Public Relations
A Parliamentary panel today pulled up the Finance Ministry for its failure to take timely action to contain inflation and asked the government to take immediate steps to provide relief to common man reeling under rising food prices.
Manufacturers upbeat on account of economic revival, year-end sales
State-run Indian Oil Corp (IOC) has appointed three merchant bankers for its maiden overseas bond issue of $500 million (Rs 2,325 crore).
Tata Motors, India’s largest auto manufacturer, will shut down manufacturing operations at its Pune’s commercial vehicle (CV) unit for three days.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supremo Shibu Soren is set to become the chief minister of Jharkhand with the support of the Bhartiya Janta Party(BJP) and the All Jharkhand Students Union (AJSU).
Amid the campaign by some legal activists for impeachment of Karnataka Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, the government today said it was not aware of any such move.
Global information and media house Nielsen today said it has appointed Shubhranshu Das as the Regional Head for its Global Financial Services Practice group in South Asia.
Hyderabad-headquartered infrastructure developer, GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd (GVKPIL), on Sunday acquired the entire stake of 17 per cent held by L&T Infrastructure Development Projects Ltd in Bengaluru International Airport Ltd (BIAL) for a total consideration of Rs 686 crore.
The premium brand banks on them to boost market share. Till a few months back, Hindustan Unilever was banking on renowned Indian hair stylists to co-create Sunsilk, its premium shampoo brand. The fast-moving consumer goods major has now set its sights higher and has just requisitioned the services of seven global hair experts to give consumers salon-quality products.
FMCG company Hindustan Unilever (HUL) has introduced a new water purifier called Pureit Autofill priced at Rs 3,200 that shuts the inflow of water once the container of the said gadget is full.
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) raised Rs 380 crore till September this year through short loans for funding various development projects but the borrowings will not lead to increase in passenger fares, the Rajya Sabha was informed today.
How Korean consumer durable majors LG and Samsung knocked out rivals in the fight for market share and brand recall.
Leading logistics firm FedEx"s net losses widened to $876 million for the fourth quarter ended May 2009, primarily bogged down by global economic sluggishness and one-time charges.
Middle East-based air-carrier, Air Arabia, today announced special low fares from 13 destinations across India to its hub Sharjah and 46 stations, which the airline caters to globally.
ds for the development of four regional airports in Andhra Pradesh under public private partnership would be called for the second time. A proposal to this effect was approved by the state Cabinet here on Tuesday.
After its success from b2b online trading platform for coal and steel, Mjunction services, a 50:50 e-commerce Joint Venture of Tata Steel and SAIL today forayed into retail space with a shopping portal straightline.In.
Airtel DTH has high hopes from a market that offers scope for exponential growth but is already packed tight like a can of sardines. Can the telecom major pull it off?
The proceeds from selling treasury stock will add to RIL’s cash and help its big acquisition plans.
Birla Kerala Vaidyashala (BKV), a joint venture between the Yash Birla group and Kerala Vaidyashala, plans to open a store in Malaysia this month, in addition to entering other countries this fiscal, a company official said.
The plants, with a total capacity of 3,300 Mw, are at various stages of development.
Commercial plane maker Boeing saw orders for its jets dip 11 per cent in August this year from a year ago while for the first eight months of 2009, orders plunged 71 per cent to 161 from 556 in January-August 2008.
India Infoline has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.02 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2009 as compared to Rs 40.21 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2008.
The IIMs will have to reinvent themselves considerably if they are to compete with top B-schools internationally - both in terms of their faculty as well as their curriculum.
The current outlook is poor and how the future will look is critically dependent upon government policy on spectrum and on allowing mergers and acquisitions.
The shares of the engineering and construction major Gammon India, which plunged 16.11 per cent in the morning trade, closed with an over 6 per cent decline on the Bombay Stock Exchange, as investors dumped its shares after one of the bridges it was constructing in Kota, Rajasthan collapsed last Thursday.
Trading in The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) surged to a record 3.15 billion shares as derivatives expiration and changes in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lifted volume to more than double this year’s average.
Media and entertainment firm UTV Software Communications today said it will raise $150 million (nearly Rs 750 crore) through various channels to meet its growth plans and retire debt.
Bharti Airtel, India"s number one cellular operator today received the nod from Bangladesh"s telecom regulator to purchase 70 per cent stake in Warid Telecom and to invest $300 million in the company.
HSBC Holdings Chairman Stephen Green said proposals to separate retail and investment banking are “unrealistic” and will slow economic growth because larger firms are needed to finance big companies.
The RBI governor’s statement that capital inflows are manageable perked up investor sentiments. FIIs bought stocks worth Rs 400 crore in the first four trading sessions. However, rising food inflation curbed gains. BSE Sensex rose marginally by 17 points or 0.1 per cent to 17,119, while Nifty rose 8.4 points or 0.2 per cent to 5,117.
US medical devices maker Boston Scientific Corp today said it will pay $1.73 billion to settle three patent disputes with healthcare firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J).
The bourse to start with seven contracts.
When stock markets go up sharply, risk-averse investors start feeling the jitters. There is always an apprehension that a correction is just round the corner. For investors who get ulcers with every sharp rise and fall, balanced funds are a good option.
Sensex has ended (provisional) at 17,478 - up 134 points.
The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh worsened on Saturday when 20 ministers of the state cabinet from non-Telangana regions decided to resign to protest the formation of the separate state of Telangana.
The government has ordered the SFIO to probe into mismanagement and financial irregularities in Vedanta Group-owned Sesa Goa and its subsidiary Sesa Industries (SIL), the company said today.
Newly-inducted Karnataka minister for excise M P Renukacharya today said that government was well on its way of meeting its excise collection target of Rs 7,000 crore for financial year 2009-2010.
The fiscal deficit rose by 73 per cent to Rs 3.06 lakh crore in the first eight months of the financial year against Rs 1.77 lakh crore a year ago, as the government cut taxes and stepped up expenditure to stimulate the economy hit by the global financial crisis.
Income-tax arrears against assessees — of Rs 2,01,276 crore as on March 31, 2009 — have once again become an issue, as Parliament’s standing committee on finance has asked the Department of Revenue and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to put in place a Management Information System (MIS) within three months for collating and retrieving data concerning appeals, pendency disposal and recovery.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs 159.86 crore under Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) XV to West Bengal. This includes an innovative Heifer Production Project (Rs 8.61 crore) in Kalyani. The project would generate and supply good quality crossbred cows and buffaloes throughout the state to boost milk production.
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), which recently increased the corpus of its Tribal Development Fund (TDF) to Rs 600 crore, has launched six projects for the integrated development of tribals in Karnataka.
The small and marginal farmers of Haryana would soon overcome the power shortage as the state government is in advance discussions with the ministry of renewable energy to revive the concessions for the SPV (Solar Photo Voltaic) pump sets.
India and Britain have a responsibility to work together for "long overdue structural reforms" of the global financial system in the wake of recent global downturn, President Pratibha Patil has said.
Two global lenders--JP Morgan and Bank of America (BofA) are preparing to lend US chocolate maker Hershey about $7 billion to bid for British confectionery major Cadbury, says a media report.
The qualifying bids for three Ultra Mega Power Projects (UMPPs) in Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu would be invited by the end of the current fiscal, a senior government official said today.
Kraft Foods Inc today proposed a 10.2 billion pounds ($16.7 billion) takeover of Cadbury PLC, but said the offer was immediately rejected by the British maker of chocolate, gum and candy.
US food major Kraft Foods has reported a 39.5 per cent drop in the third quarter net earnings at $824 million, but said it remains interested in acquiring British confectionery firm Cadbury.
The Citigroup may cut a deal with the US government today that will allow it to repay the bailout fund the financial entity had received at the height of the global financial crisis, says a report.
Strong portfolio capital flows into stock markets and direct investments will continue to push the rupee up against the dollar in 2010.
US-based mobile electronics and transportation systems supplier Delphi today said it would hire 150 more engineers at its Bangalore Technical Centre to cater to the automobile sector.
Former President Bill Clinton did not carry any message on behalf of US Government to the North Korean regime, the Obama Administration clarified today.
The Frankfurt Motor Show kicks off on Monday. Here’s a preview of the important cars.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz unit, the world’s top two makers of luxury cars, are considering building a joint transmission plant in the US, expanding on their cooperation in purchasing.
Swaraj Baggonkar / Mumbai October 2, 2009, 0:51 IST
Is it a masterstroke? Is it sacrilege? We find out
Volkswagen, Europe"s biggest carmaker, and luxury auto manufacturer Porsche said they had approved a plan to merge by 2011 and create an automotive giant.
Low cost of funds and low credit growth have meant unprecedented levels of capital adequacy ratios (CARs) for banks.
Manufacturing and marketing of portable gensets firm, Honda Siel Power Products today said it has appointed BSR & Company an Indian associate of KPMG, as statutory auditors of the company.
Toyota Motor said today that global sales of its hybrid vehicles had topped the two-million mark since their launch in 1997, led by the Prius — Japan"s top-selling car for the past four months.
Minority shareholder of Golden Tobacco Pramod Jain today made an open offer for acquiring another 25 per cent stake in the Sanjay Dalmia-promoted company, a move that could possibly open a clash between them over management control.
Finance Ministers of the world"s 20 most powerful countries in their two-day meet starting today are slated to discuss reforms to tackle black money and money laundering.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) today said the global economy is likely to witness an early recovery than expected before.
Corporate acquisitions in India could become costlier with market regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) mulling making it mandatory for acquirers to make an offer for up to 100 per cent stake in any listed company.
Vijay Mallya-promoted United Spirits is focusing on football as platform for promoting McDowell"s Celebration rum.
Kolkata-based FMCG major Emami is scouting for acquisitions in the domestic and overseas markets and says it can spend up to Rs 800 crore on this.
In what could be termed as a victory for home grown FMCG player Emami, the Kolkata Civil Court has restrained Hindustan Unilever (HUL) from running a campaign using the word "Boro" in its advertisement for Vaseline.
The Orissa government will introduce the e-filing of returns and e-challan for the dealers in the state starting from 1 January, 2010. The finance minister Prafulla Chandra Ghadai has approved a proposal in this regard. Initially, this will be launched as a pilot project using the portal of the State Bank of India (SBI) and the system is proposed to be expanded to all the areas of the state later, Ghadai told the media.
Stock exchanges in an effort to seek wider participation are trying to increase the number of liquid stocks. They may introduce some innovative products for this purpose. If rating agency Crisil’s efforts succeed, stock exchanges may sponsor research in some of the fundamentally strong, but less liquid counters to attract investors.
The first phase of summer placements at the Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM-L), which began in the last week of October, saw a 25 per cent increase in the number of offers as compared to last year.
Global hospitality chain Carlson today announced plans to open its luxury brand Regent in India with the opening of a hotel in Gurgaon in 2013.
Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) is the seventh-largest foreign lender in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with loans of $1.63 billion, while global banking major HSBC Bank leading the chart with $17 billion exposure.
The stock soared to a high of Rs 738 and finally ended at Rs 733, up 3% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 1.17 million shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 686,880 shares on the BSE.
Infosys ended at Rs 2,454, higher by Rs 10 or 0.4%, on the BSE.
Union Bank of India is planning to raise $500 million through bonds by the end of this financial year to fund its global operations. The money would be raised under its medium-term note (MTN) programme from the overseas market by March.
- A practical strategy - Reacting to rumours - Mastering money making - Don't be bold on gold - Getting rid of government controls - For the risk-takers
Over 10 per cent rise of rupee against the US dollar has become a "big worry" for exporters at a time when they saw arrest in sharp decline in the country"s exports amid a hope of recovery.
Low volumes of the "common man"s car", expected to encourage people to buy a brand new car instead of an used one, has, however, put prices in the used car market back on track.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has said that the central bank will monitor the sliding U.S. Dollar but pledged anew to keep interest rates at record lows to nurture the economic recovery.
UK-based Barclays today said it would increase workforce in merchant banking segment across Asia by 10 per cent during 2010.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi December 12, 2009, 0:15 IST
Financial services firm Barclays is set to award its 22,000 investment bankers pay rise of up to 150 per cent in an effort to beat government moves to clamp down on multi-million-pound bonuses, says a media report.
Business Standard / New Delhi September 02, 2009, 0:11 IST
To cash in on the rise in demand for its products, JSW Steel plans to hike the annual capacity of its mills in the US to 30 per cent by the end of the current fiscal.
Sun Pharmaceutical has managed to gain more support in its battle to acquire Israel-based Taro Pharmaceuticals.
Cigarette to hotel major ITC today said it is open to demerger of its business verticals into separate entities if needed as they grow in size.
Fall in government holding will help the bank raise capital through a follow-on public offer or a rights issue.
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) is planning to foray into the venture capital business.
Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) today slashed benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) by 0.5 per cent to 12 per cent in line with its peers.
Down 387 points to 16,353 as banking stocks fall on hardening monetary policy.
How best can the Union government use the window of political opportunity that has been opened up by the verdict of the recent assembly elections? Since the ruling Congress party has been strengthened by the poll result and there are no important elections due for the next year, the opportunity to push for better governance should not be missed. To begin with, the prime minister should consider a minor reshuffle of portfolios that empower performers and sideline non-performers, and also improve bureaucratic standards. The argument that in some ministries the ruling party needed fund collectors rather than good administrators has appeal before an election, but is less convincing when the priority should be to get things going. The ruling party should take a holiday on rent-seeking for a year and push for reforms and improved public sector productivity in the infrastructure sector, especially power. The recent raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Telecommunications are hopefully not part of some political bargaining between coalition partners but the beginning of a phase of crackdown on “corruption in high places” that the prime minister sought. Given the DMK government’s dependence in Tamil Nadu on the Congress for its survival in office, the latter can afford to crack the whip in Delhi and not appear as subservient as it does when dealing with this junior ally. Exemplary action here would send an important message to other junior partners and to ministers within the ruling party who have not exactly been symbols of good governance.
- Traders expect resistance above 5,100 - Expiry effect in overbought market - Traders expect index to move below 5,000 in near future - Market may open on a steady note - Far from money spreads could pay - Nifty likely to see more corrections in near term
In a surprise move, state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has cancelled the equipment purchase order given to Chinese company Huawei saying the conditions imposed by the vendor are not acceptable, leaving the fate of Rs 32,000-crore capacity addition programme in limbo.
Vijay Mallya-controlled Kingfisher Airlines has reported a 13.4 per cent drop in its net loss at Rs 418.23 crore during the second quarter ended September 30, 2009 compared to a net loss of Rs 483.2 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Its income from operations declined by 13.6 per cent to Rs 1,142.1 crore during the quarter compared to the same period a year ago.
US hedge fund makes 40% profit; KP Singh family to go for DLF Assets IPO in the first quarter of 2010
The country’s largest gold jewellery manufacturer and exporter, Bangalore-based Rajesh Exports, has posted 46.43 per cent decline in net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal on substantial increase in investment in raw material procurement.
Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi today claimed that the Centre"s move to amend the jute packaging law would have an adverse impact on 40 lakh farmers of eastern states, including Bihar.
It"s called initial public offer, but it was promoters who walked away with a lion"s share in this market during 2009, when they sold shares worth about Rs 20,000 crore in their companies to the public shareholders.
Dishman Arabia, the 50:50 joint venture between Dishman Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals and Saudi Arabia based Takamul, is bullish on touching a turnover of $50 million within two years of commencement of production at its JV plant in Riyadh.
The year 2009 saw the industry combating the shadows of global slowdown. A year full of challenges, which kick-started with the Vibrant Gujarat summit, was also a blessing in disguise in some cases especially with pharma companies returning homewards to Gujarat or brain drain from the reputed insitutes like IITs and IIMs being contained for the time being. While acquisitions and mergers gained some momentum in the later half of 2009, some of the special economic zone projects were hit. Companies responded with more innovative solutions while waking up to newer challenges. Problems in land acquisitions continue to remain although the process has been far more peaceful in Gujarat as compared to other states. This can be guaged from the fact that the first Nano by Tata Motors at Sanand got ready this year
Subir Roy / New Delhi December 23, 2009, 0:14 IST
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is trying to abort an agreement to buy $7.5 billion of Citigroup Inc stock at eight times Wednesday’s price, saying the bank misled it about the investment.
Less than a week after deflecting calls for his resignation, Timothy Geithner sold bonds on behalf of US taxpayers at the lowest yields on record in a show of confidence in the Treasury Secretary’s policies.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 24, 2009, 0:08 IST
A V Rajwade / New Delhi November 09, 2009, 0:05 IST
Vikram Pandit, the India-born chief executive of Citigroup, will continue to take the salary of $1 a year, although the financial services firm has raised base salaries for two of its senior officials.
China is getting all worked up about the wrong thing when it comes to the US. Forget these nascent trade wars over tires, cars and chickens. China’s real problem is how quickly the dollars they hold in great quantity are getting all the respect of pesos these days. Sounds like hyperbole? Not when you consider what may be the hottest investment of 2010: the dollar-carry trade.
Purchase of Affiliated Computer Services to help Xerox triple sales from services
Jamal Mecklai / New Delhi November 13, 2009, 0:16 IST
Investors got the upper hand in 2009, while fund houses struggled to cope with regulatory changes and upheavals in the economy, even as the industry shrugged off recession blues with its assets hitting an all time high of Rs 8 lakh crore.
The markets have opened on a lacklustre note. The Sensex is quoting at 16,690, down 29 points and the Nifty is at 4,974, down 12 points.
The Nifty remained listless after opening on a positive note on lack of follow-up buying in cash and F&O segments. With traders unwilling to be active at higher levels, the derivatives trading volume dropped significantly by Rs 10,000 crore. The Nifty December futures closed on a par with the spot index and shed 1.24 million shares in open interest (OI), mostly through a blend of buy and sell trades, indicating short-covering and unwinding of long positions. The rollovers in the Nifty January were lower at 0.78 million shares compared to unwinding in the December futures. This indicates that participants are not in a hurry to rollover their positions at the current level.
Kalpataru Power Transmission closed at Rs 1151, weaker by Rs 19 or 1.64%, on the BSE.
ANMI attempts to perusade NSE and BSE to stick to current opening time.
With the friendly policy initiatives and the funding mechanism, the Gujarat government may be moving in the right direction to promote entrepreneurship. However, India remains a tough place to be an entrepreneur, according to a report by KPMG India and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE).
Vanita Kohli-Khandekar / Mumbai December 18, 2009, 2:33 IST
StanChart Global CEO says the bank is waiting for the right market conditions.
ICBC-Standard Chartered: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China is already the world’s biggest bank – but it could be bigger and broader still. The time may have come to pursue a longstanding idea of a deal for emerging-markets lender Standard Chartered. While the combination was often rumoured before the financial crisis, in a more stable world it makes more sense than ever.
The steel ministry is planning to set up a special arm under Steel Authority of India (SAIL) to spearhead overseas acquisitions, particularly in the mining sector.
Following reports that the cigarettes-to-hospitality major, ITC, could make a hostile bid to increase its stake in EIH, which runs the Oberoi hotel chain, ITC Chairman Y C Deveshwar today asserted that his company could even raise its stake up to 25 per cent in EIH.
JSW Energy, the first company to be listed on the bourses in 2010, today said it plans to invest around Rs 40,000 crore in developing power projects of 8,000 MW.
Asserting that it has positive cash-flow position, debt-ridden Dubai World"s subsidiary DP World, which operates container terminals in the country, today said the debt crisis would have no impact on India operations.
Banks across Asia have minimal exposure to Dubai and its debt-laden conglomerate Dubai World, Moody"s Investors Service said.
In a gesture towards pensioners over the age of 80, the government has decided to accept voters" ID cards as age proof for getting the post-retirement benefit.
Public sector lender United Bank of India (UBI) today filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for its initial public offer (IPO).
Wadhwa Committee wants recovery of Rs 95 crore from those behind the fraud.
Undeterred by the premature end to its life insurance joint venture with Indiabulls Financial Services Ltd, French banking giant Societe Generale is still buoyant on the opportunities in the sector and plans to develop a fresh strategy.
Sebi should change the way issues are graded, say experts.
The government today said no headway has been made regarding the disinvestment of state-run power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL).
Fifty years ago, opponents used to complain that the young Mikhail Tal’s “hypnotic” gaze added to the psychological pressure caused by his dynamite sacrifices. Hungarian-US GM Pal Benko took to wearing wraparounds when playing Tal. Tal was amused but the shades prompted complaints from others, who were distracted.
To bring down its aircraft strength of 133 to 95, National Aviation Company Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, has worked out a combination of leasing, selling and phasing out of its existing fleet.
Comprehensive civil nuclear pact to be signed during PM’s visit.
Overseas funds bought a net Rs 994 crore ($213 million) of Indian equities yesterday, taking their investments in stocks this year to Rs 77,410 crore, the nation’s market regulator said today.
Mahindra Satyam (the erstwhile Satyam Computer Services) has agreed to pay $70 million (Rs 325 crore) as settlement to UK-based Upaid, which had claimed damages of $1 billion for alleged forgery, fraud and breach of contract.
Europe today urged the IMF to introduce a "social" tax on banks, insurers and markets to repay taxpayers" support during lean years with a slice of boom-time profits.
Non-banking finance company Tata Capital today announced the appointment of Jamshed Daboo, to the newly created position of head, of national sales and services organisation.
The National Stock Exchange Nifty closed above the 5,000 mark for the first time in 16 months on Thursday after second-quarter advance corporation and personal income tax collections registered positive growth.
Aditya Birla Retail, the country"s second-biggest supermarket operator, is considering an initial public offer (IPO) and will time it as soon as the company starts spinning profits.
Sahara Prime City Ltd, the company planning India’s second-largest real estate initial public offering in more than two years, is in talks to raise as much as Rs 1,000 crore ($214 million) from private equity investors.
With profit-making not being the sole motive of public units, caution needs to be exercised while investing in their IPOs.
In 2000, British Telecom and Vodafone were the darlings of stock markets in the UK. But share prices and revenues took a knock after the telecom majors won 3G spectrum through a high-priced bidding.
Mysoreans will have the opportunity of witnessing for the first time thrilling aerobatic demonstrations by the Suryakiran team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) during this Dasara.
The CBI today began its probe into the helicopter crash that killed former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and four other persons with a team visiting the site in Nallamala forests.
The Obama administration wants India to lift the cap in both defence and insurance sectors, a top US official said. "One thing that I think the Indian government could do would be to lift the cap on foreign equity in Indian defence firms, from 26 per cent to 49 per cent," the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake, told reporters at a conference.