. We will work primarily through partners, because we will not have enough people to put on the streets to reach out to the people we want to across the country. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 1:00 pm Serum Institute launches indigenously developed H1N1 vaccineNew Delhi: Serum Institute of India, the country’s largest vaccine maker, on Wednesday announced the launch of its indigenously developed intra-nasal vaccine, Nasovac, for preventing H1N1 infections. The single dose vaccine, fitted at the top of a syringe, is just to be sniffed once in each nostril, making it a painless prevention mode, the company said in a statement. The vaccine is approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for usage by any individual above three years of age, except pregnant women, and is economically priced so that it is affordable for the masses. “Last year, we saw the panic due to fears about the H1N1 pandemic. I am happy that Serum has done its part in making the country self-reliant in creating vaccines for preventing pandemic influenza in the future,” Serum Institute of India chairman Cyrus Poonawalla said. With the outbreak of H1N1 infections in 2009, the Serum Institute, in consultation with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health, had started work on the H1N1 vaccine. The company is also working on an influenza vaccine under WHO guidance. Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest DTP (Triple) and measles vaccine manufacturer. The company’s products are exported to over 130 countries worldwide. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 6:26 am Nokia Siemens in talks to buy Motorola’s telecom equipment armNew York: Nokia Siemens Networks is in talks to buy the telecom equipment arm of US-based Motorola Inc in a deal estimated to be worth around $1.3 billion, a media report said. Quoting sources familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal said in a report that Nokia Siemens Networks was in discussions to acquire cellphone maker Motorola’s telecom-equipment arm, and a deal “would hasten the dismantling of the US technology company.” “The two companies are discussing terms, and a deal could be worth $1.1 billion to $1.3 billion,” the WSJ said, citing a person close to the matter. The report stated that though a deal could be reached in the next few weeks, there was no certainty about it. Though this unit of Motorola mainly makes older-generation equipment for telecom networks, it would let Nokia Siemens -- a leading supplier of telecom equipment -- offer its newer products to customers who upgrade, the report stated. Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Finnish firm Nokia and Siemens AG of Germany, has been trying to enter the US market through acquisitions. Though the JV bid for two units from Nortel Networks Corp last year, it eventually failed to acquire them. Motorola networks unit has an installed base of equipment with large carriers, including Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel Corp. It had reported $366 million in profit last year. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Jul 2010 | 4:33 am
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