Small Business
Bharati Shipyard today said it has hiked the open offer price to acquire stake in offshore service provider Great Offshore to Rs 560 per share.
The government"s revenue collection from central excise, service tax and customs is likely to fall short by Rs 15,000 crore from the target of Rs 2,68,000 crore set for the current fiscal due to continuation of the stimulus package, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said today.
Dealers bank on small NBFCs as big players opt out.
The Janpath Hotel is fighting the odds with a novel plan to bring it into the limelight.
Disinvestment plans likely to get delayed in 21 out of 43 listed companies
The US has said it is in communication with both India and Pakistan on the case of LeT operatives David Coleman Headley and Tahawwur Hussain Rana, who were arrested by FBI in October on charges of plotting terror attacks against Indian facilities.
Outperforming bigger peers, the relatively smaller fund houses including Taurus MF and Sahara MF have witnessed a significant growth in their assets, so far this fiscal.
Japanese investors who lived through a decade of deflation and recessions say US Treasuries are a bargain even with yields at about the lowest levels since at least the 1960s.
Chennai-based software company Zylog Systems posted a 21 per cent dip in its net profit for the second quarter ended Septmeber 30, 2009 to Rs 20.91 crore as against Rs 26.48 crore in the same quarter last year.
To make finance readily available for road projects, the government is mulling to vest the ownership of roads with highways regulator National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which can lease them out to private developers so that they can raise loan against such property.
The government will invite bids by this year-end for three mega projects worth around Rs 14,500 crore in the road sector, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said today.
The IRB Infrastructure Developers scrip rose 6 per cent to Rs 148.15 on securing a highway project in Rajasthan. The company emerged as the lowest bidder for the highway project to be built between Jaipur to Deoli section of NH12. The Rs 1,500-crore project is on a grant basis with a concession period of 25 years. It has sought a grant of Rs 306 crore for the project from NHAI.
The stock slipped further into the red to touch a low of Rs 131, down 8% from the days high. It rebounded to end with a gain of 3.5% at Rs 136. The counter clocked relatively hefty trade volume of 1.18 million shares, as compared to its two-week daily traded average of 820,391 shares.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 1,209.29 crore in futures and options segments on Thursday.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 775.26 crore in futures and options segments on Friday.
The market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today said that there is no need to have seperate exchange for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Terming the death of a swine-flu infected girl in Pune as "unfortunate", Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan has said negligence on part of the private hospital which treated the 14-year-old was to blame for it.
The gas row between the Ambani brothers had its echo in the Lok Sabha on Thursday with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav making a strong plea for gas from Reliance at cheaper rates for state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), a plea also being used by the Anil Ambani group.
The gas row between the Ambani brothers had its echo in the Lok Sabha today with Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav making a strong plea for gas from Reliance at cheaper rates for state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), a plea also being used by the Anil Ambani group.
The United Arab Emirate"s average sustainable crude oil production capacity is set to increase by 12.5 per cent to 3.06 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2014, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has estimated.
For the first time in 13 months, the country’s oil import bill registered a positive growth rate of 7.3 per cent, though the overall import continued to fall at $22.88 billion (Rs 1,06,640 crore) in November compared to $23.48 billion (Rs 1,09,440 crore) in the same month last year.
Asian stocks rebounded from earlier losses after Dubai secured $10 billion of funding to repay its debt. Japan shares dropped as a measure of business confidence showed companies are scaling back investment plans.
Oil rose to near $82 a barrel today in Asia after a jump in US stock markets boosted investor confidence and helped extend a four-week rally in crude prices.
JD-S today intensified its agitation against the Bangalore-Mysore express highway project promoted by Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprise (NICE), with party chief and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda staging a dharna with farmers at a village coming under the scheme.
Fears of rising interest rates in the US dampened investor sentiments on Monday. The Sensex dropped over 100 points, to end below 17,000 after four trading sessions.
Alleges infringement of patent for dermatology medicine.
Turnover of the 23 commodity exchanges in the country surged by 42.63 per cent to Rs 47,29,971 crore till November this fiscal on the back of significant improvement in agricultural and other commodities, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) said today.
The Andhra Pradesh government would take a decision on whether to continue with the Maytas Infra Ltd-led consortium for the Hyderabad Metro Rail project by the first week of July, according to municipal administration and urban development minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy.
The condition of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu, who is battling pneumonia, remained critical today with doctors putting him back on full ventilation.
The country"s second-largest two-wheeler maker, Bajaj Auto, today reported its highest ever net profit recorded in a quarter at Rs 402.83 crore, driven by good sales in the profitable bigger and sportier motorcycles category.
German multinational drug major Merck KGaA has acquired Bangalore Genei (India) Pvt Ltd (BGIP), which specialises in new generation proteomic and genomic research technologies, the cutting-edge study of proteins and organisms. Merck, which acquired the company through its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Merck Specialities Private, did not disclose the deal’s size.
Pharma company Merck KGaA today said it has acquired Bangalore based Genei (India) Private by its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Merck Specialities.
Hotels and retail stores in Pune have seen their sales drop 50 per cent. “We have seen a 60 per cent drop in the number of visitors and around 50 per cent in our total sales. We have sales of around Rs 3 lakh per day. So, over a week’s time we expect a drop of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh in our collections,” said Srinivas Rao, regional sales manager, Provogue Studio.
The Indian pharmaceutical market will treble to $20 billion from $7.1 billion (2007 figure) by 2015, with a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.3 per cent.
Buys 18 acre land adjacent to its existing plant.
Long dismissed as a price warrior, Acer is repositioning itself as a brand for the youth.
IT outsourcing company, Satyam Computer Services Limited (rebranded Mahindra Satyam), has entered into a strategic alliance with Australasia’s information and communications technologies (ICT) provider Gen-I for migration services of Microsoft’s Windows 7, which was launched on October 22.
Reliance Industries (RIL) may make a firm bid to acquire bankrupt chemicals and fuel maker LyondellBasell Industries AF in February 2010 after $20 billion of debt owned by the troubled firm is restructured.
India"s top two law officers have advised NTPC to move Supreme Court at once to secure gas at a contracted price from Reliance Industries (RIL), a position in variance with Oil Ministry"s plea on the Ambani borthers" gas dispute.
NTPC should take all possible steps to protect its interest in gas dispute with RIL; it should follow the advice of Solicitor General, opines Attorney General.Price at which NTPC obtains gas is matter of public interest and will impact availability of power at affordable rate, opines Attorney General.
Criticising the ban imposed on his book by Gujarat government, expelled BJP leader Jaswant Singh today said it amounted to "banning thinking" and likened the step to the one taken against noted author Salman Rushdie for his controversial work "Satanic Verses".
Increased supply however less than contracted 2.13 mmscmd
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today held an all-party meeting to discuss an action plan for tackling deadly swine flu, which has already claimed two lives in the state.
Ties up with food, banking cos to up mkt share.
Software major Microsoft Corporation has held talks with News Corp for a possible deal which would involve paying the Rupert Murdoch-led firm for removing its news content from the website of Internet search giant Google, says a media report.
I have some money that I plan to use after a month. Should I invest it in liquid funds instead of a bank Fixed Deposit for better returns?
Reliance Industries (RIL), which raised Rs 2,675 crore through the sale of treasury shares on Monday, is looking to generate a similar amount over the next few weeks by selling more stock to institutional investors.
Mafatlal Industries, a flagship company of Arvind Mafatlal Group, is planning to increase production of school uniform and corporate uniform by reducing capacity of non-profitable product ranges like industrial fabrics, sheeting’s, government supply products etc.
Essar Steel’s $2.5 billion (about Rs 12,500 crore) capacity expansion project at its Hazira plant in Gujarat will be completed by the end of this calendar year.
What would you attribute the good results to?
Higher prices in India since the last seven months led to a rise of 42 per cent in the imports of black pepper during the April-October period. The country imported 11,500 tonnes of pepper compared with 8,100 tonnes in the same period last year. Interestingly, the exports during the period were also 11,500 tonnes.
The Centre is planning to set model markets in every state across the country to preserve perishable commodities, said minister of state for agriculture K V Thomas.
Will Madhya Pradesh be isolated on goods and service tax (GST) issue? If highly placed government sources, working the new tax system, are to be believed, the state government will have to follow the trend. “Eventually the state will have to implement the system, we cannot linger on. Other states like Chhattisgarh have also agreed to implement it, Gujarat government has welcomed it, Haryana has accepted it ‘in principle’ except for few points. How Madhya Pradesh can stand out?” asked an official. But the state finance minister has a long list to point out flaws in the new tax system, the main being, “The GST will bring even dal-chawal (rice and pulses) under tax net, which are exempted from VAT.”
G Madhavan Nair, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, has been appointed President of the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA).
Cox & Kings Q3 net jumps 88% to Rs 19 cr
If company defined as controlled by Indians as in Press Note 2, clear its further investments.
For six years I had lived in Beijing, the constantly churning capital of a dynamic country on the ascent. But I was now to move again, this time to Brussels, the bureaucratic centre of old world Europe. There were many counts on which this was a change I wasn’t looking forward to. But the one positive I did anticipate was an escape from the paroxysm of construction that was emblematic of Beijing’s remorseless embrace of modernity.
Europe has emerged out of recession, with GDP in the 27-nation European Union expanding by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter.
e-Learning firm Helix Technology Solutions today said it plans to invest Rs 300 crore in phases for research and development (R&D).
Despite the economic slowdown, Nestle India, the food and beverages major, registered net sales of Rs 3,780 crore for January-September 2009, a 17 per cent jump as compared to the same period a year earlier.
SBI Card, the credit card service offering from the State Bank and GE Capital, today launched mShop to enable its customers shop from over 100 merchants across the country, using their mobile phones.
Engineering for space travel is solving health problems for us on earth.
Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said Rajya Sabha member Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan will be appointed as a member of the commission.
The process of granting the coveted Maharatna status that will give greater autonomy to blue-chip PSUs will be completed in the next six months, Heavy Industries and Enterprises Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said here today.
The stock ended at Rs 845, down 1.5% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 7.43 lakh shares on the BSE.
Private sector lender Yes Bank today said it raised $250 million (about Rs 1,140 crore) by private placement of shares to fund its expansion plans, which include opening up to 250 branches next year.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 29, 2010, 0:42 IST
The government today said all state-owned companies under the Department of Heavy Industry should go in for energy audits to help cut costs and reduce pollution.
India"s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) today signed an agreement to bid for oil acreage in Angola with the African nation"s state-owned Sonangol, while Indian Oil Corp (IOC) offered to build a multi-billion dollar refinery in that country.
The benchmark indices in Asia, Europe and the US closed in a Doji pattern last week, signifying indecision among market players. The Nifty closed at 5,117.30 as against its last week’s close of 5,108. The BSE Sensex closed at 17,119 compared to 17,101 a week ago. A Doji pattern is often found at the bottom and top of a trendline and is considered as a sign of possible reversal of direction. In a Doji pattern, the market explores its options either way.
Chandrayaan-II moon mission, which will help in analysis of mineral composition and undertake terrain mapping of the moon, will be completed by 2012-13, Project Director of Chandrayaan Dr M Annadurai said today.
Avionics expert K Radhakrishnan today took over as the Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) from G Madhavan Nair here.
Idea Cellular today said that its consolidated net profit dropped 22.5 per cent to Rs 170 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2009, as against Rs 219 crore in the third quarter of the last financial year.
Higher crude price realisation, coupled with lower fuel subsidy, has helped Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) post a 23 per cent jump in net profit for the quarter ended December 31. Net profit was Rs 3,054 crore, compared to Rs 2,475 crore in the same quarter last year. Net sales for the quarter rose 23 per cent, to Rs 15,314.5 crore.
The consolidated net profit of fast moving consumer goods company Dabur India increased 27.04 per cent in the quarter ending December 31, 2009. It stood at Rs 137.77 crore in the third quarter against Rs 108.45 crore in the corresponding period a year ago. Net sales, on the other hand, saw a slower pace of growth, moving up 18.25 per cent only, to touch Rs 926.18 crore in the third quarter against Rs 778.65 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Century Textiles and Industries, part of the B K Birla group, has posted a rise of 110.52 per cent in its net profit for the quarter ended December 2009 at Rs 59.64 crore compared with Rs 28.33 crore in the corresponding previous quarter. Its net sales during the period grew to Rs 1,068.10 crore against Rs 879.79 crore, up 21.4 per cent.
Professional forecasters have added to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Duvvurri Subbarao’s dilemma on timing the exit from an accommodative monetary policy stance.
Ahead of the Reserve Bank of India’s credit policy review amid surging inflation, leading private bank ICICI Bank today foresaw no immediate increase in interest rates.
Backed by a healthy growth in core fee-income, Bank of Baroda (BoB), overcame challenging market conditions to post a 17.5 per cent jump in net profit in the third quarter, overshadowing the muted earnings posted by many of its peers.
The government is setting up a high-level Task Force to address the problems of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which have been demanding adequate financing and other incentives to tide over the economic slowdown.
The chief minister Naveen Patnaik today launched HAM Radio Communication network in the state. This is expected to improve the preparedness to face the natural disasters. Speaking on the disaster mitigation day here, the chief minister said, the Orissa State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) will set up 220 Automated Weather Stations (AWS) in different parts of the state.
The shuttle Atlantis has blasted off carrying vital supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station to push its life past the 2010 retirement of the aging shuttle fleet.
“What does the consumer want? What does the market want?”
Global Outlook, a white label hosted Microsoft Exchange and collaboration services provider with its data centres in Hyderabad and Dallas in the US, is targeting to achieve Rs 25 crore revenues from the Indian market by the end of this calendar year, according to its executive chairman Dayakar Puskoor.
Realty firm Parsvnath Developers today reported a robust jump of over fourfold in consolidated net profit at Rs 24.90 crore for third quarter ended December.
The country"s largest real estate company DLF today said its net debt has increased by nearly 6 per cent at Rs 12,830 crore mainly by the end of the third quarter due to consolidation of its business.
Britannia ended at Rs 1578, lower by Rs 22 or 1.4%, on the BSE.
Hedge funds: Hedge funds have many reasons to thank President Barack Obama. His proposed curbs on proprietary trading should push assets from banks’ balance sheets into the hedge fund industry. They should reduce competition for trading ideas, translating into bigger profits for the funds. And they should make it easier for hedge fund managers to pick off star traders. But proponents of reform should be careful: moving risk about doesn’t make it disappear.
Rating agency Crisil today said that Glenmark Pharmaceuticals" rising debts have strained its financial health and downgraded the working capital loan and cash credit ratings of the drug maker.
After successive debacles in the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections in Maharashtra, the beleagured Shiv Sena on Saturday received a much-needed boost when it won the politically-sensitive Bhiwandi seat, defeating the Samajwadi Party and Congress candiates.
Rejecting Pakistan"s charge that its players were snubbed for IPL at the behest of India, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna today said it should draw a line between government programmes and private events.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today accused Indian Premier League (IPL) Commissioner Lalit Modi of betraying the PCB after none of the 11 Pakistani players got a buyer in the third IPL auction in Mumbai today and said he will take up the matter with BCCI.
This refers to “Reverse swing at Kotla”, December 29. The Kotla pitch was declared unfit because of uneven bounce. Nothing could be more shameful than this for India as far as cricket is concerned, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) — the world’s richest cricket board — should be ashamed of the incident. Just the resignation of Daljeet Singh, Sunil Dev and Chetan Chauhan will not serve the purpose.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) is considering allowing life insurers to invest part of policy holders" money in equity derivatives, a move that would allow these firms to hedge the risks emanating from cash markets.
Nokia, the world"s biggest mobile phone maker, said today it would cut around 220 jobs in Japan as part of its plans to streamline its vast research and development operations.
Handset giant Nokia today said it will cut around 330 jobs in Finland and Denmark, as part of streamlining research and development operations.
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland today showcased a bus with wireless connectivity --iBUS2 -- useful for disaster management, mobile education and medical emergency response targeted at the government and the defence sectors.
The Asian markets ended on a firm note. The Hang Seng soared 323 points to 20,356 and the Nikkei advanced 162 points to 10,414.
The state-run telco BSNL has informed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) that it may miss the March 31 deadline for implementing the mobile number portability (MNP) regime if it does not get security clearance for importing the needed equipment at the earliest.
About 40 per cent of people who have died of swine flu or fallen seriously ill were young and otherwise healthy, an expert from the World Health Organisation told a conference in Vienna today.
In a major boost to India"s Sun Pharma, which is locked in a takeover battle with Taro, shareholders of the Israeli drug firm today rejected a proposal to re-elect directors.
Infotrek Syscom, an electronics recycling company, is planning to enhance the current recycling capacity and to set up nationwide collection mechanism, warehousing and setting up the precious metal recovery facility at an investment of Rs 100 crore.
Shree Cement today reported over two-fold jump in its net profit for the quarter ended September 30 at Rs 288.91 crore.
With Tata Power now in a position to sell 100 MW of power from its Trombay unit as merchant sales, the company’s earnings for the current year should get a slight boost. In the current year, the higher generation—estimated to be higher by 10-15 per cent — is what will push up revenues rather than any significant increase in power realisations.
It is as flat as it can get. The Sensex is quoting virtually unchanged at 17,641 and the Nifty is down four points at 5270.
With the economy showing signs of recovery, industry would pick up further momentum with a growth of more than seven per cent in August and nearly nine per cent in October, economic think-tank Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) today projected.
Seven companies, including Reliance Industries and JP Associates, have raised over Rs 14,000 crore by way of treasury stock sale, private placements and bond issues in the second quarter of this fiscal.
The 224-million-tonne cement industry is yet again set to strike a growth of 10 per cent in June. If the initial numbers from the top cement makers are anything to go by, industry analysts said, the continuous robust growth will be maintained.
Concerns about Dubai’s potentially crippling default on enormous debts to global creditors have rattled investor confidence across the oil-exporting Gulf region but Abu Dhabi will come to the rescue, says a leading economist in the region.
The country"s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki, today launched a multi-purpose vehicle, Eeco, at an introductory price between Rs 2.59 lakh and Rs 2.89 lakh.
Madan Sabnavis / New Delhi December 27, 2009, 0:17 IST
South Korean car manufacturer Hyundai Motor today said the development cost for its proposed small car for the Indian market was around Rs 800 crore.
Hamara Bajaj may have walked into the sunset, but the sun is shining bright for other scooter manufacturers in the country.
Mumbai-based Gammon Infrastructure wishes to buy stakes in international airport projects. The company is already in talks with companies that have won such projects in developing economies. “We expect the first such deal to close in six months,” said Managing Director Parvez Umrigar.
With government’s flagship Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme showing encouraging results in expansion of elementary education, the World Bank has come forward with an offer to provide additional funding of $ 500 million (Rs 2,325 cr approx) for the programme.
The government is taking no chances with its proposed divestment. The disinvestment department has hired a public relations firm to put out news of NTPC’s follow-on public issue. Clearly, the department feels NTPC’s own communications wing is not up to the job.
Former Bank of England policy maker Willem Buiter said Greece might be the first major country in the European Union (EU) to default on its debts since the aftermath of the World War II.
Continuing with its soft monetary stance, Bank of England (BoE) today retained the benchmark interest rate at 0.50 per cent for the eight straight month and will inject another 25 billion pounds to boost the economy.
Two-wheeler maker BSA Motors today said it will invest Rs 50 crore in next fiscal, besides launching three new models, as part of its strategy to capture over 20 per cent share in the Indian electric scooter market by 2010-11.
After swelling to a nine-month high in the previous fortnight, the outstanding credit of Indian banks decreased by Rs 11,898 crore in the 15 days up to January 15 — its first fall in two and half months.
The mutual fund (MF) industry is highly exposed to the banking sector, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) data.
Anil Ambani’s Reliance Power today started power generation at its Rs 6,000-crore Rosa Power Project in Shahjahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh.
Three persons, including a lawyer, have been arrested in connection with the murder of RTI activist and graft whistle-blower Satish Shetty at Talegaon near here, police said today.
Country"s largest power producer NTPC today filed the draft prospectus for its follow-on public offer with market regulator Sebi.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 362.76 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
Six Indian drug makers have been pulled up for quality lapses by Sri Lanka’s ministry of health.
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) today said it has suspended all drilling and outdoor operations in the western offshore in view of cyclone "Phyan" in the Arabian Sea, but production is not affected.
Money transfer firm Western Union Financial Services plans to tie up with e-governance service providers and microfinance institutions to expand its reach in India.
As the main indices fell today, the share prices of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies rose.
Era Infra Engineering today posted a jump of over 85 per cent in net profit at Rs 57.24 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
Steel Exchange India has plans to increase the authorised capital of the company. The decision, in this regard, is expected to be taken in company"s board meeting on January 22.
Private sector lender Yes Bank plans to set up a firm, Yes Ventures, to house its private equity funds, in 2010-11.
Latha Jishnu / New Delhi January 21, 2010, 0:28 IST
Auto components maker Jay Bharat Maruti today reported an over five-fold jump in net profit at Rs 5.41 crore for the third quarter.
Suzuki agreed to sell its entire 50 per cent stake in the venture, Cami Automotive Inc, to the Detroit-based car maker.
A day after senior Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh announced his resignation from key posts, party supremo and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav today said Amar Singh continued to be in the party fold and his quitting key posts was “nothing big”.
‘Green’ vehicle set to hit Indian roads next yr
After announcing partnerships with three of India’s top auto makers — Bajaj Auto, Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok Leyland — Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault and Nissan, today said he was keen on continuing with just one of them.
Japanese car maker Nissan today said it would consider launching electric vehicles in the Indian market within few years as part of its global plan to roll out cleaner and alternative fuel technology.
Robust festive demand and new launches helped the country’s largest automotive company, Tata Motors, to swing to a third-quarter net profit of Rs 400 crore. The company had made a net loss of Rs 263 crore in the three months ending December 2008.
Five companies including Hero Honda have evinced interest in investing in Karnataka. In the run up to the forthcoming lobal investors’ meet in June this year, the state industries department has been inviting companies from industry segments to the state.
For companies which are setting up new units in Uttarakhand, it is virtually a mad scramble to start production.
German automobile giant Volkswagen, which has picked up almost 20 per cent stake in Japanese car major Suzuki Motor Corporation, may source small cars from Maruti Suzuki (in which Suzuki has 54 per cent stake) for the European market and sell them under its own brand name.
Barter and exchange services provider BBX India is awaiting Reserve Bank of India"s (RBI) approval to start international trading in the country, a top company official said.
Ford Motor Co narrowed talks on the sale of its Volvo Car unit to one bidder, a consortium led by China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co.
The Nifty tested the 4,900 levels as indicated in our F&O outlook on Tuesday and closed below support level on profit booking in interest rate sensitive sectors like auto, banking and realty.
Aggressive selling in rate sensitive stocks, couple of days ahead of the RBI policy review, saw the markets tank heavily. The RBI is scheduled to review its monetary policy on January 29. Markets fear hike of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), which in turn could affect these sectors.
The Indian bourses opened marginally higher at 16,317.16 - up 28 points. points - mirroring positive cues from the global markets. The US markets ended on a positive note after the US Federal Reserve said that the conditions in the world"s largest economy are showing signs of improvement. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.8 per cent, respectively. The Asian stocks too started on a strong note however pared some gains towards end of the day. The Hang Seng was up 1.61 percent and the Nikkei added 1.5 per cent, respectively.
The Sensex is now at 16,262, down 27 points. The NSE Nifty is at 4,853, down two points. Meanwhile the European markets have opened on a positive note. FTSE is up 37 points.
Exports of spices fell 1.3 per cent in volume and 1.6 per cent in value during the April-October period of the current financial year.
Indian food delicacies with flavour and taste of spices are becoming a big hit in China, Spices Board sources said here.
Mortgage entities Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are planning to introduce a programme aimed at helping independent mortgage banks to make home loans, says a media report.
Domestic passenger numbers in December 2009 rose 34.8 per cent to 4.5 million from 3.3 million in the same month in the previous year. This is the highest growth in the last 12 months.
Professor Amartya Sen tells us that his high school teacher’s advice, on whether he could get away with saying that Lord Krishna’s argument in the Gita was incomplete and unconvincing, was that “Maybe you could say that, but you must say it with adequate respect”. Following this advice, I write the review with the deepest respect for Professor Sen.
Despite a 55.44 per cent rise in its net interest income, the Bangalore-based State Bank of Mysore (SBM), an associate bank of SBI, has posted a 22.6 per cent drop in its net profit to Rs 141.31 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last year. Its total income for the quarter stood at Rs 995.07 crore, a marginal drop of 5.3 per cent compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Monsanto India posted 19.4 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 14.76 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009 as against Rs 12.36 crore in the corresponding period last year.
Lower raw material costs helped Maruti post better-than-expected margins, which analysts believe is unlikely to be sustained.
Maruti Suzuki has ended at Rs 1433, down Rs 6 or 0.4%, on the BSE.
The Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) plans to start mock trading from Monday, making it the first regional stock exchange to become active after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) announced demutualisation norms for stock exchanges. The exchange also planned to launch futures and options trading after six months, said a source.
With the economy coming back on the growth path, investment proposals by India Inc saw an increase of about 16 per cent to Rs 15.94 lakh crore in 2009, an Assocham study has said.
Tractor and utility vehicle (UV) manufacturer, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), today posted a net profit of Rs 413 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. This was an increase of 849 per cent, aided by the low profit base of Rs 43 crore in the same quarter of the previous financial year.
Microfinance institutions (MFIs) in the country need Rs 2,500 crore equity to meet statutory requirements and expand footprint.
The Companies Act Amendment Bill, which was tabled in Parliament in the Budget session that adjourned last week, has proposed to allow Indian companies to merge with overseas companies, a move that could introduce greater flexibility in cross-border merger and acquisitions (M&As).
A mistake by a US Navy intelligence official has given the world an unexpected peek into the secret world of China’s navy. The US Office for Naval Intelligence (ONI) committed the blunder of posting, on an open website, the agency’s assessment of the state of the Chinese navy. Before the ONI could rectify this indiscretion by pulling off the report, it had been downloaded and posted on a publicly accessible website.
A clutch of IPOs, including Asia"s third biggest by state-run NHPC, has propelled India to the sixth position in the list of most active nations in the global space of initial public offerings this year.
A nuclear-powered US aircraft carrier sped towards Haiti early today to assist an international relief effort, as anger and despair mounted in the stricken country.
NTPC has selected TRF Ltd, a Tata group company, for setting up coal handling plants for its super thermal power plants at Barh, Bihar and Mauda, Maharashtra. The combined value of the two orders is Rs 611.62 crore. The company has been given the order for setting up coal handling plants on turnkey basis for the 2X660 MW power plant at Barh and 2X500 MW power plant at Mauda. The coal handling plants will be designed to run at a capacity of 2420 and 1760 tonnes per hour, respectively.
Arvind Subramanian / January 27, 2010, 0:53 IST
United Breweries Holdings (UBL) has forged an alliance with Heineken to distribute the Heineken brand in India. The partnership in India is expected to drive growth in one of the world"s fastest growing beer markets. As part of the agreement, Heineken will acquire Asia Pacific Breweries (APB) India -- Asia Pacific Breweries (Aurangabad) and Asia Pacific Breweries-Pearl -- for Euro 25 million (Rs 174 crore). Following completion of this transaction in the first quarter of 2010, Heineken intends to transfer these businesses into UBL during 2010. APB is a joint venture partnership between Heineken and Fraser and Neave.
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) on 3G is divided on the number of private players to be allowed as some members have demanded four players in each metro against the Telecom Department"s suggestion of three operators.
Software company HCL Technologies today said it has received a contract worth around Rs 231 crore from UK-based defence equipment maker Meggitt for providing engineering services.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi asked the chemical industry in the state to take up the challenge of manufacturing ink used for printing currency notes.
A Norwegian-Indian telecom joint venture firm, Uninor, today said it has secured 1.2 million subscribers across eight telecom circles during the first month of its operation.
The telecom industry added a massive 44.21 million new subscribers in the quarter ended September 2009, while the gross revenue of the operators has slipped marginally by 0.65 per cent during the same period, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said here today.
GTL Infrastructure, which today agreed to buy the tower business of Aircel, plans to have a footprint of 50,000 towers over the next three years, company"s Chairman Manoj Tirodkar said here today.
Diversified Group GTL today said it will acquire 17,500 telecom towers of mobile service provider Aircel Ltd for a total consideration of Rs 8,400 crore.
The scrip erased all its gains and slipped into the negative to touch a low of Rs 356 and finally ended at Rs 362, down 2% from the previous close. The counter witnessed trades of 36,792 shares on the BSE as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 4,417 shares on the BSE.
Tata Communications has signed an agreement with the Qatar-based Qtel for a new undersea cable network that will connect a number of regional operators in the Gulf region with the country.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi January 18, 2010, 2:42 IST
The Bharti group, which has just acquired a majority stake in the Bangladeshi mobile operator Warid Telecom, is on the lookout to acquire government-owned telcos in developing countries like Africa which are up for divestment.
Tata Teleservices has added 3.3 million subscribers in December 2009, becoming the number one operator in terms of subscriber addition for the fifth consecutive time.
The Australian government has provided over A$8 million to fund the creation of the Australia-India Institute at the University of Melbourne. The institute is a platform to support research, training, executive briefings and policy advice for the benefit of both countries, according to Australia-India Institute Deputy Director John Webb.
Conglomerate Videocon, which has forayed into mobile handset space, has said that it plans to achieve a pan-Indian presence by end of February and roll out 15 more models of handsets in two months.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today sought views from the industry on introduction of 11-digit mobile numbers in view of existing 10-digit numbers getting exhausted due to phenomenal growth in the sector.
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the apex policy making body for foreign investment under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has recently revised the guidelines for calculating total foreign investment (direct and indirect) in Indian companies for uniformity in the methodology of calculation across different sectors.
IT services provider, L&T Infotech, today announced a strategic partnership with Savvion to provide Business Process Management (BPM) solutions. These will be in the areas of business process modeling, implementation and integration solutions and services to its clientele, a press release issued here stated.
Reliance Power today reported a 26.46 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 133.64 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.
State-run Bharat Electronics (BEL) today said its net profit rose nearly two-fold to Rs 223.87 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, over the same period last fiscal.