Business Opportunities
Industry body Assocham today suggested that the government should confer core industry status to the airlines business to sustain the aviation sector.
As expected, the S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,201 levels on long rollovers in index futures and key stocks futures. The index is expected to consolidate above 5,200 in the new series before moving above the short-term target of 5,350. The rollovers in the Nifty January futures, at 22 million, were at a five-month low, which indicates that bears are waiting in the wings. At similar point in July 2009, the Nifty had gained over 500 points in a couple months to move above 5,000 in September 2009. A similar trend may see the Nifty moving above 5,500 in the near future.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today met the members of the Planning Commission to take stock of the economy and directed them to complete the mid-term appraisal (MTA) of the 11th Plan (2007-12) by March.
Over 100 global endowment funds intend to invest in this asset class
State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) has set a production growth target of 7.7 per cent during the current financial year, its Chairman Partha S Bhattacharya said.
State-run Coal India is eyeing strategic partnership with mining behemoths like BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto to mine coal abroad and has floated an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the same.
While SAIL is operating at full steam, the capacity utilisation among other global biggies is just 50-60 per cent.
The stock touched a high of Rs 177 and finally settled with a 2% gain at Rs 175. The counter witnessed comparatively heafty trade volumes of 1.27 million shares on the BSE, as against the two-week daily average trade of 877,424 shares.
Infrastructure constraints at the Talcher coalfield under the command area of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) have hit evacuation and supplies of coal.
The Rs 22.21 crore pipe water supply scheme for 41 villages of Talcher, being funded entirely by Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), has got delayed.
Bennett Coleman and Company Ltd (BCCL) may be the most profitable media company in India but the company’s balance sheet reveals a lot more than the P&L.
Future Group, the company that promotes India’s largest publicly-traded retailer, Pantaloon, is planning a joint venture company by bringing together Future Money, its consumer finance business; Future Generali, its insurance business; and Centrum Direct, the foreign exchange service provider. The JV, under a single management, will provide its service through the stores of Pantaloon Retail.
US markets have rallied on Thursday as economic data boosted confidence in the recovery.
The Sensex is now stable and is now at 15,677, up 49 points.
Twenty years ago, at sixth place in the batting order, the 16-year-old Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar walked across the National Stadium in Karachi and straight into every Indian’s heart and history.
T N Ninan / New Delhi October 24, 2009, 0:20 IST
Noting that the world was on the move to tackle climate change, UN Chief Ban Ki-moon has acknowledged India"s commitment to use renewable energy in its effort to cut down carbon emissions.
Google is adding World Bank figures to Internet results in a bid to make hard facts about countries worldwide easier to find.
With global aviation bodies like International Air Transport Association pressing for reduction of carbon emissions in the sector, some major airlines have carried out test flights using biofuel and alternative fuel, which are cleaner.
Canon, the Japanese imaging and printing firm, has grown its revenue from the government vertical by 25 per cent and will end end this calender year with a revenue of Rs 850 crore. The sector was just 15 per cent of its business in 2008. “Although our growth was down to 18 per cent in the first quarter 2009, we will close the fourth quarter with a growth rate nearing 30 per cent. This growth has come from timely remodeling of our India strategy,” said Alok Bharadwaj, senior vice-president, Canon India.
Three friends went to college together, became software engineers, went to Silicon Valley, got cushy jobs and, after a few years, decided to become entrepreneurs. Sounds like a run-of-the-mill story? But this is where Tushar Makhija’s story takes a serious turn. It’s common to hear of entrepreneurs struggling to get that one big idea to start a business, but for Makhija and his two other friends, it was simply about taking inspiration from several popular online portals and creating a unique one of their own.
Facebook: Stock markets have wobbled of late, but has Facebook’s value really plunged by 35 per cent in just two months? For those unacquainted with Silicon Valley’s quirky financing that would be one conclusion to draw from the social networking website’s latest stock sale.
The probe into the Rs 14,000-crore Satyam fraud, clean chit to Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Bofors payoff scam and a number of high- profile cases kept the country"s premier investigating agency busy in 2009.
Bhupesh Bhandari / New Delhi September 29, 2009, 0:28 IST
The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Posco India"s steel plant at Kujang in Orissa"s Jagatsinghpur district by South Korean President Lee Myung Bak in January 2010 is under a cloud.
Opto Circuits today said its wholly owned subsidiary, Criticare Systems Inc (CSI), has entered into a long term agreement with a European firm for supplying patient monitoring systems and anesthetic gas delivery products.
Medical devices manufacturer Johari Digital Healthcare Ltd is planning to foray into retail and medical spa space.
Ackruti City will open the qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue to the qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) on September 3. This will be in respect of issue of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each of the company.
Dr Reddy"s Labs long-standing patent dispute with Europe"s AstraZeneca over a drug to treat heartburn may be resolved out of court following a similar settlement between the European drug maker and Israel"s Teva, feel market watchers.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is likely to seek approval for auctioning three blocks of 5 MHz each of 3G spectrum pan-India except Rajasthan and North East, from the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) scheduled to meet tomorrow.
Opto Circuits (India) Ltd. (OCI), a manufacturer of invasive and non-invasive medical devices, today announced that Criticare Systems Inc, its wholly owned subsidiary, has signed a long-term development agreement with an OEM customer. The agreement provides for a joint development programme focused on a new modular and MRI-compatible patient monitoring system.
The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on the Dabhol power project discussed various issues at its maiden meeting on Monday, including stuck compensation claims.
Fixed income funds saw the largest net inflows among all fund categories in October.
Assocham President Swati Piramal had an interesting new year’s gift for Assocham — a “cool the earth” perfume in a bottle shaped like Assocham’s mascot for the year, a penguin called Gro. A penguin, the letter accompanying her present says, since its home will be the first to be hit by global warming.
The Sensex is now flat at 16,880, down 13 points.
Investments to be company-specific; infrastructure to remain in focus.
The Sensex has slipped once again into the red and is now down 70 points at 16,780. The Nifty is down 33 points at 4,971.
The Asian markets have ended in the green today.
The Sensex has ended (provisional) at 16,844 - up 148 points. The Nifty ended (provisional) at 4,997 - up 44 points.
The stock slipped to a low of Rs 2,509 and finally settled at Rs 2,526, down 1.5% from its previous close. The counter clcoked volumes of 182,219 shares on the BSE as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 164,010 shares on the BSE. ___________________________________________
Sensex ends up 35pts
Decides to provide extra helping hand after a sectoral review
The Nifty closed above the resistance level of 4,350 on the first day of the new F&O series on short covering by foreign investors and long build-up in key stocks futures. If the Nifty could maintain support around this level, then we may see the index crossing the 4,500 levels during the coming week. Trading in the Nifty options suggests that the index can move above 4,400 with strong support at 4,300.
An intermediate reversal could mean net losses over the next 4-6 weeks.
Refusing to be drawn into the debate over when should stimulus packages be withdrawn, the Planning Commission today said India will not stand out in the world as an overspender despite the rise in the fiscal deficit because of the sops.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today directed the Income Tax Department to make all efforts to achieve the revised direct tax target of Rs 4 lakh crore to contain the critical parameters of the economy, especially when there was slippage in indirect tax collections. He said this while addressing the All-India Conference on Tax Deduction at Source (TDS).
Though the Nifty closed slightly below 5,000 today, the trading volume in the put and call options suggests that bulls will find it difficult to hold on to this level.
State-run power company National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) is exploring opportunities to source coal from abroad and has identified two more blocks in Indonesia for securing the dry fuel for its thermal power plants.
The government today said India is more prepared to deal with a Satyam-like fraud that hit the corporate world with the disclosure of about Rs 10,000 crore fudging of accounts by the founder of the IT firm B Ramalinga Raju a year ago.
The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 184.85 crore in futures and options segments on Tuesday.
After having opened marginally in the red, the markets have rebounded in line with their Asian counterparts. Asia is largely trading in the green after the Federal Reserve raised the US growth forecasts for 2010. The US markets also ended off their lows, albeit marginally weak, after the Fed raised the GDP forecast.
The need is to identify free land areas, says steel secretary.
Tatas-owned European steel major Corus has appointed Karl-Ulrich Kohler as the new Chief Operating Officer with effect from February 1, 2010.
Faced with the threat of closure, metal scrap traders have appealed the government to reshuffle taxation structure to volume-based from value-based.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi November 16, 2009, 0:07 IST
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is known to stick to the subject at hand and not get into long discussions. So, when CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta raised a calling attention motion on the merger of banks and started making several ideological points, this made Mukherjee testy.
Shobhana Subramanian / Mumbai November 6, 2009, 0:43 IST
The Nifty futures faced resistance at 5,060 and closed in a Doji pattern, indicating indecisiveness among traders. The trading volume on the futures & options segment suggests the index is set for an either side breakout in the coming days. The Nifty is expected to face strong resistance above 5,100 and support for the time being is seen at 4,800-4,900.
ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), may pick up a stake in the $1.95 billion gas pipeline that China is building for ferrying natural gas found off the Myanmar coast.
Bangalore-based public sector lender Vijaya Bank today said it is looking to a business growth of 22 per cent, to Rs 1,10,000 crore. This will comprise of Rs 64,000 crore under deposits and Rs 46,000 crore under advances for year-ending March 2010 compared to the last financial year.
Sun Pharma"s US-based subsidiary Caraco Pharmaceuticals has agreed to undertake a series of measures as per requirements of the US health regulator Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get a ban on its manufacturing units lifted.
Tata Motors has said all the existing bookings of the Nano will be delivered at the current prices, notwithstanding the rising input prices.
The management at Sun Pharma has indicated that sales in the current year could grow by about 13-15 per cent. That’s better than what was expected earlier and is probably because of benefits that it will get from selling a couple of products—Protonix and Ethyol---exclusively in the overseas markets. But it’s good news because the Rs 4,272 crore drug firm has been going through a bit of a rough patch in the US.
That the market for jobs has improved is fairly well known by now. What is perhaps not so well known is that the improvement has been good enough for headhunters (they like to call themselves executive search firms) to get back in business. Some of them say business has rebounded to the pre-crash levels of 2008. Most of them are hiring at senior levels — people who can get business. Korn/Ferry has restored salary cuts for all partners. EMA Partners is in the process of opening an office in Hong Kong.
Ranibai Rajaram Chhabria, the mother of the late Manohar Rajaram ‘Manu’ Chhabria, has challenged in court the merger of Shaw Wallace with Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits, the Press Trust of India reported a few days ago. She has claimed that her son died intestate seven years ago and under Hindu Law she is entitled to a fifth of his estate, it said.
Jindal Drilling & Industries today said it has bagged an order worth Rs 635 crore from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for hiring a drilling unit for five years.
It was a day of consolidation. The markets ended flat after trading in a narrow, albeit choppy range, as they attempted to digest the gains of the past two days. The Sensex closed below the dotted line at 17,169, down 28 points, and the Nifty ended at 5,123, up a point.
The markets staged a spectacular rally on the back of positive overseas cues. The Sensex regained the psychological 17k mark to end at 17,198, stronger by 272 points, and the Nifty closed at 5,122, higher by 89 points. Auto, pharma, metal and high-beta realty stocks were the flavour of the day.
The total investor wealth on the Bombay Stock Exchange rose by over Rs 1.07 lakh crore today as positive cues from global markets led the rally in today"s market, which surged over 2.55 per cent.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today said it received 357 complaints against 228 listed companies and resolved 317 complaints against 239 listed companies in July.
Sensex ends up 35pts
Bharti Airtel today announced offering both local and STD calls at a flat rate of 50 paisa per minute to its 110 million subscribers.
Infosys BPO, the business process outsourcing subsidiary of Infosys Technologies, has forged an alliance with MortgageFlex Systems to provide offerings to the mortgage industry in the US .
The Delhi High Court today issued notices to Ranbaxy founding family members - Manjit Singh, Nimmi Singh, Malvinder Mohan Singh and Shivender Mohan Singh in a property dispute with Max India Group Chairman Analjit Singh.
Wants to expand within the country and outside, while Star Aviation, yet to begin operations, has three aircraft ready
The September 2009 quarter results of leading IT players suggest that the global telecom industry is not out of the woods. Indicatively, Infosys and TCS‘ telecom segments’ share in overall revenues posted a decline of 60-70 bps sequentially — even on an absolute basis, their telecom-vertical revenues were lower sequentially. Given the muted outlook for the telecom sector, the topline and operating performance of Tech Mahindra, which derives 60 per cent from Europe and about 50 per cent from its major client, British Telecom (BT), is reasonably good.
The board of directors of Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) on Tuesday approved the proposal to create a joint venture company with APGenco. APIIC would have a majority 51 per cent equity share and APGenco the remaining 49 per cent.
The Andhra Pradesh government has sanctioned seven projects that are being set up at the Sri City Special Economic Zone and the APIIC Industrial Park in the state. These projects involve a total investment of around Rs 3,000 crore, according to Busi Sam Bob, Principal Secretary, state industries and commerce department.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) committee on reviewing the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) has recommended that the nomenclature be scrapped and a new benchmark rate — known as base rate — should replace it.
Investor wealth swelled by nearly Rs 77,000 crore today as the BSE Sensex, boosted by strong corporate earnings and positive global cues, surged to a 14-month high of 15,924.23 points.
Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s latest fad is a sleek laptop. But if you thought the firebrand leader had suddenly become tech-savvy, then you are wrong. The laptop is used by Banerjee only to play music during her long-distance travels and at night after a day’s hard work. But typically, Banerjee doesn’t carry the laptop in its sleek case. She prefers to bung it into her trademark blue jhola or the sling bag that carries all important papers, including her Budget speech.
India"s most valued company Reliance Industries (RIL) today reported 11.5 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 3,636 crore for the first quarter of the this fiscal on falling refining margins and reduction in fuel demand in the time of global recession.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has hired an ultra deep-sea drill rig from Reliance Industries (RIL) for four years at close to Rs 3,915 crore.
Business Standard / New Delhi October 12, 2009, 0:07 IST
Drawing a poor response, India"s largest oil and gas licensing round saw a total of 76 bids being received for 36 out of 70 blocks on offer.
Facing allegations of approving Reliance Industries’ inflated gas field costs that could hurt government revenue, oil regulator, the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), today launched an advertisement campaign, saying the exchequer would get $16.57 billion, compared to $9.5 billion for the company.
Bhavin Shah, Managing Director, Global Equity Research (Technology Sector), JPMorgan, says the worst may be behind us
Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest telecom company, posted a 24 per cent increase in net profit for the first quarter ended June 30 to Rs 2,516.7 crore — up from Rs 2,025 crore posted last year — in line with market expectations.
Bharti Airtel today said it is still in talks with South Africa"s MTN over a deal which could see a merger of the two telecom giants that have a combined revenue of $20 billion.
Markets today gained around 100 points on positive cues from the global markets and strong auto, cement and steel sales in December 2009.
The Sensex has extended gains and touched a high of 17,554 - up 90 points. The Nifty is up 30 points at 5,231.
The Malaysian arm of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) player Marico has acquired hair-styling brand Code 10 from Colgate-Palmolive for an undisclosed sum. The buyout marks the company’s entry into the Malaysian hair-styling market. It is also the company’s first since the acquisition of Durban-based Enaleni Pharmaceuticals in late 2007.
Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries (RIL) today said it has successfully tested the design capacity of its massive eastern offshore Krishna-Godavari basin D6 field production facilities.
The Indian Railways has posted over 6 per cent increase in earnings during the first half of the current financial year and registered a growth of over four per cent in passenger bookings.
- Buffett posts $1 bn profit on China car maker BYD - India beat China in trust factor in business: survey - Barun Roy: Let the games begin">Barun Roy: Let the games begin - China for hotline between its Premier & Indian PM - US, China seek common ground on climate change - US, China oppose a nuclear Iran: Clinton
Weighed down by a whopping 3.5 crore pending cases in courts nationwide, the Government today proposed a National Arrears Grid to compile accurate data and appoint high court and lower court judges temporarily to bring down 15-year delays in justice delivery to three years.
The scrip zoomed to a high of Rs 94 and finally ended at Rs 93, up 2.5% from the previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 30.16 million shares on the BSE as compared to the two-week daily average traded volume of 14.87 million shares .
Mahindra Satyam announced today that it has joined the Symbian Foundation, which, together with its ecosystem, is creating an open and complete mobile software platform.
Sayantani Kar / New Delhi November 17, 2009, 0:18 IST
Enquiry into the helicopter crash in which Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy was killed will be completed by this month end, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel informed the Lok Sabha today.
With the industry gradually emerging from recession, business hotels are hoping to ring in the good times with more travellers demanding "smart hotels" with prompt service and good communication systems sans the luxury frills.
The Sensex is now at 17,710, up 24 points. The NSE Nifty is at 5,285, up eight points
Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies are likely to register a modest growth for the July-September 2009 quarter on the back of rising consumer demand which is expected to considerably reduce the impact of a disappointing monsoon on sales. Traditionally, summer and winter months make up 30-40 per cent of any FMCG company’s overall sales.
FMCG major Dabur, which owns the ‘Hajmola’ brand of digestive tablets, is unable to digest another pill by almost the same name — ‘Pachmola’.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi November 16, 2009, 0:07 IST
The intra-day movement for the Sensex, that is, the difference between the day’s high and low, has dipped to historically low levels in recent months. In fact, intra-day volatility was at its lowest in September since the Sensex crossed the 15,000 mark in July 2007.
The Sensex finally ended (provisional) at 16,974, down 76 points. The NSE Nifty ended (provisional) at 5,052, down 10 points.
Beauty services provider Kaya Skin Clinic will invest Rs 100 crore in setting up around 75 outlets across the country as well as in Saudi Arabia over the next three years.
The scrip ended at its 5% upper circuit at Rs 27. The counter clcoked volumes of 23,716 shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 248,229 shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 248,229 shares on the BSE.
The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 157.64 crore in futures and options segments on Friday.
Swinging into action, the government today sought a report from the convener of Common Admission Test (CAT) Satish Deodhar on the ongoing disruption of the computer-based entrance test for admission into Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
IT firm HCL Infosystems today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.97 crore for the second quarter ended September 2009, a 10.77 per cent drop over the same period a year ago.
Suddenly, search engines seem to be multiplying. Microsoft is set to unveil Kumo, its latest effort to crack Google’s dominance in search. Meanwhile, sites like Wolfram Alpha and Newssift are trying to find safe and profitable niches for searches that add specialist value. Sadly, Google’s supposed rivals have mostly done better at generating hype than meaningful results.
With the report of the special audit into the accounts of Reliance Communication (RCom) stating that the company had misclassified its income to avoid paying licence fees and overstated its mobile phone income (by around a fourth) in other ways, you’d think the Ministry of Corporate Affairs would be interested in examining the report and taking appropriate action.
The Planning Commission today expressed optimism that economic growth during the current year will exceed 7 per cent, up from 6.7 per cent recorded during 2008-09.
The government today approved a bulk order for power equipment, envisaging an investment of Rs 40,000 crore, for the upcoming thermal power plants of NTPC and Damodar Valley Corporation, a move that will help overcome power shortage in the country.
Lok Janshakti Party chief Ramvilas Paswan has finally been served a notice by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to vacate the plush bungalow at 15, Janpath. Paswan — as a minister since 2002 —occupied the Type-VIII bungalow near Parliament. But in 2009 elections, his party couldn’t win a single seat. Still, Paswan didn’t show any sign of moving out of the bungalow which served as his residence as well as the party office. As many new MPs are waiting with allotment letters for the current occupants to move out, NMDC finally decided to move out Paswan.
Five-hour tense standoff in rural Bengal finally ends without violence.
Kirtika Suneja / New Delhi November 11, 2009, 0:35 IST
In a week marked by high volatility, markets corrected sharply only to bounce back with greater strength. Last week, it was mentioned that the markets might stage a July-like recovery amid high volatility. Although, markets have bounced back sharply, chances of a full recovery look remote currently. Going forward, one needs to watch the 15,530-15,640 zone for the Sensex as crucial for the current upmove to remain intact. As and when it comes below this level, the index is likely to test its long-term support of 14,800.
Commerce ministry officials are examining a demand made by the US that India should agree to steep tariff cuts on a range of industrial products that cover about 60 per cent of the latter’s overall imports.
Insurgency seems to have affected efforts for tiger conservation in the country as wildlife protection activities for the striped cats have become difficult in the Naxal-hit areas.
Trades between FIIs generated a volume of Rs 41 crore on the BSE Wednesday-an decrease of 48.69% from Rs 80 crore clocked on Tuesday. As many as six stocks witnessed trades of 6.13 lakh shares on Wednesday.
Business Standard / Mumbai October 31, 2009, 0:51 IST
Terror threat, swine flu scare and hike in air fares hit the tourism sector hard in 2009 with number of foreigners visiting the country dropping by over six per cent but the Tourism Ministry is now looking up to the Commonwealth Games (CWG) to reverse the trend.
IDBI Bank, which has been mandated to raise Rs 13,000 crore syndicated loan for Reliance Power"s Krishnapatanam Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) has put the process on hold.
The number of FIIs registering with Sebi this year touches six-year low.
About 50 employees are being interrogated.
The government has set up a 16-member group headed by UTI Asset Management Company Chairman and Managing Director UK Sinha to review all forms of foreign investment other than foreign direct investment.
The railway ministry has expressed its willingness to be included in a list of “sensitive” sectors that can receive foreign direct investment (FDI) after a closer look at security concerns.
As the April 2010 deadline for the goods and services tax (GST) inches closer, the empowered group of state finance ministers plans to meet Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on January 7 next year to brief him about the progress on preparing a roadmap for GST and sort out the issues.
The Thirteenth Finance Commission’s taskforce on the proposed goods and services tax (GST) has recommended a 5 per cent central GST and 7 per cent state GST on all goods and services, except five specific categories.
The impact of the Dubai World crisis on India"s economy would be limited and the authorities there would find a way out, experts said.