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The Nifty closed marginally above the support level of 4,940 on short-covering at lower levels. The trading pattern in the Nifty futures and options suggests the index may fall below the 4,900 mark soon. The 5,000 call option added 2.24 million shares in open interest (OI), mostly through change of hands and sell-side trades, indicating strong resistance above the 5,000 level.
Engineering major Larsen & Toubro today said it is can build nuclear plants capable of producing 3,000-4,000 Mw of power every year.
The problem of traffic snarls due to places of worship on public roads will not compound with the Supreme Court today ordering that there would be no fresh construction of sites of worship on any public road or lane.
Bank of Maharashtra (BoM), today said that it has reduced its benchmark prime lending rate (PLR) by 0.25 per cent to 12.25 per cent.
Higher prices of staple vegetables such as onion and potato pushed food inflation higher to 13.68 per cent in the last week of October.
Scale has always fascinated Paresh Maity, but now he’s experimenting with newer genres in paintings and sculpture.
I’m considering buying a hatchback for local commutes for my children. My requirement is for a car that is easy to drive, fuel efficient, low on maintenance and has a refined engine. I am considering the Maruti Suzuki Alto, the Hyundai i10, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Suzuki A-star and Chevrolet Spark. The Alto has good manoeuvrability but seems to be outdated. My budget is Rs 3-3.50 lakh. Which car would you suggest?
We encountered several bugs at Europe’s fanciest Rallye Historique and Concours d’Elegance.
GVK Power & Infrastructure today said its consolidated net profit surged over two fold to Rs 45.80 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009, over the same period previous fiscal.
India Inc today asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to introduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) "as early as possible", amid speculations that the indirect tax reform may not be implemented from the scheduled date of April 1.
Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan will be removed from the CPI(M)’s Politburo on ground of “serious indiscipline.” The Politburo has found him guilty of publicly airing his differences with his bete noire, Kerala unit General Secretary Pinarai Vijayan. VS will be allowed to remain Kerala chief minister by the Central Committee, but a section of the party thinks his days as CM are numbered, as the state unit will try to dislodge him from the post.
Most people in public life know that where you stand depends on where you sit. When Additional Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran began arguing the government’s case in the fight between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL), he happened to sit on the same side as RNRL’s lawyers. Ram Jethmalani, who is one of RNRL’s lawyers, objected and said, “You should move to the other side (near the RIL lawyers) since this makes it appear that you (the government) are in collusion with me (RNRL).”
Though Senior Counsel Harish Salve concluded his arguments in the Ambani brothers’ case on the eleventh day today in the Supreme Court, another counsel for the RIL started arguments challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment on the sharing of gas from the K-G basin.
Indian firm holds preliminary talks, Essar group also in the fray.
IT and BPO service provider, Patni Computer Systems, today appointed Vijay Mehra as Executive Vice President and Head of Business Verticals.
The Orissa government will start a pilot project for computerisation of the details of land acquisition for different projects and rehabilitation and re-settlement (R&R) of affected persons. To be launched under the banner of ‘punarbas project’, the pilot scheme will initially cover three projects.
Complaining of high taxation and inability to lobby effectively before government agencies, Direct-to-Home (DTH) television companies have called for strengthening the DTH Operators Association of India (DOAI), the apex body of all DTH operators.
The dish TV antennas on asbestos or even thatched roofs bring colour pictures in this village. “The cable TV networks, television sets come as dowry items during our marriages,” says Babloo Rathode.
The government has approved 13 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, including a proposal of Dish TV, entailing total overseas investment of Rs 393.62 crore.
Jaguar Land Rover"s official entry to the fast-growing Indian car market was marked today by the opening of a flagship showroom facility at Ceejay House in Mumbai by Ratan N Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors.
Tata Group"s Infiniti Retail today said it expects to have over 100 "Croma" stores across the country in the next three years as it eyes deeper penetration into Tier-II and Tier-III cities.
Tata Group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) today said it has acquired a controlling 85 per cent stake in Elel Hotels and Investments, which owns the Mumbai-based Sea Rock Hotel, for Rs 680 crore.
Pvt player to launch credit cards, education, personal loans in 3 yrs.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group"s subsidiary Adlabs films today filed up a winding up petition of Subhiksha Trading Services.
The stock gained 5 per cent to Rs 233, after the foreign institutional investors purchased 1.12 per cent stake in the company from open market for Rs 7.08 crore.
National carrier to induct seven independent directors and appoint a chief operating officer.
Allows inclusion of technical write-offs while calculating provision coverage ratio.
The Punjab government would soon announce its new Agro Industrial Policy-2009 which would be implemented through its nodal agency – Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Ltd (PAIC) to achieve the goal of rapid industrialisation in the field of agriculture and agro-processing.
The government today said there is a need to enhance investment in the agriculture sector to achieve 4 per cent growth during 11th Five Year Plan.
BJP President Nitin Gadkari doesn’t believe in standing on ceremony. So, while the normal protocol is that meetings are held in the office/residence of the senior-most official in the meeting, Gadkari surprised most by attending a meeting on Bihar at party MP Shahnawaz Hussain’s Delhi bungalow. Gadkari is also quite corporate in the way he carries his visting cards and hands them over to visitors with a “Hi, I am Nitin Gadkari. You can call me Nitin.”
American aviation giant Boeing today rolled out its first "P-8A Poseidon", claiming it to be the world"s most advanced multi-mission maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, with the Company saying that India would be its first buyer country.
Whirpool of India, a leading home appliance company, reported its quarterly earnings with an growth of 13.1 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2009-2010.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers of Rs 516.10 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
India Inc"s fund raising through private placement of debt surged 42 per cent to Rs 40,300 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal, with over half of the fund being mobilised by financial institutions.
ICICI Bank’s Global Head (Investment Banking) Kalpesh Kikani says the time for multi-billion dollar deals is over. “India Inc’s appetite for large deals has gone down. In any case, financing such deals would be tough,” he says.
Brewberrys Hospitality Pvt Ltd (BbH), which operates the Brewberrys chain of cafes in India, plans to increase its footprint by over 200 per cent in the coming months. The Vadodara-based cafe chain is banking on the franchisee model to gain further scale and depth in its operations, according to Reji Thomas of JenJon Retail & Services Private Limited, the master franchiser for Brewberrys.
ING Life Insurance is expecting a 60 per cent growth in renewal premiums during this fiscal.
Acknowledging that India is a big player in the region, a top US military leader has said that the relationship between India and Pakistan is critical for the stability in the region.
Bharti Airtel Direct to Home (DTH) service, Airtel digital TV, added nearly 1.5 million customers across India in first seven months of the current financial year. Majority of the customers were added during October.
Taking a cue from state-run NHPC"s disappointing debut on the bourses, primary market tracking firm Prime Database today said the government should consider giving shares to only retail investors in the initial public offers of PSU firms, to lower post-listing selling pressure.
Villages in Andhra Pradesh will be supplied bottled "mineral water" rather than piped water from the coming Independence Day.
Private sector power producer JSW Energy has fixed the issue price of its public offer at Rs 100 per share, at the lower end of its price band.
Tata Capital, today announced the appointment of Akhil Awasthi as the managing partner of its Mid-Market Private Equity Fund.
Rajesh Janey, president (sales), India and SAARC, NetApp, proudly claims to have purchased no useless gadget to date. To make his point, he tells us about the Yashica FX3 camera which he bought after saving from his first year’s salary. Today, the executive has graduated to more sophisticated technologies including eco-friendly gadgets that leave no carbon imprint.
Facebook: Facebook is digging its moat deeper – only now it’s doing so on autopilot. The social networking firm has said before its operations throw off more cash than they consume. So news that operating profits also more than cover capital expenditures doesn’t surprise — until you realise the company added another 50m users over the past 3 months. This self-financed infrastructure build-out is significant.
A research on top-10 searched terms by volume has rated ‘facebook’ as number one in the ‘net communities and chat’ category, indicating the brand recall that Facebook enjoys globally and how it has reached a massive audience since its general availability in December 2008.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has lost an oilfield in Algeria to a consortium led by a Chinese oil firm.
A day after Irda recommended that insurance firms should make public disclosures, insurers said the move would increase transparency in the sector and allow customers to take informed decisions.
Vinod Kambli"s claims that he got a raw deal in Indian cricket due to his caste and colour are questionable.
Banking major Standard Chartered today reported a 10 per cent rise in profit before tax to $2.83 billion for the first six months of 2009.
Tata Teleservices thinks it has hit upon the formula for success with its "pay per call" plan.
In a move that may lead to faster primary market issuances, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) today said Asba (applications supported by blocked amount) facility would also be extended to non-retail, high net worth and corporate investors. The measure was introduced in Sebi’s scheme of ASBA-II. All investors, except qualified institutional buyers, would be able to apply through the facility, a Sebi circular said.
Watch the forthcoming Saffronart auction to decide which segment of the market is recovering fastest and at what value.
The Nifty is likely to move around 5,200 in a day or two on the back of long build-up in December futures and key stock futures. The December futures rose 100 points and closed at 5,132, the highest since October 16, but on thin volumes, indicating absence of bears.
Taking the disinvestment process in iron ore producer NMDC forward, the government today invited applications for appointment of lead managers to advise it on the timing of the public issue, among other aspects.
Defence PSU Bharat Electronics, which is restructuring its businesses, is planning to enter the nuclear power space, designing and manufacturing instruments.
Despite hype and cross-media marketing and promotions, the first episode of the big-ticket reality show Iss Jungle Se Mujhe Bachao on Sony Entertainment only managed to get television ratings (TVR) of 1.6, says overnight ratings agency aMap.
India Inc is likely to post a whoping 63 per cent growth in net profit in the second quarter, thanks to four oil marketing companies which are expected to post a combined net profit of Rs 2,730 crore in the quarter ended September. If one excludes these four from the sample of 235 companies studied, net profit is expected to only increase marginally, around 1 per cent.
Though I have been an avid consumer of all sorts of media, I never seriously looked at them from a child’s perspective. Now, with a five- month baby who is fascinated by any screen or newspaper, I have started wondering about his media choices as he grows up. Currently all he thinks of is eating the newspaper or the screen. But eventually these will form the fodder for his mind, as all media does. So what is the appropriate age for him to watch TV? What should he watch? When can he watch films, what kind of films, what books should one allow him to read?
Accessing the voluminous debates of the Rajya Sabha since its inception in 1952 will now be available with just a click of the mouse.
Within less than three months of raising $325 million through Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP), Unitech Ltd, the second largest real estate company in the country, is raising $575 million (Rs 2,770 crore) through the same route. The fund would be used to repay part of the company’s debt, which is currently at Rs 7,500 crore.
The deal to integrate two of the country’s largest lease-rental entities, DLF Cyber City (a subsidiary of DLF) and Caraf Builders (majority owned by DLF promoters), hasn’t gone down well with the markets.
Sensex pares gains; Hindalco up 4%
The stock soared to a high of Rs 1,054 and finally settled at Rs 1,046, up 3% from its previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 152,172 shares as compared to the two-week daily average traded volumes of 130,005 shares on the BSE. _________________________________________________________
The private hospital sector is expected to touch $45 billion (around Rs 2,00,000 crore) in the next three years riding on growth in Tier-II and Tier-III cities, a study said.
The number of deals came down to 80 in 2009, from 127 in 2008.
Jet Airways has announced that its domestic passenger traffic increased 33 per cent for November as compared with the same period last year. The airline’s international passenger traffic has also registered growth of 19 per cent on a seat factor of 81.9 per cent in November.
Leading telecom company Bharti Airtel today announced the launch of its comic portal, where subscribers can access comic strips from mobile phones.
Life insurance industry logged a 21 per cent increase in premium collections during the first seven months of the current fiscal compared to the same period last year, indicating recovery in the sector.
Subscribers to mobile services using the GSM technology grew by 8.59 million in September, taking the total GSM numbers to 344.4 million, a growth of 2.6 per cent over August, says the latest data released by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of GSM operators.
Information technology major and Tata group company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), today announced that the Reminbi currency trading platform for the Chinese inter-bank market, has successfully gone live nation-wide. This is an initiative of China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS), a subsidiary of People’s Bank of China (PBoC).
Development Credit Bank (DCB) today said it has raised Rs 81 crore by private placement of shares with qualified buyers.
Ranbaxy Laboratories today said it would market products from Daiichi Sankyo"s portfolio in Mexico through its Latin America-based subsidiary, Ranbaxy Mexico S A De C V.
Mahesh Kulkarni / Bangalore November 17, 2009, 0:30 IST
Hyundai Motor India (HMIL) today said a section of its workers belonging to an unrecognised union at its Chennai plant have threatened to go on strike from December 5, which could hurt its production.
Income Tax authorities are carrying out search operations at various establishments of the shipbuilding and repairing firm, ABG Shipyard, for alleged tax evasion, an Income Tax Department source has said.
The government has no immediate plans to import rice as it has enough stocks to manage the demand, the Lok Sabha was informed today.
Tuticorin-based Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) has set a target of Rs 20, 000 crore business by March 2010 from the present Rs 16,000 crore.
The Railway Board is likely to utilise the undisputed 600 acres for setting-up a coach factory at Singur, the erstwhile site for the Nano project.
BS Reporter / December 8, 2009, 0:19 IST
European auto giant Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft today said its shareholders have approved the proposal for issuing 135 million new preference shares, a move aimed at ensuring greater financial flexibility prior to the company"s proposed merger with Porsche AG.
UTI Mutual Fund would revise the exit load for 18 schemes from Monday, the fund house said on Friday, amending the scheme’s offer document.
Lending rates might move upward in the months ahead as credit growth picks up, but banks may take a cue from the RBI policy before effecting any change in their rate-structure, a top banker today said.
Asset financier Shriram Transport Finance bought the commercial vehicles and construction equipment portfolios of two GE Capital units for about Rs 1,100 crore, the company said in a statement today.
Neyveli Lignite Corporation today said it plans to venture into power generation and mining industry business.
Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said his ministry is working on proposal to disinvest 5-10 per cent stake in navratna PSU Coal India.
Coal India today said it has initiated dialogues with the government for its initial public offer and the navratna PSU could be listed soon as the market scenario has turned favourable.
As part of enhancing production of oil and gas, public sector undertaking Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has decided to install Electrical Submersible Pumps (ESP) in 26 Well Head Platforms (WHP) in Western Offshore of the coast of Mumbai.
The ONGC scrip rose 7 per cent to close at Rs 1,126.45 on fuel price hike. The government raised the price of petrol by Rs 4 a litre and diesel by Rs 2 after market hours on July 1. Following the hike, experts believe that the ONGC"s subsidy burden for the current year would reduce if the crude prices stay at around $70 a barrel. The stock opened at Rs 1,081.1 and made a high of Rs 1,155.7 and a low of Rs 1,076.1. The total traded volumes stood at 1.9 million shares (around 4 times its two-week average).
In the last month of 2009, the Hindi film industry promises lots of fun, drama and action.
For the first time in Smart Portfolios 2009, fund managers outperformed the benchmark in terms of returns. While the S&P CNX 500 index scaled nearly 4 per cent last week, Ajay Parmar, Amar Ambani and Praveen Panjwani were able to post gains in excess of 4 per cent each.
The worth of a company in the infrastructure sector needs careful evaluation.
China’s Golden Shield Project has several US corporations such as IBM, General Electric, and Honeywell working closely with the Chinese government to install millions of surveillance cameras throughout the country, along with advanced video analysis and facial recognition software, which will identify and track individuals everywhere they go. They will be connected to a centralised database and monitoring station, which will, upon completion of the project, contain a picture of the face of every person in China - over 1.3 billion people.
The agitation for separate Telangana state, launched by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), took a violent turn on Sunday with the arrest of regional party president Chandrasekhar Rao, hours before he was to launch fast-unto-death.
Home Minister P Chidambaram today said he has invited TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao here to discuss the next step for formation of a separate Telangana state.
Business Standard / New Delhi November 04, 2009, 0:56 IST
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said that he agreed to the November 7 run-off elections for the sake of peace and stability of the country, though he feels that the Presidential election result was "clear".
Dubai World will sell some of its assets to part finance its $26 billion debt, a senior city-state official said amid a sharp fall in the main stock exchanges in the United Arab Emirates today.
The Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) in Orissa, in association with the nationalized banks sponsoring them, have prepared the road map for implementation of 100 per cent Core Banking Solutions (CBS) before the stipulated time period fixed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
S Kalyana Ramanathan / September 24, 2009, 0:08 IST
Joe C Mathew / New Delhi September 22, 2009, 0:22 IST
Wipro Technologies has accepted the West Bengal government’s offer of 45-50 acres at New Town in Rajarhat, but wants to pay less.
Madan Sabnavis / New Delhi December 27, 2009, 0:17 IST
Non-life insurers earlier offered discounts as high as 97 per cent in some cases.
The country’s second largest public lender, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has offered to grant home loans at floating interest rates up to 2.5 percent below the prevailing Public Lending Rate (PLR) till the end of 2009 under its flagship scheme.
Claiming that the Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) was in its expansion mode and would open at least 200 new branches every year in the next three fiscals, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the Bank T Y Prabhu said the bank had sought capital support of Rs 1,000 crore from the government to implement its expansion plan.
Banks see funds flowing into current, savings accounts.
Thinning out competition, consumer electronics maker Sony today launched its new range of ultra slim notebooks priced at Rs 65,000, which the company claims to be the world"s lightest.
Multiplexes may push for an embargo of up to two weeks on Bollywood producers releasing their films on Direct-to-Home (DTH) television platforms, after the films hit the theatres.
After initial resistance, the Department of Telecom (DoT) has relented and would now seek telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India"s (Trai) recommendations on a proposal to bring in a uniform licence fee.
Despite being in the Opposition in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee is ‘setting’ the agenda for the state government.
The West Bengal government and the Opposition should sit for talks over political killings and Naxalite violence in the state to restore peace, Nobel Laureate economist Amartya Sen has said.
- Oil imports rise first time in over a year - 2010 set to be year of indices trading - Crisil to research illiquid stocks to help investors - "Indian regulatory regime has brought us a world of good" - Global crisis pinches FDI purse in 2009 - Experts debate rollback of lenient policy
The state-run telecom companies-- BSNL and MTNL-- have not formed any consortium so far with any other company to bid for Kuwaiti telecom major Zain Telecom, minister of state for IT and telecom Gurudas Kamat told the Lok Sabha in a written reply today.
ADANI POWER
IT firm Sterlite Technologies today said its net profit jumped nearly nine-fold to Rs 54.67 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2009, over the same period last year.
The ministry of railways has constituted an expert committee under the chairmanship of Amit Mitra, secretary-general, Ficci, for developing innovative funding techniques through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
Shyamal Majumdar / Mumbai October 29, 2009, 0:58 IST
Jeera future prices are likely to firm up in January as there is a possibility for renewed export demand in the market. The demand from overseas market is expected from first week of January 2010 and this may support the price to strengthen.
Indian employees maintained high level of confidence in the future of their companies in the third quarter of this year compared to their global peers, a study says.
The bears seem to have the upperhand for the last hour or so. The Sensex is now down 100 points at 17,601. The Nifty is down 26 points at 5,255.
The trickle has turned into a deluge. India Inc’s order book has more than doubled to an all-time high of Rs 73,320 crore in the second quarter of the current financial year, compared to the first quarter. On a year-on-year basis, the increase is 21 per cent.
In an attempt to retain Wipro and Infosys in West Bengal, the state government today offered 45 acre each to the two IT giants for setting up their units.
Business Standard / New Delhi September 14, 2009, 0:22 IST
A man allegedly involved in illegal land acquisition for the controversial Vedic village resort near New Kolkata township was arrested along with five others from Bankura by a North 24 Parganas police team today.
As a direct fallout of the controversy over the Vedic Village resort, the West Bengal government has decided to scrap its proposed IT township, meant to accommodate Infosys and Wipro, near the resort.
Business Standard / New Delhi January 06, 2010, 0:03 IST
A tubelight performs many duties at capital’s Banga Bhawan, the state guest house of West Bengal in New Delhi. On Saturday, Chief Minister Buddhadab Bhattacharjee addressed a press conference in the Bhawan auditorium. On his table was a packed tubelight used to help set up a few dozen TV microphones. Bhattacharjee was initially amused but soon understood the purpose of the arrangement.
Carrying out fresh attacks, Maoists set ablaze a rail office at Banshipur station in Lakhisarai district after taking eight officials hostages and blew up a block office in neighbouring Munger on the second and final day of their two-day shutdown in Bihar.
Vrishti Beniwal & Ajay Modi / New Delhi November 21, 2009, 0:57 IST
Asian stocks climbed, lifting the MSCI Asia Pacific Index to its best year since 2003, as commodity prices rose and China pledged to maintain a “moderately loose” monetary policy.
The global PC market is on the recovery path led by emerging markets, including India and China, a top official of PC maker Lenevo said.
The markets have recover after slipping into negative terrain for the second time since morning trades. The NSE Nifty is now at 4,535, up eight points.
The Nifty has opened at 4,570, up 46 points. The Sensex meanwhile is up 96 points at 15,327, in opening trades.
Buy shares worth Rs 30,456 crore in June quarter, mostly from open market.
Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda today met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and announced unconditional support to the UPA.
The BSE metal index tops the sectoral gainers list with an appreciation of 233 per cent.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc, which took $10 billion in US bailout funds last year, shouldn’t get taxpayer support if the firm focuses on trading over banking, according to former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.
Pratip Kar / New Delhi December 14, 2009, 0:54 IST
Political expediency should not stunt a great city’s growth.
Worldwide semiconductor revenue is on track to total $212 billion in 2009, a 17.1 per cent decline from 2008 revenue of $255 billion, according to the latest outlook by Gartner Inc, a global research and advisory body.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said intensified international action to tackle ship seizures off the Somali coast is forcing pirates further afield into the Indian Ocean and more recently closer to the Seychelles.
Despite recent floods in northern districts and subsequent damage to the standing crops, Karnataka, the sixth largest producer of cotton in the country, is likely to increase its cotton output this year by around 15 per cent to a little over one million bales (1 bale = 170 kgs). The state, which produced 900,000 bales of cotton from 390,000 hectares in 2008-09, had earlier set a target of 25 per cent growth in cotton output and 21 per cent increase in area under cultivation at 490,000 hectares.
With the Maharashtra government ordering closure of all multiplexes and theatres in Mumbai till August 16 due to fast spreading swine flu, the film exhibition business may incur an overall financial loss of at least Rs 25 crore from the upcoming long weekend holiday on account of Janmashtami and Independence Day.