Business Ideas
Anil Ambani Group"s DTH arm Reliance BIG TV is believed to be in discussion with content providers like Max Broadcasting, Warner Home Entertainment Group and CNN to acquire non-film content for its pay per view (PPV) platform.
University of Chicago"s Booth School of Business (SOM) Dean, Edward Snyder will take over as the Dean of Yale School of Management in July 2011.
Saturday
These independent projects are likely to end the monopoly of PowerGrid.
Doha Bank is planning to expand its operations in India by entering into new segments. The Qatar-based bank had in 2007 acquired a 49 per cent stake in Kochi-based brokerage firm Select Securities.
MANAGING DIVERSITY
The decision to exit your stock holdings is never easy. But it is important to keep profit-booking for better returns.
The Sensex has opened weak this morning following subdued cues from its Asian peers. The Sensex opened at 16,827 and is now down 114 points at 16,744.
After a bearish last week, the markets are likely to open on a negative note owing to weak global cues. The US markets ended with deep cuts on Friday. The Dow shed 2%, and the Nasdaq slipped 3%.
Swiss banks may have turned over client details to the US, but they have said India is not welcome there on a name-fishing expedition.
As energy costs rise ahead of inflation, awareness of potential impact of climate changes increases among organisation’s stakeholders. By 2014, strategies of at least two-thirds of organisations will exploit or risk-mitigate environmental sustainability, according to Gartner Inc, an information technology research and advisory company.
Given the potential for growth, IT major, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is looking at hiring 8,300 trainees and around 3,000 laterals or experienced persons in Q4 FY10, a senior company official said.
Describing the food inflation a "temporary phenomenon", the Planning Commission has said that the prices of various food items will decline towards the month-end and that the economic growth during the year would exceed 7 per cent.
Usha Martin Education and Solutions has forayed into providing standardized end to end solutions and school management services to enable the creation of a national network of high quality english medium K-12 schools with a focus on non-metro towns and cities of India.
The takeout financing scheme of the India Infrastructure Finance Co (IIFCL) has raised eyebrows. The Planning Commission has expressed concerns about the proposed scheme where the state-owned lending institution will take over some infrastructure loans of banks on its books.
The Centre may give sops to drug exporters for shipments to Africa and Latin America through a route that would avoid passing through Europe, while it prepares to drag the European Union (EU) to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over seizure of consignments of Indian pharma companies.
India and the US have agreed to strengthen bilateral economic co-operation through new initiatives like setting up a Framework for Cooperation on Trade and Investment and launching a Financial and Economic Partnership.
The unemployment rate in the 16-nation euro zone soared to a ten-year high of 9.6 per cent in August, as the region continued to feel the tremors of the financial turmoil.
Mulls vigil on deals between generic and innovator firms.
IT solutions provider Oracle Financial Services Software today reported a 13.68 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 227 crore for the quarter ended December 31, 2009.
Higher margins and increased sales across regions helped Mumbai-based drug maker Lupin Ltd register 38 per cent growth in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December, to Rs 160.6 crore against Rs 116.5 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Auto components maker Cooper Corporation today said it will foray into manufacturing of commercial vehicles, mainly to compete with Tata Motors" LCV Magic, and has earmarked Rs 300 crore to set up a plant and expand facility in Maharashtra in next 18 months.
After bagging the Pune-Satara highway project last week, R-Infra, a unit of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) has now bagged the Rs 1,000 crore Kandla-Mundra Road Project from NHAI.
The scrip zoomed to end at its 20% upper circuit at Rs 84. The counter clocked volumes of 18.67 lakh shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 1.59 lakh shares on the BSE.
Inflation jumped to 4.78 per cent in November, driven by rising prices of essential food items like pulses, fruits and vegetables.
The American surge against the Af-Pak badlands on the turbulent North West Frontier is an unwinnable campaign for four reasons. All four are interconnected, but take them separately to begin with.
Digital imaging company Canon India is targetting a turnover of Rs 1,100 crore during 2010, a growth of 25 per cent compared to last year, a top official today said.
The UAE remains a popular destination globally among expatriate workers as employment prospects have increased by up to 8.3 per cent annually and is expected to maintain its upbeat growth this year, a leading Middle East online recruitment portal has said.
In the long run,” John Maynard Keynes had famously said, “we are all dead.” Keynes may not have been quite dead, but he had lived a ghostly half-life in the corridors of central banks and within the academia for decades. Now with the failures of unbridled capitalism on a global scale, he is back in fashion, along with Marx. John Cassidy, the finance correspondent for the New Yorker has come with How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities (Allen Lane/Penguin £25), which draws heavily on Keynes to recount the story of America’s housing boom and the failures of regulators and self-deception of bankers that led to the present financial crisis. The book is a sequel to Cassidy’s earlier book DotCon that dealt with the stupidities of the stock market bubble in the late 1990s, but both deal with one central idea: the belief that society is best served when individuals are left free to pursue their self-interest was “Utopian economics” and led to disaster because of “the crooked timber of humanity”, and the uncertainty that is inherent in any human enterprise.
The spiritual leader of Tibet, the Dalai Lama on Wednesday expressed concern over the global warming and its impact on the Himalayan Kingdom.
Hinduja Group Company Ashok Leyland would open three more outlets in Punjab including, one in Chandigarh in the current fiscal to expand its network.
Hinduja Group firm Ashok Leyland today said that construction of its proposed facility to make light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in partnership with Japan"s Nissan has been deferred due to sluggish market conditions.
Describing Non-Resident Indians as a "national resource," a grouping of NRIs led by Hindujas has asked the government for tax parity with Foreign Institutional Investors on short-term gains in the stock market.
India"s exports declined by 28.4 per cent in July over the same month last year, contracting for the tenth month in a row, as overseas shipments were hit by slowdown in major global markets like the US and Europe.
A moving documentary about a baby with "two faces".
An acute labour shortage is hurting coffee production in Karnataka, which accounts for around 70 per cent of the country’s coffee output.
Economy is likely to grow by 7 per cent or a "little more" in the current fiscal returning to a fast expansion pace after a sluggish 2008 due to the global economic crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said today.
US President Barack Obama has said Pakistan must cooperate more fully with the United States to go after and wipe out Al-Qaeda.
Kingfisher Airlines Vice-Chairman G R Gopinath, who has been steadily reducing his stake in Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines has further sold shares worth Rs 6.31 crore of the private carrier.
SpiceJet has been recognised amongst the top ten budget airlines in Asia, based on the results of “Best in Travel Poll 2009”, an online survey on budget airlines conducted by Smart Travel Asia magazine, which is a online travel magazine for Asia read by over 10,00,000 visitors annually.
The central government would invest Rs 9,000 crore for the expansion of the Vizag Steel Plant, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah said here today.
Finance Minster Pranab Mukherjee would interact with economic editors here tomorrow and provide them comprehensive view of the overall economy.
Health care workers lined up to be inoculated against swine flu as the United States began a massive campaign to administer 250 million vaccinations by year"s end.
Consumer durables major LG Electronics today reported a robust third-quarter performance, with global sales soaring 16 per cent to 13.9 trillion Korean won (about $11.2 billion) as compared to year-ago period.
The country"s biggest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda Motors Ltd today reported 32 per cent jump in November sales at 3,81,378 units as against 2,89,426 units in the same month last year.
Diesel engines, automatic gearboxes, same price range... but worlds apart. You could read the following few lines and be done with this article. Even if you have not driven either of these two cars, the conclusion is foregone. The Skoda Laura 2.0 TDI with the DSG is the driver’s car here, and if you are a chauffeur-driven sethji, the Hyundai Sonata Transform 2.0 CRDI Automatic should be at the top of your list. Game, set and match. It is that simple and if you go to the end of the story, there are no surprises in store for you either. But since you are reading anyway (ostensibly not to make a purchase decision!), let me tell you what these two cars are like.
Barun Roy / New Delhi December 17, 2009, 0:59 IST
Kishore Singh / New Delhi November 10, 2009, 0:00 IST
Kishore Singh / New Delhi November 3, 2009, 0:30 IST
The country"s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India today reported a 32.45 per cent jump in total sales, at 85,415 units, in October compared to the same period last year.
Global rating agency Moody"s today said large stimulus package provided by the government to perk up the economy and the consequent recovery has set the stage for it to roll back the measures.
US-based car maker General Motors today joined hands with Reva Electric Car Company to develop and produce electric vehicles in the Indian market as part of its plan to make the country a global hub for environment friendly vehicles.
Subir Roy / New Delhi November 27, 2009, 0:31 IST
The market as expected drifted lower after giving a downward breakout. It may test further lows before bouncing back.
Banks may soon have to cap the charges on basic services such as issuing a draft, remittances or for stop-payment instructions.
Last week’s tragic accident at the construction site of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has raised questions about the role of its contractor, Gammon India, in the mishap. The movement in Gammon’s share price reflects the market’s concern, given that it has underperformed the broader markets since the accident. While the share price took a severe beating as it plunged nearly 20 per cent intra-day on last Monday (July 13) after the accident (which occured on July 12), it later recovered during the day. However, through the week, the stock was down 7.5 per cent as against the 9.2 per cent rise in the BSE Sensex and 5-8 per cent rise in the share price of other construction companies.
With US and French leaders asking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to attend the Copenhagen Summit on climate change, he is weighing options to participate in the meet where India is expected to strongly pitch for legally binding substantive outcome to deal with the challenge posed to the world.
Hyundai Motor Co, LG Electronics Inc and other South Korean companies will get greater access to India’s 1.2 billion people in a trade deal to be signed tomorrow.
The government today exempted exporters from paying fees for availing incentives under various export development schemes and reduced other charges.
In order to give a boost to exporters, reeling under the impact of the global financial meltdown, the government today said that various schemes like DEPB that provide incentives to exporters would continue.
The government today sought to bolster exporters, hit hard by recession in the West, by extending various tax sops and special incentives on trade with markets in Asia and Africa, in its Foreign Trade Policy.
The summer internship placements at XLRI School of Business and Human Resources, Jamshedpur, concluded with the entire batch of 240 students of the 2009-2011 batch being placed in reputed Indian and international firms. The presence of some of the biggest names in the various sectors indicated that good times are back, giving XLRI an optimistic outlook for the impending final placements of the batch of 2008-2010.
The share price of Aurobindo Pharma moved up 2.39 per cent intra day on the announcement that the company would acquire 100 per cent stake of Trident Life Sciences.
IBM today announced that it has signed a 10-year Information Technology (IT) services agreement with Gujarat-based Sardar Bhiladwala Pardi People’s Co-operative Bank (SBPPCB). The engagement will be in the form of a pay-as-you-go model, which will enable the bank to save up to 50 per cent in its capital expenditure on IT Infrastructure, IBM said in a statement.
Dell Services, the new entrant into the information technology (IT) services segment (after its acquiring Perot Systems), is gearing its focus on the growing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) market.
India"s retail industry boom gave way to despair in 2009 as consumers held back big spending, forcing some companies to restructure finances, while recession-battered western retail chains would have felt glad they were not allowed to set shop.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT services provider, will use the new data centre — which was set up by the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) — in Chennai as a disaster recovery for its e-passport service.
Advocacy group, USAsian has commended globally acclaimed author Vikas Swarup for receiving the US-India Business Council’s 34th anniversary award and for being invited to the Capitol Hill by the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian-Americans.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said it would reassess its soft policy stance amid food inflation soaring past 17 per cent even as the the PM"s advisory panel and others called for tightening money supply.
Ahead of the Copenhagen meet, China today backed India"s stand that developing nations have no obligation to binding emission reduction targets and said it is ready to enhance "cooperation and coordination" between the two countries, which it termed as "victims" of climate change.
BSM Team / Mumbai July 18, 2009, 0:24 IST
As per our company’s policy, the officers in our grade and above are provided with car, for their official and personal use. The eligible officers are given a choice to select model and colour of car, from the makes identified for their grade. The available car models (only petrol) are: Hyundai Verna Xi, Ford Fiesta ZXi, Maruti SX4 VXi and Chevrolet Aveo 1.4. We are requested to choose only one of the vehicles mentioned above. After the expiry of five years, the officer can buy the car originally provided at five per cent of the purchase cost. What would you advise?
The country’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI), today said its exports are expected to achieve the 100,000 units mark in the current financial year (2009-10).
Car market leader Maruti Suzuki India Limited is testing its cars on the CNG platform before launching them commercially in the next 2-3 years.
Amid fears by Maldives that one of its island resorts could be taken over by terrorists in the absence of military assets, India will sign a defence pact with that country during Defence Minister A K Antony"s three-day visit there.
Maruti Suzuki, the country’s largest manufacturer of cars, is also quite cash-healthy, markedly so in comparison to many of its competitors.
Samsung India Electronics is planning to invest $20 million (around Rs 100 crore) in 2009 to support its turnover target of $2 billion (around Rs 10,000 crore) for the current calendar year. The company also said it would double its export in 2009 to Rs 1,200 crore.
The consumer electronics market is strongly driven by technology. Companies vie with each other to introduce new technologies in the market. Thus, Samsung has opened a new category of flat-panel televisions that use LED (light emitting diode) technology. These televisions use LEDs as the primary light source rather than the traditional cold cathode fluorescent lamps, which allow higher contrast ratios and slim depths for better design.
Barely a day after Force India"s historic podium finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, a war of words broke out between Sports Minister M S Gill and Vijay Mallya on the government"s refusal to acknowledge Formula One as a sport.
Hailing the decision of the two neighbouring countries to resume dialogue, the Pakistan media today said credit must go to both sides for "seizing the moment and breaking the impasse" and that they should build on the "breakthrough" achieved in the meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam"s (BSNL) net profit dipped to Rs 104 crore in 2008-09 as staff costs rose and revenues fell in the period, Rajya Sabha was informed today.
China to remain the largest market, say analysts.
Gold prices today hit an all-time high of Rs 16,980 per 10 gram in the bullion market here in tandem with the global market, where the metal crossed the crucial $1,115 an ounce level.
Standard gold prices crossed Rs 16,700-level for the first time in the history on the bullion market in the early trade on hectic stockists buying triggered by rise in the global market.
Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers today reported a net profit of Rs 13.81 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, a 81 per cent decline over the corresponding period a year ago. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 73.96 crore in the same period last fiscal.
Gold prices today jumped by Rs 170 to close at all-time record of over Rs 18,000 per 10 gm in the bullion market here on strong marriage season demand, positive global cues and a weaker dollar.
The contemporary hotel in India is lifestyle- rather than luxury-oriented, and it suits younger business travellers just fine.
The Sensex is quoting at 16,633, down by 232 points and the Nifty is placed at 4,922, lower by 81 points.
Frank Sieren & Andreas Sieren / July 11, 2009, 0:03 IST
Raising banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR) might be one of the tools to be used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to suck out excess liquidity in the banking system, Chairman of Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council C Rangarajan today said.
Offers 2,000 acres in Pune’s Saswad taluk.
The Sensex has erased most of its losses and is now at 17,158, down 68 points. The index has recovered 113 points from the day"s low. The NSE Nifty is at 5,122, down 25 points.
The Sensex opened marginally (24 points) lower at 17,204 amid weak cues from the global markets. The index soon dropped to a low of 17,111, and is now down 47 points at 17,181.
Indian stocks trading on American bourses added about $10 billion to their combined market valuation past week, with IT major Wipro accounting for $2.65 billion to the total gain.
The Sensex is now at 14,948, down 463 points. The NSE Nifty is now at 4,446, down 133 points.
At the upper price band of Rs 212, it will be the most valued listed media company in India.
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), which was projected to be the highest coal producer among all the subsidiaries of Coal India Limited (CIL) in 2009-10, faces a daunting task of meeting its coal output target of 115 million tonnes for the current fiscal.
The miming operations at the mega Bhubaneswari open cast coal project of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) may come to a grinding halt unless the villagers of Jilinda provide the land as per the agreement.
PM puts onus on US, China.
Nasdaq-listed information technology firm Cognizant is set to acquire UBS India Service Centre (UBS ISC), a captive (offshoring centre) of the world’s leading financial firm, UBS, for $75 million (around Rs 350 crore).
Normal life was paralysed across the Kashmir Valley today due to a strike called by a local outfit to protest the CBI report in the Shopian case even as authorities placed top Hurriyat leaders under house arrest as a precautionary measure.
Realising that their two-way trade did not match the potential, India and Japan today decided to give push the negotiations on the proposed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with an aim to conclude it by next year.
The Left Front chairman, Biman Bose, has proposed today that the Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee should convene an all-party meeting to evolve consensus on the issue of refraining from the practice of blocking roads and railway tracks for agitations. Yesterday, while submitting the demand for additional budgetary allocations for her ministry in the Lok Sabha, Mamata Banerjee had appealed to the CPI(M) members to desist from damaging the Railway properties in the name of pursuing their agitations.
In yet another twist to the issue at Singur—the erstwhile Tata-Nano project site— the West Bengal government has written to the Railway Board, seeking a formal proposal for the rail coach factory on the site, mooted by Trinamool Congress leader and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Ruing over the lack of skilled manpower, human resource (HR) professionals said, during a management conference, that more interface between educational institutions and industry should take place. Organised by St. Kabir Institute of Professional Studies (SKIPS), Ahmedabad, the conference focused on "Adding Lasting Value in Uncertain Times...through Human Capital Leadership".
Sri Lankan Tamil-origin billionaire Raj Rajaratnam has pleaded not guilty before a court here to running an insider trading scam that allegedly racked upto $21 million in profits, the biggest such case in the US.
He’s done it again. The director whose fun films pack a hard social message is relishing the success of 3 Idiots. Abhilasha Ojha finds out what makes him tick.
An upset Aamir Khan has spoken out against author Chetan Bhagat, on whose novel the star"s latest blockbuster "3 Idiots" is based, accusing him of trying to take away the credit from the film"s scriptwriter.
Reliance Life Insurance has entered into an association with the makers of "3 Idiots", as per which the insurance firm will use the thought "All is Well" -- one of the mainstay theme of the film -- to promote its products.
First increase in over a year
Both Nifty and Sensex on Thursday closed in the red on profit-booking and weak global markets. Automobiles, information technology, realty, healthcare and FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) stocks led the fall. The Nifty, as expected, moved in a narrow range, faced resistance above 5,300, and closed at 5,263, down 19 points.
Subir Gokarn / New Delhi November 16, 2009, 0:04 IST
Saksoft Limited, a Chennai-based software services company with focus on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment, is planning to double its revenues by the end of the 2011-12 financial year, from last year’s Rs 120 crore, through the organic growth route.
The Nifty closed below 5,000 on Friday due to unwinding of long positions and fresh shorts build-up by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). We had indicated in our December 10 report that the index might not hold the 5,000 level in near future. Technically, the market is trading in a bearish triangle pattern and fresh correction is expected next week with strong support around the 4,900 level. The daily Relative Strength Index has drifted below the mean level of 50, indicating caution. Any failure to rise from the current level could see the index drift lower to test the 4,940 level.
US-based provider of low-cost shared computing technology NComputing Inc is aiming at doubling its deployments in India to 400,000 by the end of the calendar 2009.
Having survived the financial turbulence of 2008, India’s port and shipping sector appears poised to sail into good times in the new year, thanks to a slew of steps taken by the government in 2009 to remove bottlenecks.
The most probable directional movement in the rest of the settlement appears to be sideways.
India’s life insurance sector is expected to grow by almost 15 per cent in the current financial year and touch a total premium income of Rs 2,55,000 crore (about $ 50 billion).
India’s life insurance sector is expected to grow by almost 15 per cent in the current financial year and touch a total premium income of Rs 2,55,000 crore (about $ 50 billion).
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked NM Rothschild (India), the e-auctioneer appointed by DoT to conduct 3G and WiMAX auctions, to furnish details about its relationship with Rothschild (Malaysia), including whether both have a common holding company/parent.
Trashing the contention that the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998 were a failure, India’s top scientists today said all objectives had been achieved and the country now has the deterrence capability of up to 200 kilotons.
With interest rates close to bottoming out, Amit Pandey, a young executive with a multinational firm, is looking for a fixed-rate home loan. But he is unable to do so in a market flooded with combo offers.
In a sign of confidence in the Indian markets, foreign institutional investors (FII) pumped in over $6 billion, or about Rs 29,940 crore this year, with over $1 billion coming in July alone.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (Sebi’s) move to ban entry load on mutual funds (MFs), in spite of being an investor-friendly step, has created a problem for smaller investors.
India Inc"s overseas shopping spree has dipped to a four-year low of $27.3 billion so far this year, but a possible acquisition of LyondellBasell by Reliance Industries (RIL) would be one of the largest ever by an Indian company, according to deal tracking firm Dealogic.
The advance tax collection from India Inc rose 20 per cent during the first nine months of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year, with automobiles, consumer goods and metals leading the pack.
After acquiring United Western Bank three years ago, IDBI Bank is at it once again and has identified two domestic lenders as possible targets.
Will use funds to finance operations of group firms; to have a total war chest of Rs 10,500 crore.
Japan"s economy grew an annualised real 1.3 per cent in the July-September quarter, much slower than an initially reported 4.8 per cent expansion, the government said today.
SBI unions walk out of pact saying interests not served
No clarity yet on brokerage fee, securities transation tax yet.
Shibu Soren, heading a five-party coalition, was today sworn in as Jharkhand chief minister for the third time by Governor K Sankarnarayanan.
Sweeping reforms ranging from scrapping of CBSE"s Class X board exam and enacting of a law to make education a fundamental right of every child were in the news on the educational front in 2009, a year that also saw a new CAT format plagued by technical glitches.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has raised Rs 1,970 crore through a issue of bonds to refinance the debt its overseas investment arm had taken to buy UK-based Imperial Energy.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi December 06, 2009, 0:23 IST
The country"s second largest public sector lender, Punjab National Bank, today said it can raise up to Rs 7,000 crore from bonds to fund growth plans.
Barclays today appointed Suvrat Saigal as Consumer Banking Director, Global retail and commercial banking (GRCB) India.
Delhi-based real estate company Emaar MGF plans to utilise over half of the amount it will raise through its initial public offer to repay part of its debt.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 18, 2009, 0:19 IST
Business Standard / New Delhi December 03, 2009, 1:34 IST
Mortgage major Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) might extend its new home loan scheme beyond January, if cost of funds remained stable, a senior company official said today.
City-headquartered Gandhimathi Appliances Ltd, manufacturers of the "Butterfly" brand, today reported a net profit of Rs 1.78 crore for the quarter ending March 31, 2009.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is likely to propose the auction of second generation (2G) spectrum, delinking spectrum from unified access service licence (UASL).
British financial service firm Lloyds Banking Group Plc will slash 5,000 jobs by the end of next year, a media report says.