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Axis Bank says will review deposit rates soonPrivatesector lender Axis Bank will review deposit rates soon and credit growth in FY11 is likely to be around 2021%, the bank\'s chief executive said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 8:47 am Mahindra to take decision on Ssangyong bid laterMahindra Mahindra, India\'s largest utility vehicles and tractor maker, said on Wednesday it would postpone a decision on whether to bid for troubled Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor Co until closer to the August deadline.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 8:31 am LSE to explore business opportunity with NSEThe London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the National Stock Exchange have agreed to explore joint business opportunities, the two exchanges said on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 8:04 am Patni eyes acquisitions for expansionIndian software services firm Patni Computer Systems is looking at acquisitions worth above USD 25 million and is hoping to close more than one deal in the current quarter ending September, officials said.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 8:04 am UK`s Osborne urges India to open up financial servicesBritish finance minister George Osborne called on Wednesday for India to speed up the opening of its financial services market and said that he wanted to see completion of a freetrade agreement with Europe by early 2011.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 7:22 am Aviva aims to boost stake in JVAviva Plc, Britain\'s second largest insurer, wants to boost its stake in its Indian joint venture to 49% as soon as regulations allow, its chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 7:21 am Development of Vikhroli land to cost Rs 1K cr: Adi GodrejAdi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Industries, said there is an arm length agreement between Godrej Industries and Godrej Properties. \"Godrej Properties will bring in investments for development.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 7:09 am Emami Infra\'s land bank at 150200 acres, stock up 5,005%Emami Infra has a land bank of 150200 acres and a networth of Rs 35 crore, said Naresh Bhansali, President and CFO of Emami Group, in an interview to CNBCTV18. \"Three projects of Emami Infra are running. It will add two more soon.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 6:41 am Keki Mistry to join BSE board as shareholder directorKeki M Mistry, ViceChairman and Chief Executive Officer of HDFC will join the board of the Bombay Stock Exchange as a shareholder director.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 6:40 am Govt says to sign $775mn jet deal with BAE SystemsBritish defence group BAE Systems will supply 57 Hawk training jets to India\'s air force and navy, a senior defence ministry official said on Wednesday, a contract which is potentially worth USD 775 million.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 6:36 am Soros in talks to buy 4% stake in BSE for $40m - mydigitalfc.com
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 4:05 am Star Alliance 'moves under one roof' at Delhi's Terminal 3 - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:57 am Cash crunch to ease further by next week: RBI - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:53 am Patni Computer 2Q Net Rises; Stock Falls As Revenue Lags Guidance - Wall Street Journal
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:51 am INTERVIEW - Aviva aims to boost stake in India JVMUMBAI (Reuters) - Aviva Plc, Britain's second largest insurer, wants to boost its stake in its joint venture with Dabur to 49 percent as soon as regulations allow, its chief executive told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:39 am IIFL recommends to 'Subscribe' to SKS Microfinance IPO - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:37 am Sensex below 18k; RIL, HUL drag - Myiris.com
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:36 am HIGHLIGHTS - RBI on policy transmissionMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India governor said on Wednesday a cash crunch would ease further by next week, but liquidity would continue to be in deficit mode, not surplus.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:34 am UK's Osborne urges India to open up financial servicesMUMBAI (Reuters) - British finance minister George Osborne on Wednesday pressed India to speed up the opening of its financial services market and said he wanted to see completion of a free-trade agreement with Europe by early 2011.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:33 am Eros inks strategic deal with T-SeriesEros will also continue to monetise its music catalogue which does not form part of the current deal with T-Series.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:33 am IATA reports surprising growth of air travel, lifted by AsiaGeneva: International air travel grew faster than expected in June led by a sharp improvement in Asia, airline association IATA said on Tuesday. Passenger volumes returned to a level one to two percent above the pre-recession peak in the first quarter of 2008, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said in its monthly account of air travel. Passenger demand in Europe nonetheless lagged behind the global increase of 11.9% in June. “The industry continues to recover faster than expected, but with sharp regional differences,” said IATA director general Giovanni Bisignani. “Europe is recovering at half the speed of Asia with passenger growth of 7.8% compared to the 15.5% growth in Asia-Pacific,” he added. China drove growth in the Asia-Pacific region, which recorded the most significant improvement in demand last month. All other regions recorded double-digit growth, including Africa which was buoyed by a 21% rise in air travel that IATA attributed to the World Cup in South Africa. But Bisignani heralded a likely decline in the pace of global growth underway this year. “Business confidence remains high and there is no indication that the recovery will stall any time soon.” “But, with government stimulus packages tailing off and restocking largely completed, we do expect some slowing over the months ahead,” he added. Air freight grew by 26.5% in June, tailing off from growth of 34% a month earlier that was artificially boosted by additional cargo that had been delayed by the volcanic ash cloud over the Atlantic and Europe in April. Nonetheless air cargo traffic was still tracking the general economic recovery, IATA said. Bisignani pointed to orders for hundreds of new airliners announced by Airbus, Boeing and Embraer at the Farnborough Air Show last week as grounds for cautious optimism in the industry. “This is good news that will bring environmental benefits through improved fuel efficiency. But it will also make the challenge of matching capacity to demand much more difficult,” said Bisignani. IATA has repeatedly warned of the difficulty airlines face in matching the size of their fleets and the optimum load each aircraft carries with sharp fluctuations in air travel demand. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:33 am Reliance Industries down 3 pct on broker downgradesMUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries extended losses to 3 percent on day as brokerages such as Edelweiss, Motilal Oswal and IIFL downgraded the largest listed firm saying the company would take longer to increase gas production at the KG-D6 block.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:28 am ANALYSIS - Euro rally may be entering last lapNEW YORK (Reuters) - The euro has sizzled in July but will cool down before the summer weather does as markets brace for an extended period of sluggish euro zone growth.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:24 am Soros may buy 4 pct in BSE for $35-40 mln - sourcesMUMBAI (Reuters) - Billionaire financier George Soros is in advanced talks to buy a 4 percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) for $35-$40 million from a Dubai Holding unit, two sources with direct knowledge said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:18 am Chennai Petro Q1 net loss at Rs 55 3 cr - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:09 am High-speed rail to benefit China, at a cost - World BankBEIJING (Reuters) - China's construction of a vast high-speed rail network will bequeath it one of the world's most advanced rail industries, but it needs to keep a close eye on the debts it is running up in the process, the World Bank said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:04 am RIL, Essar in race to buy BP’s Africa assetsNew Delhi: Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries and Essar Oil are among about half a dozen firms in race to buy crisis-hit British energy giant BP’s fuel marketing assets in east African countries. BP is selling retail outlets, terminals and aviation fuel stations in Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi and possibly also in Zambia, to cover costs related to the worst oil spill in US history, industry sources said. Reliance and Essar have offered between $400 million to $500 million for BP’s assets in the East African nation, they said. A South African firm and National Oil Corp of Libya are said to be other serious bidders among about half a dozen firms who have evinced interest. While Essar Oil spokesperson did not offer any comments, a Reliance spokesperson said: “We do not comment on market speculation as per company policy.” Sources said Reliance may be looking at supplying gas oil, gasoline and jet fuel from its twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat to the east African nations. It also exports fuel to Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp, a firm it had acquired in 2007. Gapco owns retail outlets in countries like Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya. Essar Oil had last year acquired a 50% stake in 4 million tons a year Kenya Petroleum Refinery in Mombasa. The British energy giant BP intends to sell $30 billion of assets -- mainly upstream oil and gas fields -- over the next 18 months to help pay for the Gulf oil spill clean-up and compensation. BP owns retail outlets selling gasoline (petrol) and gas oil (diesel) as well as aviation refueling facilities at major airports in Botswana, Tanzania, Namibia, Malawi and Zambia. The acquisition would give a company a ready market for auto and aviation fuel with scope for further expansion into neighbouring high growth countries, sources said. In Botswana, BP operates 30 retail sites, mostly in the country’s main cities of Gaborone and Francistown and supplies fuel to the booming mining industry. Air BP in Botswana sells aviation fuel at Sir Seretse Khama Airport in Gaborone and Maun airport, on the edge of the famous Okavango Delta. Besides selling fuel, lubricants and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), BP is the largest aviation fuel supplier in Tanzania with about 92% market share. BP owns half of BP Malawi, which operates 46 service stations. Press Corp has the remaining 50%. It is the sole supplier of aviation fuels and aviation lubricants to the nation’s two international airports at Lilongwe and Blantyre. BP Namibia’s network includes 29 service stations, five depots and aviation services. In Zambia, BP owns 53 out of the 196 pumps and a largest number of fuel storage and handling depots in the country. It sells aviation fuels at Lusaka International Airport and also Ndola, Livingstone and Mfuwe airfields. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:04 am Mahindra Q1 net jumps, not decided on SsangyongMumbai: Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra said it would wait for more information before deciding on a bid for South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong Motor, as it seeks to expand its vehicle line-up and pushes into new markets. The largest Indian utility vehicles maker, which reported a forecast-beating 40% rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, said rising inflation and hardening interest rates remain a concern but was confident of meeting the challenges. Mahindra, also India’s leading tractor maker, is among the six bidders shortlisted to make a bid for the troubled Korean firm, which has been under court-led restructuring since early 2009. France’s Renault, Nissan Motor and India’s Ruia group are among the other bidders. Mahindra is making a bid to be a significant player in the utility vehicles segment and later this year is scheduled to launch its Scorpio pick-up in the key US market. At the same time its becoming a more diversified player and has launched both heavy trucks in a joint venture with US-based Navistar and its Gio mini-trucks to take on India trucks market leader Tata Motors. Last year also saw the launch of three scooter brands from Mahindra, and in April, the company took over the sales of the no-frills Logan sedan in India by buying out the stake of French partner Renault. A month later the company agreed to buy a majority stake in India electric vehicle maker Reva, making an entry into the small but fast-growing global electric vehicle industry. Results Mahindra reported a June quarter net profit of Rs562 crore ($121 million), compared with Rs401 crore a year earlier and Rs502 crore estimated in a Reuters poll of analysts. Net sales rose to Rs5,124 crore from Rs4,229 crore. The good results were due to higher volumes, focused cost control and lower interest expenses, the company said in a statement. Rising raw material costs are a concern for car makers and last week this was one of the factors on which top car maker Maruti Suzuki saw a 20% fall in quarterly net profit. The company sold 105,390 vehicles including utility vehicles, tractors, trucks and two-wheelers in the June quarter. At 2.10 p.m., shares in Mahindra, valued at $7.6 billion, were up 1.1% while the main index fell 0.5%. The stock has risen 16% so far this year, compared to a 13% increase in the sector index and a near 4% rise in the benchmark. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am Mahindra Q1 net jumps, not decided on SsangyongMumbai: Mumbai: Mahindra & Mahindra said it would wait for more information before deciding on a bid for South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong Motor, as it seeks to expand its vehicle line-up and pushes into new markets. The largest Indian utility vehicles maker, which reported a forecast-beating 40% rise in quarterly net profit on Wednesday, said rising inflation and hardening interest rates remain a concern but was confident of meeting the challenges. Mahindra, also India’s leading tractor maker, is among the six bidders shortlisted to make a bid for the troubled Korean firm, which has been under court-led restructuring since early 2009. France’s Renault, Nissan Motor and India’s Ruia group are among the other bidders. Mahindra is making a bid to be a significant player in the utility vehicles segment and later this year is scheduled to launch its Scorpio pick-up in the key US market. At the same time its becoming a more diversified player and has launched both heavy trucks in a joint venture with US-based Navistar and its Gio mini-trucks to take on India trucks market leader Tata Motors. Last year also saw the launch of three scooter brands from Mahindra, and in April, the company took over the sales of the no-frills Logan sedan in India by buying out the stake of French partner Renault. A month later the company agreed to buy a majority stake in India electric vehicle maker Reva, making an entry into the small but fast-growing global electric vehicle industry. Results Mahindra reported a June quarter net profit of Rs562 crore ($121 million), compared with Rs401 crore a year earlier and Rs502 crore estimated in a Reuters poll of analysts. Net sales rose to Rs5,124 crore from Rs4,229 crore. The good results were due to higher volumes, focused cost control and lower interest expenses, the company said in a statement. Rising raw material costs are a concern for car makers and last week this was one of the factors on which top car maker Maruti Suzuki saw a 20% fall in quarterly net profit. The company sold 105,390 vehicles including utility vehicles, tractors, trucks and two-wheelers in the June quarter. At 2.10 p.m., shares in Mahindra, valued at $7.6 billion, were up 1.1% while the main index fell 0.5%. The stock has risen 16% so far this year, compared to a 13% increase in the sector index and a near 4% rise in the benchmark. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 3:01 am Gold hits 2-month low; spurs stockingMumbai: India gold extended losses for a third straight session on Wednesday to hit its a more than 2-month low, spurring physical buying as traders sought to stock up for upcoming festivals, dealers said. “Buying is definitely there. Traders, who bought 10 kgs a few days back, are now buying 40 kgs,” said Harshad Ajmera, proprietor, of Kolkata-based JJ Gold House, which offered to sell the yellow metal for Rs17,900 per 10 grams. Gold futures was trading 0.06% lower at Rs17,743 per 10 grams at 1:30pm, after hitting a low of Rs17,705, a level last seen in early May. The contract has shed 2.8% in the previous two sessions. A strong rupee also helped sentiment by making the dollar-denominated asset cheaper. The Indian rupee strengthened to a two-week high boosted by the dollar’s losses against major currencies but a further rise was averted by a choppy domestic sharemarket, which failed to provide direction on capital flows. “There could be more buying if prices fall to about $1,150 (an ounce),” said dealer with a state-run bank in Mumbai. Indian gold demand is set to pick up for the busy festival season, starting with Raksha Bandhan on 24 August, and extending till Dhanteras in November, the single-biggest gold buying day. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:59 am M&M Q1 net jumps, not decided on SsangyongMUMBAI (Reuters) - Mahindra & Mahindra said it would wait for more information before deciding on a bid for South Korean SUV maker Ssangyong Motor, as it seeks to expand its vehicle line-up and pushes into new markets.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:57 am Rupee erases gains as shares fall; dollar eyedMumbai: The Indian rupee erased gains, after touching a two-week high earlier on Wednesday, as domestic shares dropped and the dollar recovered against major currencies. At 1:58pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.68/69 per dollar, little weaker compared to Tuesday’s close of 46.67/68. The unit had earlier risen to Rs46.5550, its highest since 14 July. The central bank raised interest rates more forcefully than expected on Tuesday to fight inflation that is on track to hit double digits for a sixth straight month, setting the stage for more policy tightening. The index of the dollar against six major currencies was largely flat. It had been down more than 0.2% earlier. Indian shares were trading down half a percent as mixed US earnings reports and weak US consumer confidece weighed on investor sentiment. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month dollar-rupee contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were at Rs46.5675 and Rs46.57 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $4.5 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:54 am India to sign $775 mn jet deal with British defence group BAE Systems - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:52 am UK to let firms into Indian civil nuclear marketBangalore: Britain will start granting licences to its civil nuclear firms to export to India, British government sources said on Wednesday, opening up business prospects potentially worth billions of pounds. Business secretary Vince Cable, on a visit to India with a large British delegation, told reporters that cooperation in the civil nuclear industry was one area where he expected the two nations to make good progress. Government sources said this was a reference to a change in policy on export licences for firms like Rolls-Royce and Serco. The move is aimed at boosting business and sending a positive signal to India on trade links. The new policy will also allow existing joint British-Indian research into areas such as nuclear physics to be scaled up. Previously, British policy was not to let firms get involved in India’s civil nuclear market because it is a nuclear-armed state that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that does not separate its military from its civilian nuclear industries. “There are British commpanies like Rolls Royce, Serco and others which potentially could do a large amount of business in India,” Cable said. “There are obvious security sensitivities. We are conscious of those, as are the Indians. But within those constraints we really want to push ahead with civil nuclear cooperation. That would be quite a big sector within which we could really make progress,” he said. Sources said the change in policy was a reflection of a new approach towards India under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that took office in Britain in May. It was a way of building trust and giving concrete evidence of British enthusiasm for bolstering trade. The sources said that each export licence would be granted on a merit, case-by-case basis and that any security concerns would be taken into consideration. But the change in policy meant that firms could expect their applications for export licences to be granted. The British move follows a landmark 2008 civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States. That agreement ended the nuclear isolation New Delhi had endured since a 1974 test that launched it on the way to becoming an atomic weapons power. The deal gave India access to US technology and fuel and set the stage for foreign companies to enter a civilian nuclear energy market worth about $150 billion. French and Russian nuclear firms already plan to set up in India, and New Delhi has offered to tender construction of two plants, a business opportunity worth $10 billion, to US-based firms GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:51 am UK to let firms into Indian civil nuclear marketBangalore: Britain will start granting licences to its civil nuclear firms to export to India, British government sources said on Wednesday, opening up business prospects potentially worth billions of pounds. Business secretary Vince Cable, on a visit to India with a large British delegation, told reporters that cooperation in the civil nuclear industry was one area where he expected the two nations to make good progress. Government sources said this was a reference to a change in policy on export licences for firms like Rolls-Royce and Serco. The move is aimed at boosting business and sending a positive signal to India on trade links. The new policy will also allow existing joint British-Indian research into areas such as nuclear physics to be scaled up. Previously, British policy was not to let firms get involved in India’s civil nuclear market because it is a nuclear-armed state that is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and that does not separate its military from its civilian nuclear industries. “There are British commpanies like Rolls Royce, Serco and others which potentially could do a large amount of business in India,” Cable said. “There are obvious security sensitivities. We are conscious of those, as are the Indians. But within those constraints we really want to push ahead with civil nuclear cooperation. That would be quite a big sector within which we could really make progress,” he said. Sources said the change in policy was a reflection of a new approach towards India under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government that took office in Britain in May. It was a way of building trust and giving concrete evidence of British enthusiasm for bolstering trade. The sources said that each export licence would be granted on a merit, case-by-case basis and that any security concerns would be taken into consideration. But the change in policy meant that firms could expect their applications for export licences to be granted. The British move follows a landmark 2008 civilian nuclear deal between India and the United States. That agreement ended the nuclear isolation New Delhi had endured since a 1974 test that launched it on the way to becoming an atomic weapons power. The deal gave India access to US technology and fuel and set the stage for foreign companies to enter a civilian nuclear energy market worth about $150 billion. French and Russian nuclear firms already plan to set up in India, and New Delhi has offered to tender construction of two plants, a business opportunity worth $10 billion, to US-based firms GE-Hitachi and Westinghouse Electric, a subsidiary of Japan’s Toshiba Corp. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:51 am UK's Cameron woos India to boost trade, create jobsBANGALORE (Reuters) - British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to persuade India on Wednesday to do more business with Britain as he seeks new sources of economic growth to offset deep cuts in public spending at home.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:42 am Disney buys social-game company PlaydomPlaydom, which launched two and a half years ago, attracts 42 million players monthly to its games such as Social City, Bola and Tiki Farm, which are popular on social networks such as Facebook.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:39 am Pak plane with 152 on board crashes; few survivorsIslamabad: A commercial Pakistani passenger plane with 152 people on board crashed in bad weather in hills near Islamabad on Wednesday, and police said they expected few had survived. At least 20 people were confirmed dead when the Airbus 321, belonging to private airline Airblue, crashed in heavy rain while flying from the southern port city of Karachi. Rescue efforts are continuing, officials said. Five survivors were pulled from the wreckage and sent to nearby hospitals, said Imtiaz Elahi, chairman of the state-run Capital Development Authority, a municipal body. Rescuers said they had to dig through the rubble with their bare hands, with fire and thick smoke hampering their work. The crash site, on a steep and heavily wooded hill, has no roads, limiting access to pedestrians and aircraft. “Dead bodies are lying all around and very few might have survived in the accident,” Bin Yameen, a senior police official of Islamabad said. “Bodies are being lifted through helicopters.” The plane lost contact with the control room of the Islamabad International Airport at 0443 GMT. It was carrying 146 passengers and six crew members. Bin Yameen said a woman was alive at the scene and crying for help. “I could hear her cries from the woods. Rescue workers are trying to save her,” he told Reuters from the scene of the crash. A thick blanket of cloud and smoke caused by fire could be seen rising from the crash site. A helicopter hovered overhead and flames licked at trees and what appeared to be wreckage from the plane, television pictures showed. “We are removing wreckage with our hands. There is fire. There’s smoke, which has made the rescue job very difficult,” Bin Yameen said. The crash site is on the Margalla Hills facing Islamabad, about 300 meters up the side of the hills. Smoke was visible from some districts of the city, and crowds of onlookers lined the streets pointing and watching the smoke rise from the green hills. “It was raining. I saw the plane flying very low from the window of my office,” witness Khadim Hussain said. Pakistan’s AAJ television showed rescue workers making their way on foot to the crash site with some difficulty. A young man was weeping and being embraced by another man. The military said it had sent three helicopters to the site and troops had also been moved there. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ordered authorities to control the fire immediately and rescue passengers. Heavy Rains There had been heavy monsoon rains in the area for at least a couple of days. Airblue began operations in 2004 with a fleet of Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft, the company said on its website (www.airblue.com). Spokesman Raheel Ahmed said this was the first crash for the airline. Airbus confirmed one of its planes was involved in the Airblue crash. “We regret to confirm there has been an accident with an Airbus aircraft and we will provide more information when we have more confirmed data available,” said Airbus spokesman Stefan Schaffrath. At Islamabad’s international airport, passengers in the departure lounge scanned the television screens for news. “I’m not surprised something like this has happened,” said Ahmed Fairuz, a passenger awaiting departure. “The weather is just too bad for flying.” Aviation industry sources in Europe said the aircraft was leased from International Lease Finance Corp, the leasing unit of US insurance giant AIG Los Angeles-based ILFC was not available for comment and there was no immediate confirmation of these details. The A321 is the largest of the A320 family of single-aisle jets produced by EADS subsidiary Airbus. This particular type of aircraft, which can seat up to 185 passengers, has been in service since 1994. Forty-five people were killed when a passenger plane belonging to Pakistan International Airlines crashed near the central city of Multan in 2006. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:34 am Cameron woos India to boost trade, create jobsBangalore: British Prime Minister David Cameron tried to persuade India on Wednesday to do more business with Britain as he seeks new sources of economic growth to offset deep cuts in public spending at home. On his first visit to India since taking office in May, Cameron leads a delegation including six ministers and more than 30 senior executives from top UK firms, to show that Britain is serious about boosting economic exchanges with the Asian giant. “I want this to be a relationship which drives economic growth upwards and drives our unemployment figures downwards,” he said in a speech to young Indian business leaders at the high-tech Infosys campus in Bangalore. “This is a trade mission, yes, but I prefer to see it as my jobs mission,” he said.  British prime minister David Cameron is being welcomed by Infosys Technologies chairman N R Narayana Murthy at the company’s headquarters in Bangalore on Wednesday. Aijaz Rahi / AP photo India belongs to the “Bric” group of rapidly growing emerging economies along with China, Brazil and Russia. Cameron has often lamented that Britain trades more with Ireland than it does with all the Brics combined and he has vowed to remedy that with vigorous pro-trade diplomacy. Among the executives on Cameron’s plane is Richard Olver, chairman of defence group BAE Systems, who will return home with a contract potentially worth $775 million to supply 57 Hawk training jets to India’s Air Force and Navy. A senior air force official told Reuters in New Delhi that the contract between BAE and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd would be signed in Bangalore on Wednesday. Other business leaders visiting India as part of the British delegation include the CEOs of banking giant Barclays, infrastructure group Balfour Beatty, insurance firm Aviva and private equity firm 3i. One industry that stands to benefit from Britain’s increased economic focus on India is the civil nuclear sector. British government sources told reporters in Bangalore that London would start granting licences to its civil nuclear firms to export to India, opening up business prospects potentially worth billions of pounds. “Vested interests” Cameron’s coalition government says the British economy is too dependent on the public sector. It plans to cut public spending to reduce the budget deficit, which has swollen to a peacetime record, but critics say this will worsen unemployment. The coalition says private businesses should be the engine of growth, and one of its strategies is to focus diplomatic efforts on fast-growing emerging markets to promote trade. On his way to India, Cameron visited Turkey on a similar mission. “In Britain, we’re waking up to a new reality,” he wrote in a column in Wednesday’s edition of the Hindu. “Economic power is shifting -- particularly to Asia -- so Britain has to work harder than ever before to earn its living in the world. I’m not ashamed to say that’s one of the reasons why I’m here in India.” In his speech in Bangalore, he challenged India to “take on vested interests” and further open up its markets. “We want you to reduce the barriers to foreign investment in banking, insurance, defence manufacturing and legal services -- so that we can both reap the benefits,” he said. With the World Trade Organization’s Doha round of multilateral talks making little progress, Britain sees a free trade deal between the European Union and India as the next big step forward. Cameron said he was determined that such a deal should be reached before the end of the year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:20 am Nokia email service faces India security test: ReportA newspaper quoted a representative of Nokia's Indian unit as saying the infrastructure required by the security agencies was being put in place.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:08 am LSE to explore business opportunity with NSEMUMBAI (Reuters) - The London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the National Stock Exchange have agreed to explore joint business opportunities, the two exchanges said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:06 am Soros may buy 4% in BSE for $35-40 million: SourcesSoros Fund Management will buy the stake in BSE from Dubai Financial, part of sovereign fund Dubai Holding, sources said.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:06 am Patni Computer April-June cons net risesFor the third quarter ending September, Patni forecast net income (excluding a hedging impact) of $22.5 to $23 million on revenues of $176-$177 million.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 2:05 am Bihar failed to meet its tourism potential: CAGPatna: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has lashed out at the Bihar government for “failing” to tap its tourism potential due to a lack of planning and professional approach. In its latest report, the CAG pointed out that the Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation Limited (BSTDC) failed to meet the challenges despite immense tourist potential. It recommended the formation of a state tourism policy and the preparation of a long-term perspective with clear targets. “Though tourism is recognised as an industry, the government has not laid down any tourism policy for the state,” the CAG report tabled in the state Assembly last week said. Despite a 52.76% increase in tourist inflow in 2008-09 from 2004-05, the percentage of tourists availing the company’s accommodation facilities remained abysmally low in the range of 0.43-0.51% for domestic tourists and 0.60-3.73% for foreign tourists. Efforts should be made to infuse professionalism in management with a view to provide qualitative services,it said. It also advised the state to undertake serious efforts to improve the process involved in planning and execution of infrastructure projects with an aim to avoid procedural delays and complete the projects in due time, it said. Further, the report said that the targeted occupancy level of 60% could not be achieved in almost all the hotels between 2004-05 and 2008-09. The occupancy target was never reviewed by the board and further non-achievement of the minimum targeted occupancy levels resulted in a potential loss of revenue of Rs5.15 crore in 2004-09, the CAG report highlights. The corporation receives fund from the ministry of tourism, Centre and the state government for development of infrastructure. The utilisation percentage of available funds ranged between a dismal 1.34% and 23.52%, it said. Despite availability of funds, the company failed to commence projects. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:48 am ArcelorMittal sees Q3 drop, mulls stainless splitArcelorMittal said its much-watched core profit (EBITDA) would fall to between $2.1 billion and $2.5 billion in the third quarter, the mid-point being 23% below the second quarter number and worse than analysts had been expecting.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:34 am TRAI recommendations should be rejected: Star IndiaLeading broadcaster Star India today hit out at regulator TRAI for 'shocking' recommendations for DTH tariff, saying that this would wreak havoc in the industry, and that it would seek rejection of the same legally.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:15 am UK's Cameron woos India to boost trade, create jobsBritish Prime Minister David Cameron will try to persuade India today to do more business with Britain as he seeks new sources of economic growth to offset deep cuts in public spending at home.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:13 am India to sign $775 million jet deal with BAE SystemsThe contract between BAE Systems and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) will be signed in Bangalore on Wednesday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:03 am Firstsource Solutions April-June net Rs134 millionBack office services firm Firstsource Solutions said on Wednesday it posted a standalone net profit of Rs133.63 million in April-June quarter on a net sales of Rs1.51 billion.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 28 Jul 2010 | 1:02 am LG Electronics' 2Q net profit falls 33 per centLG Electronics, a top global manufacturer of flat screen televisions and mobile handsets, said second-quarter net profit fell by a third amid a decline in sales and weaker profitability for phones.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:59 am Asian stocks hits 12-week high, euro inches upSingapore: Asian stocks hit a 12-week high on Wednesday and the euro inched ahead as investors took comfort from solid US and European company earnings, while the Australian dollar eased after a sharp slowdown in inflation. Major European stocks rose 0.4% in early trade, after shares hit a five-week closing high a day earlier as several European firms beat earnings forecasts. Germany’s economy minister said on Wednesday that his country now has a sustainable recovery, further boosting market sentiment. The MSCI index of Asia Pacific ex-Japan stocks gained 0.4% to its highest since May 5, largely shrugging off a fall in US consumer confidence to its lowest since Feburary. Japanese stocks jumped 2.7%, helped by stronger earnings and a weaker yen. Shares of Canon jumped 5.7% after the world’s No. 1 camera maker reported its best profit in seven quarters, though it may face a tougher second half due to Europe’s economic woes and the yen’s strength. Japan’s earnings season gets into full swing this week, with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Nippon Steel Corp reporting later in the day and Sony Corp on Thursday. “Risk-money appears to be coming back, albeit slightly, after UBS and Deutsche Bank reported bullish earnings. The weaker yen is also helping the market,” said Hiroaki Kuramochi, chief equity marketing officer at Tokai Tokyo Securities. Thomson Reuters index of regional shares was virtually flat. Overnight on Wall Street, the S&P snapped a three-day winning streak after mixed earnings reports and as a fall in consumer confidence showed worries over the US job market persisted. In recent weeks, largely positive earnings reports had eased concerns that the global economy may stall in the second half as fiscal stimulus runs out and austerity programs hit consumer spending. In the United States, 78% of the 175 companies in the benchmark S&P 500 index have reported earnings above analysts’ expectations, according to Thomson Reuters data. While strong earnings have buoyed markets in recent weeks, the reporting season is nearing an end. Investors may then turn their focus back to the slowing US economy. Yale University economist Robert Shiller, a well-known prognosticator in real estate markets, told Reuters Insider on Tuesday that the US economy could enter into a double-dip recession as growth stalls. “For me, a double-dip is another recession before we’ve healed from this recession ... the probability of that kind of double-dip is more than 50%,” Shiller said. Most economists, however, do not see a slide back into recession yet, though growth may be more sluggish. Investors were waiting for results from the likes of the Boeiing Co and Rockwell Automation later in the day. The euro hit a two-month high against the yen as signs of resilience in the euro zone economy and solid European bank earnings helped boost investor risk appetite. The single currency inched up 0.2% to ¥114.49 its highest since mid-May. Against the dollar, the euro was up 0.2% at $1.3021 hovering near an 11-week high of $1.3047 struck on Tuesday. The Australian dollar fell from $0.9010 to $0.8970 after the country reported a weakening in core inflation to its lowest in over three years, all but ruling out the need for an interest rate rise next week and possibly for the rest of the year. August inter-bank futures rallied, pricing out chances of a rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia at its next monthly policy meeting on 3 August. Markets had been factoring in a 30% chance of a hike before the data. Spot gold hovered near $1,163 an ounce, a day after falling 2% to a near three-month low when the drop in US consumer confidence and an option expiry prompted heavy selling. Oil prices rose 14 cents to $77.64 a barrel. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:57 am SKS Microfinance: giant squid, ‘devta’ or just a business?I’ve written in this space before asking why my BlackBerry stayed on the grid in a remote mountain village where basic banking was missing. A few years earlier I had argued for a model that would make financial services as ubiquitous as paan masala, glucose biscuits and shampoo sachets in remote rural India. So now when this comes to pass in the form of an initial public offering (IPO) from a microfinance firm that has made capital available to hundreds of thousands of poor Indians, what’s the discomfort? The SKS Microfinance Ltd public issue opens on Wednesday for subscription. The lender is offering 16.7 million Rs10 face value equity shares in a price band of Rs850 to Rs985 apiece. And the debate has just begun in the marketplace: Is it justifiable for a firm focused on social goals to make supernormal profits? Also Read Monika Halan’s earlier columns Intellectual honesty demands that I weigh in with SKS. After all the Coca-Cola analogy (SKS promoter Vikram Akula, it seems, jumps onto the stage with a Coke can in hand to demonstrate that SKS will do what the fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, industry has managed to do—attain mass outreach in a replicable model) is what I have been writing about as well—getting rural financial products FMCGized. So what’s the issue. Why this discomfort? If capital markets are an efficient way to move money to their best use, why baulk at the SKS issue? Does that mean that hospitals must not list, or educational institutes or media? This logic can take us all back to hundis in a minute.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint Still, filter out the noise and the one argument that emerges from those against the SKS IPO is this: Is it ethically justifiable that costs are borne by the poor that these firms say they are trying to help? If you are in the business of providing capital to the poor, how can you justify supernormal profits? The rate of returns that you earn point to the fact that your interest rates must be lower than they are today. The arguments in favour of the IPO talk about the inability of the present government-sponsored banking and subsidy system to crack the problems of the rural poor and of capital markets-funded money being the one way to scale up what has been achieved till now. In 2009, about 80 million people were covered by microfinance and self-help group lending. Given that the reach of formal branch banking is yet at just 200 million, could this model not challenge the status quo? If we oppose SKS, are we telling the poor rural Indian to go back to the money lender who not only charges rates of over 100% but has all sorts of other social leverage over the poor family? Should they be left to the nexus of political doles and the rural bank branch system rotting under the weight of corruption and dysfunction? That, though, isn’t my main grouse. What some of us, who believe in markets, are worried about is this: Will the need for the huge doses of capital to push a large swathe of Indians out of generations of poverty and despair also open them up for the Wall Street to dig its suckers in? My own worry is that the eye of the Wall Street is on the profits at the bottom of the pyramid—two Wall Street majors have already launched microfinance units in emerging markets. When journalist Matt Taibbi described Goldman Sachs in particular, and the Wall Street in general, as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”, not many disagreed. Possibly SKS is neither a giant squid nor a devta, but just a business. Possibly that’s where the intellectual problem is: Social goals cannot be just a business. It must be more. But then, isn’t that true of all businesses—isn’t that what corporate governance, corporate social responsibility is all about? For once I don’t know where I stand on the debate—the learning is still on. The minimum that the SKS IPO will achieve is to allow each of us, busy with this part of work in the transformation of India, to examine where we stand. Monika Halan works in the area of financial literacy and financial intermediation policy and is a certified financial planner. She is editor, Mint Money. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:44 am SKS Microfinance: giant squid, ‘devta’ or just a business?I’ve written in this space before asking why my BlackBerry stayed on the grid in a remote mountain village where basic banking was missing. A few years earlier I had argued for a model that would make financial services as ubiquitous as paan masala, glucose biscuits and shampoo sachets in remote rural India. So now when this comes to pass in the form of an initial public offering (IPO) from a microfinance firm that has made capital available to hundreds of thousands of poor Indians, what’s the discomfort? The SKS Microfinance Ltd public issue opens on Wednesday for subscription. The lender is offering 16.7 million Rs10 face value equity shares in a price band of Rs850 to Rs985 apiece. And the debate has just begun in the marketplace: Is it justifiable for a firm focused on social goals to make supernormal profits? Also Read Monika Halan’s earlier columns Intellectual honesty demands that I weigh in with SKS. After all the Coca-Cola analogy (SKS promoter Vikram Akula, it seems, jumps onto the stage with a Coke can in hand to demonstrate that SKS will do what the fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, industry has managed to do—attain mass outreach in a replicable model) is what I have been writing about as well—getting rural financial products FMCGized. So what’s the issue. Why this discomfort? If capital markets are an efficient way to move money to their best use, why baulk at the SKS issue? Does that mean that hospitals must not list, or educational institutes or media? This logic can take us all back to hundis in a minute. Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint Still, filter out the noise and the one argument that emerges from those against the SKS IPO is this: Is it ethically justifiable that costs are borne by the poor that these firms say they are trying to help? If you are in the business of providing capital to the poor, how can you justify supernormal profits? The rate of returns that you earn point to the fact that your interest rates must be lower than they are today. The arguments in favour of the IPO talk about the inability of the present government-sponsored banking and subsidy system to crack the problems of the rural poor and of capital markets-funded money being the one way to scale up what has been achieved till now. In 2009, about 80 million people were covered by microfinance and self-help group lending. Given that the reach of formal branch banking is yet at just 200 million, could this model not challenge the status quo? If we oppose SKS, are we telling the poor rural Indian to go back to the money lender who not only charges rates of over 100% but has all sorts of other social leverage over the poor family? Should they be left to the nexus of political doles and the rural bank branch system rotting under the weight of corruption and dysfunction? That, though, isn’t my main grouse. What some of us, who believe in markets, are worried about is this: Will the need for the huge doses of capital to push a large swathe of Indians out of generations of poverty and despair also open them up for the Wall Street to dig its suckers in? My own worry is that the eye of the Wall Street is on the profits at the bottom of the pyramid—two Wall Street majors have already launched microfinance units in emerging markets. When journalist Matt Taibbi described Goldman Sachs in particular, and the Wall Street in general, as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”, not many disagreed. Possibly SKS is neither a giant squid nor a devta, but just a business. Possibly that’s where the intellectual problem is: Social goals cannot be just a business. It must be more. But then, isn’t that true of all businesses—isn’t that what corporate governance, corporate social responsibility is all about? For once I don’t know where I stand on the debate—the learning is still on. The minimum that the SKS IPO will achieve is to allow each of us, busy with this part of work in the transformation of India, to examine where we stand. Monika Halan works in the area of financial literacy and financial intermediation policy and is a certified financial planner. She is editor, Mint Money. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:44 am SKS Microfinance: giant squid, ‘devta’ or just a business?I’ve written in this space before asking why my BlackBerry stayed on the grid in a remote mountain village where basic banking was missing. A few years earlier I had argued for a model that would make financial services as ubiquitous as paan masala, glucose biscuits and shampoo sachets in remote rural India. So now when this comes to pass in the form of an initial public offering (IPO) from a microfinance firm that has made capital available to hundreds of thousands of poor Indians, what’s the discomfort? The SKS Microfinance Ltd public issue opens on Wednesday for subscription. The lender is offering 16.7 million Rs10 face value equity shares in a price band of Rs850 to Rs985 apiece. And the debate has just begun in the marketplace: Is it justifiable for a firm focused on social goals to make supernormal profits? Also Read Monika Halan’s earlier columns Intellectual honesty demands that I weigh in with SKS. After all the Coca-Cola analogy (SKS promoter Vikram Akula, it seems, jumps onto the stage with a Coke can in hand to demonstrate that SKS will do what the fast-moving consumer goods, or FMCG, industry has managed to do—attain mass outreach in a replicable model) is what I have been writing about as well—getting rural financial products FMCGized. So what’s the issue. Why this discomfort? If capital markets are an efficient way to move money to their best use, why baulk at the SKS issue? Does that mean that hospitals must not list, or educational institutes or media? This logic can take us all back to hundis in a minute. One thread of argument is from those simply envious of what SKS has achieved—taking capital to the poor on a giant scale and making themselves millions in the process. This group will include traditional bankers (Hey, where did the money come from? How come we did not see it? There must be something wrong with the model), development workers who may have tried to achieve similar goals but could not do so in the same scale SKS has, and others in the development space. A little bit of the carping is sheer envy—that Akula and friends found a mother lode of gold where others had seen only dust. Still, filter out the noise and the one argument that emerges from those against the SKS IPO is this: Is it ethically justifiable that costs are borne by the poor that these firms say they are trying to help? If you are in the business of providing capital to the poor, how can you justify supernormal profits? The rate of returns that you earn point to the fact that your interest rates must be lower than they are today. The arguments in favour of the IPO talk about the inability of the present government-sponsored banking and subsidy system to crack the problems of the rural poor and of capital markets-funded money being the one way to scale up what has been achieved till now. In 2009, about 80 million people were covered by microfinance and self-help group lending. Given that the reach of formal branch banking is yet at just 200 million, could this model not challenge the status quo? If we oppose SKS, are we telling the poor rural Indian to go back to the money lender who not only charges rates of over 100% but has all sorts of other social leverage over the poor family? Should they be left to the nexus of political doles and the rural bank branch system rotting under the weight of corruption and dysfunction? That, though, isn’t my main grouse. What some of us, who believe in markets, are worried about is this: Will the need for the huge doses of capital to push a large swathe of Indians out of generations of poverty and despair also open them up for the Wall Street to dig its suckers in? My own worry is that the eye of the Wall Street is on the profits at the bottom of the pyramid—two Wall Street majors have already launched microfinance units in emerging markets. When journalist Matt Taibbi described Goldman Sachs in particular, and the Wall Street in general, as a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money”, not many disagreed. Possibly SKS is neither a giant squid nor a devta, but just a business. Possibly that’s where the intellectual problem is: Social goals cannot be just a business. It must be more. But then, isn’t that true of all businesses—isn’t that what corporate governance, corporate social responsibility is all about? For once I don’t know where I stand on the debate—the learning is still on. The minimum that the SKS IPO will achieve is to allow each of us, busy with this part of work in the transformation of India, to examine where we stand. Monika Halan works in the area of financial literacy and financial intermediation policy and is a certified financial planner. She is editor, Mint Money. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:42 am Markets seesaw; Reliance drops; Mahindra upMumbai: Indian shares were choppy on Wednesday as investors were wary about the outlook for earnings, with shaky Asian markets and subdued US consumer confidence also denting sentiment. Energy major Reliance Industries initially rose after posting nearly a third rise in quarterly profit late on Tuesday, but then fell as brokerages lowered their rating on the stock. By 11:32am, the 30-share BSE index was trading up 0.02% at 18,081.16, with 19 of its components gaining. The 50-share NSE index was up 0.02% at 5,431.95. Top utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra was up 1.6% ahead of its quarterly earnings. A Reuters poll suggested the company may report a 25.2% rise in net profit. Leading listed real estate firm DLF was trading down 0.3%, ahead of its results likely after market hours. “Earnings are turning to be a mixed bag. Topline growth has been good, but input costs have been a concern for some companies,” said Vaibhav Sanghavi, director of Ambit Capital. Reliance, which has the heaviest weight on the main index, was trading down 0.9% after rising as much as 1.4%. Brokerage Edelweiss cut Reliance to hold from buy, after the energy major said it would maintain gas production at 60 million standard cubic metres of gas a day for the next 9-12 months. The downgrade was also due to lower-than-expected June quarter refining margins, the brokerage said. Reliance, India’s largest listed company, posted a 32% rise in quarterly profit on higher gas production, with demand for refined products in fast-growing Asia and improving margins set to drive growth. Financials were mixed after a new Reuters poll showed the central bank was likely to raise rates more aggressively in the rest of the fiscal year, after tightening policy more than expected on Tuesday. Top lender State Bank of India was barely changed while rival ICICI Bank shed 1%. Private-sector lender HDFC Bank firmed 0.7% and mortgage lender Housing Development Finance Corp climbed 0.6%. The BSE index is up 3.5% so far in 2010, supported by foreign buying of $9.1 billion of stocks. In the broader market, gainers led losers in a ratio of 1.4:1 on volume of 126 million shares. STOCKS Cairn India dropped 2.5% to Rs323 after the oil explorer’s quarterly net profit at 2.81 billion rupees was below market expectation of 4.98 billion. HT Media Ltd rose 1.1% to 155.95 rupees after the publisher of newspapers, journals and periodicals posted a 44% jump in quarterly profit. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:26 am Sebi seeks to limit investors' losses - Indian Express
Source: Business - Google News | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:24 am Soros set to buy 4 pct stake in BSEBillionaire financier George Soros is in late stage talks to buy a 4 percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange as foreign interest in India's financial markets grows, as per the Financial Times report.Source: HindustanTimes.com - Top Business News Headlines | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:20 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Ad and promotion spend dents HUL's net profitIncreased spend on advertising and promotions has dented Hindustan Unilever's net profit by 1.8 per cent at Rs 533.21 crore (Rs 543.19 crore) for the quarter ended JuneSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am `Record breaking' quarter for Reliance IndReliance Industries has reported a net profit of Rs 4,851 crore for the quarter ended June 30, a 32.3 per cent jump from Rs 3,666 crore in the same period last year. The turnover was up 88.1 per cent to Rs 61,007 crore (Rs 32,441Source: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Portfolio managers' fee should be on client gainsSEBI has proposed that the high watermark principle would be used to compute performance and the performance incentives for any fund manager of PMSSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Rain deficit in East may last till AugThe prevailing pattern of excess rains in the West and Northwest India while being below par over East-central and Eastern parts is likely to continue into August, according to an update by a leading South KoreanSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am RBI raises repo ratesThe hike in the short-term key interest rates by the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday may not see corporates and retail borrowers paying more interest on their loans immediately, but they should brace for higher rates goingSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Europe tightens norm for seafood importsWith seafood exports to India's biggest export destination, the EU, facing turbulent days ahead, the trade is beginning to look to the East for succour and safety. “Exports to the EU are beginning to get tougher and costlier as newSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am ABG Shipyard (Rs 245.2): SellWe recommend a sell in the stock of ABG Shipyard from short-term horizon. It is apparent from the charts that after recording a 52-week high at Rs 346 in early February 2010, the stock began to decline. The stock has been on a medium-term down-trendSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am BlackBerry makers seek meeting with DoTResearch In Motion, the manufacturers of the BlackBerry phones, has approached the Government seeking a meeting to address security concerns linked to theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am BP gets its first non-British CEOBeleaguered British oil giant BP has finally made a break with tradition, hiring its first non-British chiefSource: Business Line - Home Page | 28 Jul 2010 | 12:00 am Panasonic introduces 3-D camcorder for consumersTokyo: The problem of what to watch on a 3-D TV will be yours to solve with Panasonic’s camcorder for families to film birthdays, baby’s first walk and weddings, all in 3-D. Numerous global electronics companies are racing 3-D televisions into the shops, hoping a revival of interest in the technology sparked by blockbuster movies such as the sci-fi epic “Avatar” will translate into the public wanting the 3-D experience at home. But the relative scarcity of three dimensional content is a stumbling block for the products catching on. The whole camcorder and lens setup, shown Wednesday, starts at about 170,000 yen ($2,000), far more affordable than professional 3-D camcorders, which have been the only types available up to now for 3-D filming. The camera looks much like a regular digital camcorder but needs a slightly bigger 3-D “conversion” lens that’s sold separately. The 3-D camcorders go on sale in Japan on 20 August and will be available in overseas markets later this year, according to the Osaka-based maker of Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras. Executive officer Shiro Nishiguchi said Panasonic sees this year as the opening year for “the 3-D era.” Panasonic has led in introducing 3-D products this year, now offering eight 3-D TV models, three 3-D recorders and four designs in 3-D glasses. “Content you create yourself is going to be what you want to watch, and so it’s going to be a killer content,” Nishiguchi told reporters at a Tokyo hall. The 3-D camcorder is expected to help 3-D products for homes spread quickly, he said, adding that Panasonic will start selling a 3-D digital camera for still photos later this year. Panasonic demonstrated how the camcorder can film a girl playing on swings, and had reporters check out the film through 3-D glasses. The image was colorful, clear and 3-D but, as a homemade movie, not quite Avatar. Panasonic said 3-D footage shot on its camcorder can be watched on 3-D TVs from rivals such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. The technology behind 3-D works by sending a different image to the right eye and the left eye, just like the human brain constructs an illusion of depth and perspective with images that come in from the left eye and the right eye. Although some 3-D technology doesn’t require special glasses, the one shown Wednesday requires special 3-D glasses. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:57 pm Panasonic introduces 3-D camcorder for consumersTokyo: The problem of what to watch on a 3-D TV will be yours to solve with Panasonic’s camcorder for families to film birthdays, baby’s first walk and weddings, all in 3-D. Numerous global electronics companies are racing 3-D televisions into the shops, hoping a revival of interest in the technology sparked by blockbuster movies such as the sci-fi epic “Avatar” will translate into the public wanting the 3-D experience at home. But the relative scarcity of three dimensional content is a stumbling block for the products catching on. The whole camcorder and lens setup, shown Wednesday, starts at about 170,000 yen ($2,000), far more affordable than professional 3-D camcorders, which have been the only types available up to now for 3-D filming. The camera looks much like a regular digital camcorder but needs a slightly bigger 3-D “conversion” lens that’s sold separately. The 3-D camcorders go on sale in Japan on 20 August and will be available in overseas markets later this year, according to the Osaka-based maker of Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras. Executive officer Shiro Nishiguchi said Panasonic sees this year as the opening year for “the 3-D era.” Panasonic has led in introducing 3-D products this year, now offering eight 3-D TV models, three 3-D recorders and four designs in 3-D glasses. “Content you create yourself is going to be what you want to watch, and so it’s going to be a killer content,” Nishiguchi told reporters at a Tokyo hall. The 3-D camcorder is expected to help 3-D products for homes spread quickly, he said, adding that Panasonic will start selling a 3-D digital camera for still photos later this year. Panasonic demonstrated how the camcorder can film a girl playing on swings, and had reporters check out the film through 3-D glasses. The image was colorful, clear and 3-D but, as a homemade movie, not quite Avatar. Panasonic said 3-D footage shot on its camcorder can be watched on 3-D TVs from rivals such as Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. The technology behind 3-D works by sending a different image to the right eye and the left eye, just like the human brain constructs an illusion of depth and perspective with images that come in from the left eye and the right eye. Although some 3-D technology doesn’t require special glasses, the one shown Wednesday requires special 3-D glasses. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:57 pm DLF in talks to cut stake in insurance joint venture: ReportCiting an unnamed executive familiar with the matter, the report said an Indian investor might acquire up to 44% in the venture to become the single-largest shareholder.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:31 pm Rupee weakens by 6 paise against dollar in early tradeThe Indian rupee eased by 6 paise to 46.72 a dollar in the early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today following the dollar's gains against other major currencies.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 27 Jul 2010 | 11:29 pm Maradona dropped as Argentina coachBuenos Aires: Diego Maradona’s stormy spell as Argentina coach came to an end on Tuesday when the Argentine Football Association (AFA) voted unanimously not to renew his contract. Maradona’s future had been in doubt since Argentina’s 4-0 thrashing by Germany in the World Cup quarter-finals in South Africa this month, less than two years since his headline-grabbing appointment. “There needed to be some changes among Diego’s staff ... and we couldn’t come to an agreement,” AFA chief Julio Grondona told reporters. “No one’s being kicked out, a contract hasn’t been renewed because we didn’t have the conditions to do so.” An AFA spokesman cited “unbridgeable differences” with the flamboyant Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup victory as captain in 1986 and is adored by many Argentines. The team’s earlier-than-expected exit from the tournament followed a shaky qualifying campaign, but the former player was still given a hero’s welcome when the squad returned home and President Cristina Fernandez urged him to stay on. Several dozen fans, some banging drums and chanting, gathered outside the AFA’s headquarters after Tuesday’s announcement. Speculation had mounted ahead of the meeting that Maradona would not stay on as coach — a position he had held since November 2008 — because of the disagreement over his coaching staff. Maradona, 49, said Sunday he wanted to stay on, but only if he could keep control over the choice of his assistants. Best-ever players Maradona was widely seen as one of the world’s best-ever players in his 1980s’ heyday, but he battled drug addiction, obesity and alcoholism for years after retiring from the game in the 1990s. That made his comeback as national team coach an even more remarkable personal achievement, especially because he had very little experience as a manager. He had a patchy tenure as coach of Argentina, however, even though the team’s convincing wins in their opening World Cup games propelled them into the list of favorites. Maradona’s exit means Argentina need to find a new coach for the Copa America regional tournament next year but Grondona said there was plenty of time to recruit a new training staff. Local media said former Boca Juniors coach Carlos Bianchi, who led the Buenos Aires club to a string of national and continental titles in two stints between 1998 and 2004, was a popular favorite. Other names circulating as possible successors include Estudiantes coach Alex Sabella, Independiente’s former coach Americo Gallego, former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa and ex-River Plate, Inter Milan and Argentina striker Ramon Diaz. Grondona said youth team coach Sergio Batista, Maradona’s former 1986 team mate, was the logical choice as caretaker coach and he will lead the team for a friendly against Ireland in Dublin 11 August. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 10:22 pm BP gets 'wake-up call' and $32 bln in spill charges - Reuters
Source: Business - Google News | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:09 pm Bidding era for auditors to endThe government is likely to ask all departmental enterprises and agencies, such as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), to dispense with the system of tender-based appointment of internal auditors.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:28 pm RBI narrows rate corridor by 25 bpsContinuing its fight against rising inflation in a $1.2 trillion (Rs56.04 trillion) economy that is set to expand at least 8.5% in the current fiscal, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Tuesday raised its policy rates, but there is a tactical change in its move. Instead of raising both its policy rates by an identical margin, as has been the case since it started the rate tightening cycle this year, the central bank has raised its repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.75% and reverse repo rate by 50 bps to 4.5%. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point. Also See Monetary Move (PDF) The repo rate is the rate at which RBI infuses liquidity into the system when commercial banks want money from the central bank, and the reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank drains cash when banks have excess money. So, in a liquidity-flush situation, the reverse repo is the policy rate, but when there is no excess money in the system and banks are borrowing from RBI, as has been the case for past two months, the repo rate is the policy rate. This means the policy rate is now 5.75%, but RBI doesn’t want a sharp drop in the rate if the liquidity returns to the system even for a few days, say, on account of a sudden spurt in government spending or redemption of government bonds. When such things happen, the policy rate will drop to 4.5%. Had RBI gone for a 25 bps hike in both the rates, the drop would have been much sharper: 4.25%. This would have increased volatility in interest rates. Also Read While a narrower rate corridor will dampen this volatility, the Indian central bank is emphatic that it will not allow excess liquidity in the system as that will dilute the effectiveness of policy rates. In other words, if needed, RBI will follow up its rate hike with a rise in banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR), or the portion of deposits that commercial banks need to keep with the central bank. Currently, CRR is pegged at 6% and the last time it was raised was in April. A hike in CRR drains liquidity as banks are left with less money to lend. RBI will use this monetary tool to keep the policy rate at the higher end. Unlike many other central banks across the globe, RBI has two policy rates, and they need to be seen in the context of how much money is in the system. Normally, the Indian central bank talks about “adequate” and “appropriate” liquidity to take care of the credit need of companies and individuals in a growing economy, but this time it explicitly said it will keep the system dry to make its policy rates effective and fight inflation. From this standpoint, this is possibly the most hawkish policy that RBI has unveiled since July 2008, when both the repo rate as well as CRR were raised to 9% each to fight rising inflation and signs of overheating in some parts of the economy. The markets do not seem to have appreciated the gravity of the policy announcements, yet. Bond prices dropped and yields rose, but there was no dramatic movements. For instance, the yield on the 10-year benchmark bond rose marginally from 7.67% to 7.72%. There was no impact at all on the equity market and the bellwether Sensex, the Bombay Stock Exchange’s sensitive index, rose 0.32%. None of the rate-sensitive stocks was under selling pressure. In fact, the exchange’s real estate and auto indices rose by 1.47% and 2.44%, respectively. Typically, when interest rates rise, sales in automobiles and real estate slow as many consumers stop taking bank loans. The reason behind this could be banks’ unwillingness to raise their loan rates. Till the latest round of rate hikes, both the repo as well as the reverse repo rates had risen by 75 bps each, but none of the banks had raised their loan rates. Even after this hike, they do not seem to be in a hurry to raise their loan rates. This is surprising, because the year-on-year loan growth is already 21.7%, but the growth in deposits has been tardy at 14.9%. The banks will have no choice but to raise their deposit rates, as otherwise they will not have enough money to support their loan growth. Once the deposit rates are raised, they will have to hike their loan rates. It’s a matter of time before they officially do that. Meanwhile, they may raise the loan rates selectively for some sectors without changing their base rate. This can be done by raising the risk premium for certain sectors such as real estate. Six-weekly policy Wiser with experience, RBI has now decided to review its monetary policy every six weeks. This will spare the central bank from making inter-meeting policy announcements as it did in June and April. Till 2005, RBI used to make two formal policy statements— in April and October—known as the slack season and busy season policies. Former RBI governor Y.V. Reddy introduced quarterly reviews of monetary policy in fiscal 2006. Globally, most central banks conduct a monthly policy review and a few of them, including the US Federal Reserve, six-weekly ones. The Federal Open Market Committee, the policymaking body of the Fed, holds eight meetings every year at intervals of five to eight weeks. Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meets every month to set interest rates. The European Central Bank, whose main objective is to maintain price stability, too, makes its rate decision once a month. Both the Australian central bank as well as the Bank of Japan make monthly announcements on rates. RBI was resisting shifting to a six-weekly policy regime because of lack of adequate data to track economic activities. It bases its assessment of the economic scenario on data related to inflation (both retail and wholesale), exports, imports and industrial production. All these figures are released monthly, while data on the gross domestic product (GDP) is released every quarter. Then there are other monthly data such as sales of automobiles, cement despatches and airline passenger traffic. RBI also has its own database on the level of business confidence, household sector’s inflation expectations and growth in GDP. So even though it does not have access to retail sales, inventories of manufacturing firms and employment data like its counterparts in developed economies, RBI can review the monetary policy every six weeks. Decoupled monetary policy Till the 2008 global financial crisis, RBI used to take its cue from the Fed on rate actions with a lag. It could not afford to have an interest rate that was out of sync with that of the US, as a higher rate in India would have encouraged more capital flow and vice versa. But this has changed. In fact, recent moves by the Asian central banks have made it abundantly clear that the European debt crisis will not have any impact on the Asian growth story and that, at the least, the monetary policy of the two groups has decoupled. In the past one month, the central banks of Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea and India have raised interest rates, with RBI doing it twice to rein in inflation, as their economies are on the firm path to recovery. The Australian central bank was the first to hike its policy rate this year and India followed suit. Among the Group of Seven nations, Canada is the only country that has hiked its rate— twice in recent months—as its economy is showing signs of significant strength, but the central banks of the US and the UK and the European Central Bank have been holding on to their rates for years now. In its July update of the World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its global growth projection for 2010 to 4.6% from its April projection of 4.2%, but this is driven by its optimism about emerging market economies. In India, the recovery has consolidated and is increasingly becoming broad-based. Even if the Europe debt crisis escalates and the US recovery continues to be constrained by high employment and modest income growth, domestic demand will drive India’s economy. RBI has raised its growth projection from 8% to 8.5%. This is more conservative than IMF’s 9.4% growth projection for calendar year 2010, but even when the economy is growing at 8.5% and inflation is in the double digits, a 5.75% policy rate is too low. So expect more hikes in the coming months. And CRR, too, may be raised to make the rate effective. Tamal Bandyopadhyay keeps a close eye on all things banking from his perch as Mint’s deputy managing editor in Mumbai. Comments are welcome at bankerstrust@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:24 pm OK Tata, bye bye ZoozoosAnimation characters promoting different features of a telecom service are back at the top of the ad ratings index. Only this time it isn’t the Zoozoos, which ruled the index for months promoting Vodafone Essar Ltd. Also See The Top Ads for June Ads for Tata DoCoMo, Tata Teleservice Ltd’s GSM-based mobile phone service, occupy the first four slots on the ad reach index—which measure awareness and brand recall—for June, according to a Mint-Synovate survey. Also Read Previous stories on ad survey The survey covered 771 respondents from high-income groups in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Each of the four Tata DoCoMo ads promotes a different feature or service of the operator, including reaching customer care by pressing a single number, pay per second on national and international roaming, pick-and-choose payment plans and free customer care calls. Three of them are animations. Overall, the top 10 ads for June have performed better than the top 10 in May on the ad reach index. Five ads have clipped scores of 80-plus, compared with just one in May. But brand recall, one of the criteria for the index, went down in June—only two ads scored 100% compared with three in May. Surprisingly, despite doing well in the overall ad reach index, the June ads fare poorly on ad diagnostics, a measure of how much they are liked, enjoyed and believed. All the top nine ads in May had ad diagnostics scores of 90-plus; in June, the top ad scores 81 on this index, the rest are in the 70s and 60s. The four Tata DoCoMo ads are among the top five in this table, along with an ad for Pepsodent Germicheck toothpaste. Likeability levels are high for the top ads on this index, with the top five scoring in the 80s. But ad performance was average in terms of believability and claim, with most of them notching up scores in the 70s and 60s. Tata DoCoMo Draftfcb+Ulka The Tata DoCoMo ad which grabbed the top slot shows an animated orange character jumping one hurdle after another till it comes to one it can’t jump over. The line on the screen reads: Why go through multiple levels to get help? Press 9 anytime to speak to our customer care. Only fair, isn’t it ? feedback@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 1:01 pm Repo is our policy rate: SubbaraoMumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor D. Subbarao wants to position the repo rate, or the rate at which the central bank injects liquidity in the system, as the policy rate. This, according to him, will make transmission of monetary policy more effective. Edited excerpts from a press conference on Tuesday: On inflation Probably, we are at the peak now or may be we will reach the peak next month... We should see the inflation trajectory coming down purely because of base effect and food price softening. The food inflation has come down from about 21% to about 10.4% now. But non-food contribution to inflation is about 70%. So 30% of the inflation is still driven by food prices and we think the good monsoon will moderate the food prices. On transmission of monetary policy Monetary policy action since January should start to kick in now. Transmission of monetary policy is something that we worry about all the time. It’s important that the signals we send should be transmitted to the banking channels. On loan rate hike by banks As credit picks up and liquidity tightens in the banking system, we expect both deposit and lending rates to go up. Because of the easy liquidity situation and less credit demand, banks have not been able to raise their rates. But I think transmission will be more effective going forward. On repo becoming the policy rate The absorption mode that we have seen so far will change to the injection mode. Going forward, the repo rate will be the operative rate as that way monetary transmission works better. We expect to shift from the absorption mode to the injection mode... For a marginal day or two, the reverse repo rate could be the policy rate, but thereafter, repo should be the policy rate. On raising rates This is to make credit dearer, contain demand pressure, restore liquidity corridor (the gap between repo and reverse repo rates) and make liquidity tighter. On ideal rate corridor When the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) was introduced, the idea was to have the corridor at 100 basis points (bps). It went up to 300 bps, a situation that I inherited when I became the governor. After the latest hike, it is 125 bps. I get suggestions that the corridor should be maintained at 125 or 100 bps. Some even suggest that we should not have any corridor at all. Whether the present gap is a comfortable corridor, we have not determined yet. (One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.) On rising asset prices It is true that we have not made explicit statements on asset prices in the policy document, but this is something that we have taken into account while formulating our policy. Asset prices is always an important input for inflation calculation of the central bank. We are keeping a watch on this. On capital flow Even in the crisis year, we had net positive capital flow. As per our internal projections, capital flow in the year 2010-11 will be just adequate to cover the current account deficit. On RBI-government collaboration Both RBI and government need to act together. The fiscal stance is going to be more pro-cyclical. The path for fiscal consolidation is a job not done yet. We will remain calibrated to the macroeconomic situation and growth inflation dynamics. On six-weekly policy review As we are exiting over the loose monetary stance, communicating every six weeks is called for. It is important also to contain expectation of any action on our part. It is true that the six weekly data will be much more limited, but, globally, we are getting data from every country and we have our own modelling and forecasting. On the new banking licence norm The discussion paper will come by the end of this month or the start of August. We will have to marshall international experience and see what should be the capital requirement, whether we will allow NBFCs (non-banking finance companies), automatically, etc. On the monsoon When I was at the start of my career as a sub-collector 35 years ago in Andhra Pradesh, I used to be concerned about the rains... At the end of my career now, still I am hoping for a good monsoon. All of us are chasing the monsoon. On a neutral policy rate One thing is that we have not reached a neutral policy rate. In a country like us and in an economy which is growing at a fast pace, there cannot be a neutral policy rate. anup.r@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:55 pm Open economy, closed mindsRight from the 1950s through the 1990s, every decade has had its share of debates on economic issues. If the 1950s were dominated by the import substitution strategy debate, the 1960s were devoted to discussing the growth and productivity in agriculture. The 1970s and 1980s saw highly evolved debates on the modes of production in agriculture, on industrial stagnation and structural retrogression, or on factor productivity. The early part of 1990s was consumed by the liberalization debate. All these debates were high on diagnostic analysis and low on prescription. Yet these helped economic administrators in formulating, or at least calibrating, the overall policy regime. Also Read Haseeb A. Drabu’s previous articles After the advent and acceptance of liberalization as the dominant paradigm, there have been quite a few discussions on the desirability of these changes, but hardly any debates on the design of the policy changes. The result is that the good old-fashioned macroeconomics is now becoming almost extinct. To quip, when we had a closed economy, there was a much greater degree of intellectual vibrancy and openness than what we have now when the economy is more open. Economic openness, it would appear, is negatively correlated to intellectual openness. On a more serious note, the fact that this lack of debate has coincided with the opening up of the economy is indicative of the fact that the economic commentators have yet to make the transition to methods of open economy macroeconomics trained as they have been in closed economy macroeconomics. A case in point is the current dominant growth paradigm that is the centrepiece of the 11th Plan: Inclusive Growth. Inclusive growth is being packaged as a socio-economic agenda and pursued as a political economy initiative. In this packaging and pursuit, what has been ignored, if not lost, is its macroeconomic moorings. Inclusive growth analytics have a distinct character focusing as they do on both the pace and pattern of growth. From an open economy perspective, inclusive growth ought to focus on ex ante analysis of sources and constraints to sustained high growth and not only on one group—the poor. The focus has to be on productive employment. This is in complete contrast to the closed economy pro-poor growth practice and policy, which has focused largely on growth with income redistribution through transfer payment measures. Yet the pervasive mindset of the past has meant a continuance of closed economy policies in an open economy. Seen in this manner, engendering inclusive growth poses serious economic policy challenges, which are not being addressed. Take the case of monetary policy. Traditionally, monetary policy has been and continues to be driven by rate of growth and is insensitive to the sources and structure of growth; be it by sector, industry, class or asset type. With the sources and spread of growth and through that distribution becoming the focus, new conceptual elements have to be introduced into monetary policy to integrate these two strands. Operationally, the problem is that, over the years, monetary practices, institutions and structures have been developed based on a certain type of growth; these are increasingly becoming incompatible with the desired type of inclusive growth. If indeed this is so, then institutional changes of a far-reaching kind in the monetary policy mechanism are called for. To start with monetary policy would need to take a far more disaggregated approach. The directional changes, from excess liquidity to tight liquidity or from expensive credit to cheap credit, will not serve the purpose of inclusive growth. Instead, the need is for allocative changes through sectoral measures that will change the composition of credit and help financing inclusive growth. Yet all that the Reserve Bank of India has come up with is a programme for financial inclusion within the existing monetary policy framework making it more of an administrative intervention than a policy tool. As such the entire focus of monetary policy to aid inclusive growth has come to become not just narrow, but also very restrictive: improving access to and pricing of credit. Implicit in this approach is that the cost of or access to capital is the binding constraint to growth for the marginalized. While delivery of credit is a constraint, it is the low and irregular income, rather than physical access to financial institutions or high costs, that is a bigger deterrent. It should be constraints to income growth, rather than access to saving instruments, that monetary policy seeks to address. To go back to the original point, the defining policy question that needs to be debated today is how to make economic policy in general, and monetary and fiscal policy in particular, react explicitly and systemically to new domestic structures as well as international variables. This has to go beyond the influence that these variables have on the domestic output gap through external demand and domestic inflation through import price. For this, a new macroeconomic framework needs to be evolved. Haseeb A. Drabu is the chairman and chief executive of Jammu and Kashmir Bank. He writes on monetary and macroeconomic matters from the perspective of policy and practice. The views are his own and don’t necessarily reflect the views of the organization he works for. Comment at haseeb@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 12:40 pm Your mobile number is out there, brace for more SMS spamNew Delhi: Four years after Harshit Gupta dropped out of school to set up ItDoon.com, an SMS marketing firm in his home town of Dehradun, he began to notice a trend. “Somebody with a political background, say, would want to send campaign SMSes to voters in Uttarakhand, but they wouldn’t have any numbers to target,” Gupta recalls. “When I said that I didn’t have any numbers either, they’d simply take their business elsewhere.” Also Read What Can You Do? (PDF) So, five months ago, Gupta did what any pragmatic businessman would do: He started to sell databases of mobile -phone information as well, Excel sheets full of names and numbers, sometimes running into the millions. “There are a lot of vendors out there,” Gupta says. “I just buy the databases and resell them.” At the seamy heart of the Rs200 crore per year SMS marketing industry—and, indeed, of the far larger Rs11,000 crore per year telemarketing industry—sits a remarkable auxiliary business: the buying and selling of mobile phone numbers. Here, telemarketeers can be both retailers and customers. Every small SMS marketing shop such as ItDoon.com now offers Excel sheets of mobile numbers, and every shop makes the same claim Gupta does: “I don’t know how my sources get the databases. I simply buy them.” Also Read Scourge of SMS spam swamps mobile users This auxiliary business is responsible for not only the millions of spam SMSes sent, but also for rendering ineffectual the lone barrier that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has erected against spam: the National Do Not Call (NDNC) registry, established in 2007. These mobile number databases can get eerily specific. Jaspreet Singh, owner of a service called Database4India, which operates out of a basement in Connaught Place, says he can provide numbers by geography, or by the incomes of their owners; he can even purchase a database of all the Honda car owners in New Delhi. “Although, to be honest, not every number in that database will be accurate,” he admits. “There will be a lot of fake numbers in these really specific databases. But the generic databases, with lots of numbers, are all accurate.” How these numbers are collated remains the subject largely of speculation, though one Trai official, who asked to remain anonymous, contends that it is “not difficult to get the information.” Many firms use auto-diallers, trying one number after another, and compiling the results. “They can…just call in a series,” the Trai official said. “Anybody in the telecom sector knows that the 98 series is full and so is the 94.” Even less sophisticated and even more rampant, however, is the phenomenon of data leakage—trickles of personal information that seep out of banks, schools, courier companies, employment websites, credit card companies, insurance brokers, and (if Singh’s database of Honda owners is any indicator) car dealerships. One executive at a large multinational bank, who did not want to be named, admitted that, as recently as last year, “a lot of our databases were freely out there”. He emphasized the main challenge: that the systems of vendors and data collection agents were not necessarily as secure as the bank’s own. At one major insurance firm, several internal investigations are under way to identify and stop leaks of customer records. In this case, with their information available on the open market, customers are prime targets to be called and poached by other firms. “We’ll match this data being sold to see how accurate it is and where it’s coming from,” says one member of the investigation. “The guy we’re buying the data from is confident that he’ll be able to provide mobile numbers and policy details.” Surprisingly, the sale of consumer information is not illegal. (The rudiments of a privacy Bill are only now being discussed, as Mint reported in June.) “A personal data protection Bill was introduced in the Rajya Sabha in 2006, but it more or less disappeared,” says Lawrence Liang, a Bangalore-based legal researcher. Some regulations approach privacy, he points out, “obliquely”. Section 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2003, for example, “provides protection against breach of confidentiality and privacy” of electronically stored data. Another close brush with protecting customer data came in 2006-07, when the ministry of consumer affairs set up a working group to study online shopping. “We recommended that leaking data constitutes a deficiency of service and therefore be actionable under the Consumer Protection Act—and not just for online retailers, for any company,” recalls Bharath Jairaj, a Chennai-based consumer rights advocate who served on the working group. “But that recommendation is still lying with the Central government. It hasn’t been implemented.” In the absence of such legal recourse, the NDNC registry is the sole, flimsy guardian against spam. Three years after it was established, the registry contains around 60 million mobile numbers—barely one-tenth of all the mobile subscribers in India. Worse, even NDNC-registered numbers receive spam texts; in fact, in the world of database vending, an Excel sheet of NDNC numbers is often worth a premium. Partly, the fault lies with the insufficiency of the NDNC filter. Registered telemarketeers should present Trai with every number they are calling or messaging; within 24 hours, Trai should “scrub” that set of numbers, winnowing NDNC numbers from others. “Barring a few exceptions, most of the scrubbing has been given back within the stipulated time,” the Trai official says, though he then admits: “There are many telemarketeers that haven’t registered.” Trai’s scrubbing capacity is, in the face of 150 million bulk SMSes sent daily, also severely limited. For each telemarketeer login, Trai offers to scrub 0.39 million numbers every day, so companies such as ValueFirst Messaging Pvt. Ltd, which sends 50 million text messages daily, must buy multiple login. “We have a team of 12 or 13 people who do nothing but scrubbing,” says Vishwadeep Bajaj, chief executive officer, ValueFirst. With a host of prestigious, legitimate clients, a company such as ValueFirst cannot afford the taint of spam and, is therefore, meticulous about its scrubbing. But smaller resellers have no such compunctions. “If a customer gives me a database of numbers and assures me that they’re all opt-in customers of his, I can hardly check each one,” says Singh. In such situations, he “lifts the filter”, sending the SMSes on through a system that performs no scrubbing. “Only if I get a complaint about a particular customer will I realize that they are sending spam.” Even when complaints are registered, they bear sparse fruit. Unregistered telemarketeers, when caught, should be disconnected; registered telemarketeers who violate NDNC protocol are levied meagre fines. “If the operator doesn’t take any action, they are penalized Rs25,000 for the first offence and Rs50,000 for the second,” says the unnamed Trai official. “But the operators don’t let it reach that stage. It’s easier for them to disconnect that account of the violator and create another one.” The NDNC could be applied far more strongly, but that apart, few solutions appear to exist. Trai recently mooted a Do Call registry, a mirror image of the NDNC that would consist of people wanting to receive marketing messages. In consultation papers that Trai invited on the subject, the Do Call concept was almost universally scoffed at. “It won’t work. I don’t think that even five million people would register in a Do Call list, but imagine if they do,” Bajaj says. “Then these poor guys will get 500 SMSes a day, and they’ll also drop out.” What’s needed, in his view, is enforcement, “and that’s just not happening. That’s why this industry has become so messy.” samanth.s@livemint.com This is the last of the two-part series on the SMS spam industry. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 9:19 am Yahoo Japan to switch to Google’s search engineTokyo: Yahoo Japan, Japan’s largest Internet portal operator, will adopt Google’s search engine, refusing to follow Yahoo Inc in choosing Microsoft as a partner. Yahoo Japan, which currently uses Yahoo Inc’s search technology, and Google together would control almost all of the search market in the word’s second-biggest economy. The deal stands in stark contrast to the decision by Yahoo Inc, which owns roughly one-third of Yahoo Japan, to integrate its search technology with Microsoft after the US government blocked a potential tie-up with Google. Yahoo Japan, which hopes the deal will strengthen its No. 1 position in the domestic market, will also adopt Google’s search-linked advertisement delivery system and feed its data to Google sites. The deal was seen by some as underscoring Microsoft’s weaker position in search. “If this Yahoo Japan and Google partnership works well, other search engine and portal site players all over the world may start adopting Google’s technology,” said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manger at Ichiyoshi Investment Management. At a news conference, Yahoo Japan president Masahiro Inoue said the Japanese firm had after a thorough investigation concluded that Microsoft’s search technology was not sufficiently strong enough for its needs, giving Japanese language search capabilities as one example. Yahoo Japan shares gained 1.2% on reports of an imminent deal while the broader market was flat. The announcement came after the close of trading hours. Yahoo Japan said in a statement Yahoo Inc will remain a strategic partner for the Japanese portal site and the US firm will maintain its stake. Yahoo Japan will still use the Yahoo brand. The Japanese firm also said it has confirmed with the Japanese government that the partnership with Google will not violate antitrust regulations. Yahoo Inc, Yahoo Japan’s second-biggest shareholder after Softbank Corp, signed a 10-year deal with Microsoft last year to save hundreds of millions of dollars a year in expenses by shifting Web indexing chores to Microsoft while Yahoo focuses on improving searching. Yahoo Inc executives have said the company expects to complete the search technology integration in all 59 countries in which it operates by the second quarter of 2012. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 27 Jul 2010 | 4:48 am
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