LIC Housing cuts interest rates on home loans by 75 bps

MUMBAI: Mortgage lender LIC Housing Finance Ltd said on Wednesday it has cut interest rates by 75 basis points, effective Jan.1, for its existing home loan borrowers after a reduction in its cost of funds.

New customers would continue to get loans at an offer rate of 9.25/9.75 percent for loans up to 2 million rupees, it said in a press statement.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Stocks/Market_News/LIC_Housing_cuts_interest_rates_on_home_loans_by_75_bps/articleshow/3918557.cms

Sensex ends in red; HDFC, ICICI Bank, RIL slip

MUMBAI: Frontline benchmark indices ended the last day of calendar year 2008 in negative terrain arresting two-day winning streak. Banks, oil&gas and realty scrips fell while healthcare, auto and capital goods stocks closed with marginal gains.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 9631.41, down 84.75 points or 0.87 per cent. The index touched a low of 9587.92 and a high of 9825.90.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 2958.10, down 21.40 points or 0.72 per cent. It touched a high of 3002.65 and a low of 2937.35.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.44 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.27 per cent higher.

BSE Bankex fell 1.42 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index slipped 1.19 per cent and BSE Realty Index moved 0.78 per cent down. BSE Auto Index moved 0.87 per cent up, BSE Healthcare Index was up 0.64 per cent and BSE Capital Goods Index moved 0.40 per cent higher.

Biggest Sensex gainers were Satyam Computer (8.03%), Ranbaxy Laboratories (3.29%), Mahindra & Mahindra (2.42%), Hindalco Industries (2.07%) and Tata Power (1.18%).

HDFC (-2.81%), HDFC Bank (-2.57%), ICICI Bank (-2.46%), Reliance Industries (1.82%), Sterlite Industries (-1.79%) and DLF (-1.54%) ended on a lower note.

Market breadth on BSE showed 1470 advances against 960 declines.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/articleshow/3918998.cms

Big 3 not keen on acquiring Satyam

BANGALORE: Satyam Computers is available at a bargain. A controlling 26% stake in the company can be acquired for $520-million, given that the company's market cap is around $2-billion. Then, of course, the cherry on the cake: $1.2-billion in cash.

Though the company looks attractive, the three top Indian IT services companies are unlikely to bite. According to market sources, the Big 3: TCS, Infosys and Wipro are most definitely not going to make a bid for Satyam. The reasons are simple. The foremost being acquiring Satyam would be "more of the same." Same suite of businesses, technologies and clients. Market participants also believe that considering the cash one would have to fork out, the only thing assured are 53,000 employees. The big 3 don't necessarily want those number of additional people at the moment.

As an industry source pointed out, "If all the acquisitions made by entire Indian IT industry is put together, I don't think it adds upto 50,000 people brought on board." Hence, one big bang acquisition with 50,000 people looks remote, especially in the current environment.

As for the business that Satyam would bring to the table, industry observers believe that Satyam has fought the leaders mainly on price. "Quality of revenues," is an issue, they said. Satyam is thought to have bagged business by quoting 10-12% lower rates than its competitors at the top. Hence, "these businesses can be squeezed very easily." As for the client list, the feeling again is that Satyam's clients are very cost conscious; Clients who might flee if there are signs of upward price revision. ‘Jittery' clients who might bail out even otherwise given the current fracas.

While there has been market speculation that IBM or Accenture might emerge as strategic buyers, the general perception within the industry seem to be that they might also stay out. Both the companies have hugely grown their local operations and today have 74,000 IBM) and 37,000 (Accenture) employees in India. Adding more people through acquisition might not be a priority while they can be grown organically especially in the current environment where quality people are available at reasonable prices.

Satyam is a company that has been in play for years now. In the early 2000s merchant bankers were hawking the company to the big Indian players. EDS, then the world's second largest IT services company after IBM was said to have been an interested party until it got caught in its own internal owes and deferred an India acquisition to a later date. Satyam has consistently denied over the years that it was ever an acquisition target.

Cognizant interested?

Bangalore: As speculation mounts on who could be a potential ‘buyer' of Satyam Computer Services, the one name repeatedly touted as a very interested party is Cognizant Technologies. The Teaneck, New Jersey-based, Nasdaq-listed company with a huge India back-end has not hid its ambitions of wanting to be in the big league. The company that has clocked very aggressive top line growth in the last few years grew 50% in 2007 with revenues at $2.13 billion.

If it were to buy Satyam which had revenues of $2.14-billion last fiscal, then Cognizant with has 59,000 employees would easily pip Wipro to emerge as the third largest IT services company. Wipro's IT services business closed last fiscal with a topline of $3.41-billion. Cognizant and Satyam with combined revenues in excess of $4-billion would easily move Wipro to the fourth slot among the top Indian IT service providers. When contacted Cognizant Technologies' spokesperson R Ramkumar, said, "As a policy, we do not comment on market speculation."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Big_3_not_keen_on_acquiring_Satyam/articleshow/3915972.cms

Stocks open higher; Suzlon, RComm lead

MUMBAI: Stocks opened higher on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session. Capital goods and technology stocks posted decent gains.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensex climbed 82 points to 9797. National Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nifty rose 18.25 points or 0.61 per cent to 2997.75 from Tuesday’s close.
“Intraday, pivot in the Nifty is pegged at 2950 points. Resistance is pegged at 3005-3015 points and above at 3040-3060 points. A break below pivot can test 2928 and 2905 points. As anticipated, we have seen two bullish candles; can the bulls finish in style or the bears show their presence on the last day of the year – needs to be seen,” said Religare Securities.

US stocks ended higher on Tuesday after the government expanded its bailout of the auto industry, bolstering hopes that lawmakers would continue to take steps to minimize the severity of the year-long recession. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 184.46 points, or 2.17 per cent, at 8,668.39. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 21.22 points, or 2.44 per cent, at 890.64 and the Nasdaq Composite Index leapt 40.38 points, or 2.67 per cent, at 1,550.70.

Asian markets were trading higher on Wednesday as higher metals prices boosted commodities’ companies. The Nikkei rose 0.7 per cent, Topix climbed 0.52 per cent, Hang Seng moved 2.01 per cent higher and Straits Times inched up 0.13 per cent.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Stocks_open_higher_Suzlon_RComm_lead/articleshow/3917078.cms

ONGC acquires UK's Imperial Energy for US $1.9bn

NEW DELHI: Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has taken control of Imperial Energy Plc for 1.3 billion pound (USD 1.9 billion) after an overwhelming 96.8 per cent of London-listed firm's total shareholders accepted its takeover offer.

The deadline for the state-owned firm's 12.50 pounds per share offer closed yesterday and 99,241,110 or 96.8 per cent of the shares were tendered, ONGC Videsh Ltd informed the London Stock Exchange.

ONGC Chairman R S Sharma said the company owed the acquisition to government support, which has seen OVL in the past seven years increase its number of projects to 39 in 17 countries, from just a single project in Vietnam.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of the state explorer, needed 90 per cent shareholders to approve its deal, which will result in delisting of Imperial.

Imperial will be delisted from LSE after it "squeezes out" the remaining untendered shares by posting them cheques of the offer amount and telling the shareholders that these untendered shares were no longer valid.

Imperial, the Leeds-based firm that has oil producing blocks in Tomsk region of western Siberia in Russia and Kastanai in north-central Kazakhstan, would be the biggest overseas ever acquisition by OVL.

It had paid USD 1.7 billion to buy a 20 per cent stake in Exxon Mobil Corp's Sakhalin-I field in Russia and USD 785 million for a stake in the Greater Nile project in Sudan, both in 2003.

OVL will fund the transaction through a combination of loans from the parent company worth USD 1 billion-equivalent rupee loan. ONGC would lend close to USD 1-billion to fund the transaction at 5.96 per cent interest rate.

The entire acquisition and subsequent delisting may take two to three weeks, the source added.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Stocks_open_higher_Suzlon_RComm_lead/articleshow/3917078.cms

Negative sentiments restricted market below 10K

The Indian benchmark indices are trading in negative on the back of deepening worries about the global economic outlook. Further, the major indices in the Asian markets are also trading in negative territory with the least impact of China’s interest rate cut, which investors thinks, is not sufficient to bring liquidity into the market. The heavy selling pressure has seen across major indices such as, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables and Metal, which are trading down by nearly 2.5%, 2.8% and 2% respectively. The market breadth is negative as 1249 stocks are trading in red while 576 stocks are in green. At 11.30 AM, the BSE Sensex is declined by 146.02 points at 9,782.32 and NSE Nifty by 43 points at 2,996.3. The BSE Mid Cap and BSE Small Cap are trading lower by 37.8 points and 52.17 points at 3,221.98 and 3,682.78respectively. Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Jaiprakash associates that dipped by (7.32%) to Rs.81 along with Tata Motors by (5.95%) at Rs.176.90, Satyam Computers by (3.88%) at Rs.156.10, L&T by (3.68%) at Rs.784.70 and Tata Steel by (3.29%) at Rs.217.60. Losers from the NSE Nifty Pack are HCL Technologies down by (6.11%) at Rs.126 along with Tata Motors by (5.91%) at Rs.176.75, Satyam computers by (4.03%) at Rs.155.9, L&T by (3.94%) at Rs.782.85 and Sterlite Ind by (3.92%) at Rs.269.4. BSE Capital Goods is trading lower by (2.51%) or 178.90 points at 6,946.13. The major losers are Usha Martin trading down by (6.95%) at Rs.25.45 along with Jyoti Structure by (4.89%) at Rs.72.90, Crompton Greaves by (4%) at Rs.128.35, L&T by (3.68%) to Rs.784.70, followed by Gammon India by (3.34%) to Rs.73.75. BSE Consumer Durables is trading lower by (2.83%) or 58.14 points at 1999.31. The top losers in the index are Titan Industries down by (3.36%) to Rs.976.30 along with Videocon Industries down by (2.84%) to Rs.126.50, Rajesh Exp by (2.76%) to Rs.26.45, followed by Blue star by (1.61%) at Rs.155.45.

Market recovers from its losses

Market recovers from its losses and is trading in positive terrain on expectations of a second stimulus package by the government for economy and on hopes of further cut in interest rates by the central bank. Sharp drop in inflation raised the hope of deeper interest rate cuts in coming weeks as the inflation number eased to 6.84% for the week ended December 6 2008, as compared to 8% of the week before. After a lower opening, the market had bounced back soon, but was not able to hold the momentum and further turned volatile on profit booking at higher levels. Though, Indices tried to recover again on decision by the Bank of Japan to cut interest rates. The Bank of Japan lowered its key rate from 0.3% to 0.1%. Most of the buying is seen in Reality, Auto, Consumer Durable, Power, PSU and Capital Goods stocks. However, IT stocks are not able to gain favour from he market.

On the global market front, the European Markets are trading in red as Dax Index is trading lower by 0.46% and FTSE 100 down by 0.75%.

The broader markets are trading in green as the BSE Mid Cap and Small Cap are trading with gains of 63.40 points or (1.97%) and 32.01 points or (0.86%) at 3,267.96 and 3,743.97 respectively.

The overall market breadth is strong as 1449 stocks are advancing and 937 stocks are declining.

DLF Ltd reported the top gainer from the BSE Sensex pack. It is trading up by (10.54%) at Rs306.65 along with M&M Ltd by (8.28%) at Rs 333.65.

Satyam computer reported the top loser from the BSE Sensex pack. It is trading down by (4.66%) at Rs161.45 along with ONGC Ltd by (2.82%) at Rs 712.20.

At 2.30 PM BSE Sensex is at 10,134.52 up by 58.09 points and NSE Nifty is at 3,084.50 higher by 23.75 points.

The BSE Reality index is trading higher by 201.98 points or (8.84%) at 2,485.97 as Unitech Ltd is trading up by 13.52% at Rs43.25 along with Indiabull Real by 11.29% at Rs153.20, DLF Ltd by 9.77% at Rs304.50, Housing Development by 9.66% at Rs169.20 and Sobhya Dev by 9.31% at Rs118.00.

The most active shares on NSE are Reliance trading at Rs1,372.15 with a total traded quantity of 6067906 shares followed by DLF Ltd trading at Rs304.70 with a total traded quantity of 16756717 shares.

India Inc may not raise salaries in 2009: Survey

NEW DELHI: Anticipating a decline in its business performance in 2009, India Inc is likely to cut back on the planned salary increase in the coming year, while most firms want to avoid huge job cuts, a latest survey says.

Majority of companies in the country are trying to be selective in planning the workforce, compensation and benefit cuts for 2009, while they anticipate a decline in their company's business performance next year, according to global HR consultancy Mercer.

The survey revealed that as much as 83 per cent of companies expect salary increases in the coming year to be lower than originally planned by them. The responses indicate that the companies are planning to look closely at holding down the level of compensation increases in 2009.

However, only 19 per cent of survey respondents are considering the more drastic step of freezing 2009 salaries at 2008 figures.

The results for companies in India generally match survey findings from other parts of the world. In China, Australia, the UK and the US as well between 20 and 30 per cent respondents believe that the 2009 bonus payout would be reduced from those originally planned.

"India grew on the back of her knowledge and people-centric industries such as financial services, information technology and retail, among others. However, primarily due to employee costs having risen in India at double-digit rates since 2003, cost structures have been coming under severe strain," Mercer Consulting (India) country leader Padma Ravichandar said.

Most companies in India plan to avoid significant workforce reductions, but they do not plan significant hiring either, the survey revealed.

Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of companies surveyed revealed that a significant reduction in workforce was unlikely even as only one in four firms expect to continue their hiring activities at or above replacement levels.

This current situation should be perceived as a cooling-down period in terms of talent costs. This is a levelling act which may help India remain cost competitive in the long run. In the near term, the adverse impact of business sentiment seems all pervasive, Ravichandar added.

Over 80 per cent of respondents expect their company's business performance to decline in 2009, the Mercer survey noticed.

Further, corporate India expects mergers and acquisitions to be severely affected in the next year, with fewer than seven per cent of survey respondents expecting increased M&A activity.

Mercer's survey, conducted in early November, collected responses from over 100 human resource and finance professionals in India, as part of more than 1,000 responses from around the world.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India

Inflation slips to 6.84%, rate cut hopes brighten

Date : Dec-19-2008 09:27 Inflation plunged below 7 per cent to 6.84 per cent for the week ended December 6 2008, from 8 per cent of previous week. Huge drop in the fuel price index of 3.7 per cent led the fall. The market is expecting more cuts from the Reserve Bank of India as bond yields have dropped to the lowest since June 2004. Bond yields on Thursday (December 18) fell to 5.54 per cent as against 5.80 per cent on Dec 17. The decline in fuel prices was also supported by a drop in manufacturing and primary goods indices. The index for manufacturing was down 0.3 per cent on week-on-week basis while that of primary articles, which includes food prices, fell 0.4 per cent.

Commodities outshine equities in the year 2008

Date : Dec-18-2008 17:57 New Delhi: During the whole year of 2008, where equity market lost more than 50%, Commodity market substantially outperformed equities in 2008. According to ETF Securities, the equity market fell drastically in the wake of the credit crisis. The DJ All commodities Index remains high at 14% and 107% over 5 and 10 year horizons, the firm told in its Commodities Review 2008 report. On the equity front, the S&P 500 is decline at 7% and 11% over the last 5 and 10 years respectively. The bullion, Gold has capitalized strongly on increasing risk aversion over 2008, up by nearly 37% and 18% in the terms of GBP and Euro respectively over the 12 months to November 2008. Gold is flat in USD over the same period, despite nearly 13% appreciation in the USD value.

Overall, the year 2008 is worst hit by the financial crises across the globe. During the first six month of the year strong emerging market demand, supply bottleneck and significantly rising investor demand pushed the prices of many commodities to historically high levels.

IDBI Fortis Life unveils new product

Date:Dec-18-2008 10:55
Spreading the product portfolio, IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Company has launched a new product offering life insurance group to cover micro finance institutions, self-help groups and NGOs. The product is known as ''Microsurance'', which would insure the lives of the group members as well as their families, and also providing protection from loan liabilities in the event of the death of the main working member.

Markets open marginally lower and turned choppy.

Date : Dec-19-2008 10:41
The markets today open marginally lower on the back of weak cues from the global markets. The crude has slipped below the 4 year low to $36 per barrel in NYMEX. The selective buying is seen among the Realty, Consumer Durables, Metal, Pharma and Auto stocks,. However, the Oil & Gas and IT stocks are facing the selling heat in the early trade. The BSE Mid Cap and the Small Cap are also trading higher with a gain of around 1% each in the opening trade.

The BSE Sensex is now trading above the 10,000 mark and the NSE Nifty trading around the 3,050 mark.

The Asian markets are also trading mixed as Shanghai Composite, Strits Times and Seoul Composite index are trading higher by (0.05%), (1.05%) and (0.53%) while Hang Seng and Nikkei index are trading lower by (0.77%) and (0.40%) respectively.

The US stock market on Thursday closed lower on the back of sharp decline in the energy-related shares, after the price of crude fell to four-year lows. The crude prices have tumbled below the $37 per barrel. Further the statement from two of the nation''s Big Three automakers about the halting of production also added to the sentiments. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 219.35 points to close at 8,604.99. The NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index decreased by 26.94 points to close at 1,552.37 and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 19.14 points to close at 885.28.

Tata Steel reported a top gainer among the BSE Sensex pack up by (4.50%) at Rs. 232.10 while ONGC the top loser down by (4.76%) at Rs. 698.

The overall market breadth remains positive as 966 stocks are advancing while 417 stocks are declining on BSE.

At 10.33AM, the BSE Sensex was down by 12.38 points at 10,064.05 and the Nifty was marginally up by 0.75 points to 3,061.50.

The BSE Mid Cap increased by 40.14 points to 3,244.70 and the BSE Small Cap advanced by 31.80 points to 3,743.75.

BSE Realty index is trading higher by 74.42 points or (3.26%) to trade at 2,358.41. The top gainers are Unitech increased by (6.56%) to Rs.40.60, Sobha Developers up by (5.14%) to Rs.113.50, Ansal Infra inclined by (4.52%) to Rs.37 followed by Parsavnath grew by (4.51%) to Rs. 48.65.

BSE Metal index is trading higher by 112.57 points or (2.07%) to trade at 5,540.76. The major gainers are JSW Steel inclined by (5.68%) to Rs. 240.90, Tata Steel up by (4.48%) to Rs.232.05, Jindal Saw increased by (4.47%) to Rs.247.95 followed by Sterlite Industries grew by (3.84%) to Rs.281.30.

Inflation hits 9 month low, fuels down to 6.84 pc

New Delhi: Declining fuel prices pushed down inflation sharply for the sixth consecutive week to 6.84 per cent, the lowest in nine months, a development that could prompt the Reserve Bank to take more bold steps to boost economic growth.

Inflation dipped by 1.16 percentage points from 8 per cent in the previous week, primarily on account of reduction in prices of petrol and diesel announced by the government in the first week of the month.


It was 6.21 per cent in the week ended March 1, 2008. The rate during the corresponding period last year was 3.84 per cent.



Fuel prices curb price spiral

The government reduced the per litre prices of petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 2 respectively with effect from December 6 in the wake of falling prices of crude oil in the international market.

Also, the prices of those items which are not decided by the government came down during the week. The index of 'fuel, power, light and lubricants' fell by 3.7 per cent, as prices of petrol, jet fuel (Aviation Turbine Fuel), naphtha and furnace oil declined by 10 per cent, 7 per cent, 23 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.


Edibles cost less

In addition to fuel items, the prices of fruits and vegetables, various pulses steel, pig iron and certain metals too declined during the week.

RBI has taken a host of measures releasing as much as Rs 3,00,000 crore to fuel growth and with the inflation coming down further, it might take more steps to boost industrial output. Apart from fruits and vegetables, prices of imported edible oil, rice bran oil and coconut oil also declined. The index for chemicals and chemical products group declined by 0.6 per cent and transport equipment and parts declined by 0.5 per cent during the week.


However, the prices of non-food articles group rose by 0.1 per cent due to higher prices of fodder, groundnut seed, gingelly seed and raw cotton.

In the manufactured products category, atta (by 2 per cent), groundnut oil and ghee (by one per cent) and cotton seed oil became dearer during the week.

The inflation data of the week does not capture the impact of four per cent excise cut across the board announced last week on December 7 as a part of the stimulus package to revive the slowing Indian economy. The inflation for the week ended October 11 stood at 11.30 per cent, up from the provisional estimates of 11.07 per cent.

Source: http://news.in.msn.com/National/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1717889

Satyam calls off Maytas deal

HYDERABAD: Even as Satyam's deal to buy Maytas had to be hastily annulled in the wee hours of Wednesday morning as the company lost 52% on its ADR listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), a credibility crisis has begun to grip India's fouth largest IT company. "How can we trust the management of this company and its board of directors after it tried to enter into a deal that prime facie would benefit only the promoters who just own 8% of Satyam ? We have to examine whether the management needs to be changed," cried analysts in a reflection of the deep anguish caused by the now stymied move.

"We have decided not to move ahead with the acquisition in deference to the investment community's views," said Satyam in a SMS sent out at 3-45 am on Wednesday clearly shaken by the reaction on the US bourse of its move anounced barely 10 hours ago.

But this was clearly not enough to save the company: Satyam's stock tanked on the Indian bourses by 30%, even after the company announced its decision to go back on the deal. "The deal was seen as Satyam buying into companies owned by its family members. Cash from a company where the Raju family owns 8% was being transferred to a company where they hold more than 35%. This is what investors are resenting. Its become a corporate governance question. Whether the company can be trusted in future to take a proper decision is the moot issue," pointed out another analyst. Satyam's scrip closed at Rs 158.05 which is a 52 week low.

"58% of Satyam is owned by FIIs and they had no inkling that such a deal was in the works. There were questions about the future of Satyam after acquiring these companies when it doesn't have any experience in these businesses. It makes more sense to deploy your funds in related businesses or pay your investors," said Sourav Mahajan, analyst with Karvy.

Moreover, what irked investors was as to how Satyam decided to pay Rs 6,500 crore ($1.3 billion), just for Maytas Properties' assets, a land bank of 6,800 acres valued at almost Rs 1 crore per acre. "It is not easy to value real estate in this falling market. So there are questions on the valuation of the acquisition," said Monotosh Sinha, executive director of Centrum Capital.

Later in the day as the company started a firefighting exercise Satyam's chief financial officer (CFO), Srinivasa Vadlamani told TOI: "We never anticipated this reaction. We underestimated it. We thought we could manage it." He also indicated that the deal had been on the table for the last few months claiming that for starters many other companies were looked at for being acquired. But the choice fell on Maytas Properties because it was zero debt unlike other companies that were in the consideration zone.

"As for Maytas, it had cash on its books. So, it was a judgement call and sometimes some judgements do not turn out to be good," Ram Mynampati, president of Satyam and a board member tried to impress.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/

Oil steady at $40 after 4-year low on demand gloom

SINGAPORE: Oil steadied around $40 a barrel on Thursday, near its lowest in more than four years, as further evidence of slowing demand trumped OPEC's biggest ever production cut.

US light crude for January delivery, which expires on Friday, fell 2 cents to $40.04 a barrel by 0128 GMT, after falling to $39.19 earlier in the session, the lowest since July 2004. London Brent crude for February rose 2 cents to $45.55.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, eager to build a floor under dipping prices, announced on Wednesday it would cut 2.2 million barrels daily of output starting Jan. 1, slightly more than expected. It comes on the heels of 2 million barrels a day (bpd) of cuts since September, but instead of boosting oil prices, it deepened the gloom over demand.

With top forecasters predicting the first decline in world energy use since 1983, OPEC's move may not be enough to halt oil's almost three-quarters dive since its July all-time peak above $147. "Countries other than the Saudis are going to have difficulty to comply with this cut.

Those oil producing countries, if they want to survive, they have to produce, even at $40 oil," said Tetsu Emori, fund manager at Astmax Co Ltd in Japan. "Prices have to head lower, now that we are through $40. As long as demand continues to weaken, prices will weaken too." A prolonged period of cheap prices could slow new investment, crimping supply, a stark turnaround just months after worries that high prices were eating into demand.

Traders also took their cue from U.S. crude oil and refined fuel stocks
, which rose last week as imports of oil products increased, while domestic refiners curbed output rates in the light of soft demand. Commercial crude oil stocks in the United States were up 500,000 barrels to 321.2 million, the Energy Information Administration said.

It also said oil demand in the world's top consumer was expected to grow by only 1 million bpd, or 0.2 per cent, over the next two decades, as higher vehicle fuel standards and increased use of renewable fuels stifle petroleum consumption. Americans are likely to travel less for the Christmas holiday period for the first time since 2002, travel and auto group AAA said.

U.S. shares fell on Wednesday, prompting Japan's Nikkei to inch lower as well on Thursday, as investors wondered what tools were left to tackle the year-long recession after the Federal Reserve on Tuesday cut rates to their lowest on record. The cut has sent the U.S. dollar tumbling against major currencies, hitting the weakest in more than 13 years against the yen on Wednesday.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Oil_steady_at_40_after_4-year_low/articleshow/3855269.cms

Markets open flat amid mixed global cues

MUMBAI: Stock opened on a flat note on Thursday amid mixed overseas cues. Satyam Computer, which had been badly pounded in Wednesday’s trade, rebounded sharply.

National Stock Exchange’s benchmark Nifty was up 9 points to 2963.40. Bombay Stock Exchange’s 30-share Sensex rose 64.71 points to 9780 from Wednesday’s close.

US stocks fell on Wednesday as the government's effort to stave off a deep recession raised worries about mounting public debts and blunted optimism stemming from the Fed's rate cut.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100.59 points, or 1.13 per cent, at 8,823.55, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 8.85 points, or 0.97 per cent, at 904.33 and the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 10.58 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 1,579.31.

On the hand, Asian stocks rose to a six-week high, on speculation the region’s central banks will reduce interest rates to revive economic growth. The Nikkei moved up 0.5 per cent, Topix climbed 0.31 higher, Straits Times rose 0.37 per cent but Hang Seng fell 0.52 per cent.

Meanwhile, oil prices dropped to their lowest in more than four years on Wednesday after OPEC announced a record supply cut that dealers said may fail to fully offset slumping world energy demand. US crude oil prices fell $3.54 to settle at $40.06 a barrel after dipping below $40 for first time since July 2004.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Markets_open_flat_amid_mixed_cues/articleshow/3855556.cms

November excise collections fall 15%

Date : Dec-17-2008 09:35 The excise collection for the month of November dropped 15 per cent to Rs 8,556 crore from a month earlier, indicating a further slowdown in the economy. The customs collections for November saw a lower decline at Rs 8,931 crore, down 0.8 per cent from a month earlier. In whole, excise and customs collections for November were down 8.3 per cent from previous month.

FDI has declined, says Kamal Nath

Date : Dec-17-2008 12:12 The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the country has turned down by 26 per cent in October this year as a result of the global economic slowdown. The FDI inflows during April-September 2008 showed an increasing trend each month in comparison to the same period in the previous year, Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Dec 16. However, the trend changed in October when it fell by 26 per cent, he said, adding that it would be difficult to assess whether the ongoing projects in India would be affected. Quoting various studies by international agencies and analysis, he cautioned that FDI flows to developing nations would generally decline.

Under the liberalized economic environment, investment decisions are based on the macro-economic policy framework, investment climate in the host country, investment policies of the trans-national corporation and other commercial considerations, he said. The Minister, however, said the government had put in place a liberal and investor-friendly policy on FDI under which investment up to 100 per cent was permitted on the automatic route in most sectors/activities. A slew of initiatives to encourage demand had been taken and this would enable India to continue as an attractive investment destination, Mr. Nath said.

Market ambitious for direction: Sensex hovering around 9,900 mark

Date : Dec-17-2008 13:36 The US Federal Reserve move to slash its key interest rates to a target rage of zero-0.25%, could not boost the sentiment of regional policymakers to take aggressive actions in order to uplift economic from recession. There is a concern that this recession might lead to a deflationary condition which is worst for upcoming economy. In addition to this, Satyam Computer Services call-off to buy two related companies raised concern.

On the sectoral front, trade is mix. Auto Stocks grew on hopes recent price cut and rate cut would encourage demand for vehicles, which are mainly driven by finance. Further, Banking stocks paved gains on hopes of lower interest rates will boost lending growth. In line with this, Realty stocks declined on reports that recent rate cuts are not enough to drive demand.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of 2,444 stocks traded so far, 1,489 shares advanced while 883 shares declined. Nearly 72 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 7.02 points at 9,969.96 and NSE Nifty is down by 6.15 points at 3,035.60.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading higher by 15.51 points at 3,259.73 and Small cap is trading up by 33.15 points at 3,809.80.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex Pack are ICICI Bank higher by (4.38%) at Rs.440.00 along with Infosys Technologies by (4.19%) at Rs.1,169.95, Mahindra & Mahindra by (3.43%) at Rs.310.50, Wipro Ltd by (3.26%) at Rs.24720, Grasim Industries Ltd by (2.50%) at Rs.1,258.30, HDFC Bank by (2.38%) at Rs.1,007.40 and ONGC by (2.28%) at Rs.730.00 among others.

Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Satyam Computer Services Ltd by (27.04%) at Rs.165.25 along with RCom by (6.63%) at Rs.218.45, Reliance Energy by (6.46%) at Rs.595.40, ACC by (4.26%) at Rs.512.85, DLF by (2.42%) at Rs.270.45, Reliance Ind by (2.26%) at Rs.1,355.40 and Jaiprakash Associates by (2.23%) at Rs.85.60 among others.

The BSE CD index is higher by 59.40 points or (3.02%) at 2,023.83. Stocks trading higher are Blue Star by (9.50%) at Rs.170.00, along with Videocon Indu by (4.79%) at Rs.131.15 and Titan Ind by (0.55%) at Rs.928.85.

The BSE Oil&Gas index is lower by 79.35 points or (1.21%) at 6,474.84. Stocks trading lower are Gail India down by (5.55%) at Rs.216.30, RNRL by (5.40%) at Rs.54.35, Reliance Ind by (1.79%) at Rs.1,362.00 and RPL by (1.49%) at Rs.89.10.

Satyam Computer Services slumped 27.04% to Rs.165.25 after its American depository receipt fell overnight as investors reacted negatively to its plan to buy two related companies. Later, Satyam called off the deal which it had announced.

Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Natural Resources fell by 5.40% at Rs.54.35 on BSE on reports the government is seeking details of an alleged misuse of accounts of these two Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group firms by UBS employees.

Fortis MF ceases its Flexible Short Term Plan-Series D

Date : Dec-17-2008 Fortis Mutual Fund has wound up Fortis Flexible Short Term Plan-Series D (including plans/options there under) effective from 12 December 2008. The fund house will stop to carry any business activities in respect of the scheme. It has also ceased to issue units in the plan and has also ceased to create or cancel units in the plan. Fortis Flexible Short Term Plan-Series D was launched in June 2007 with an investment objective to generate steady returns through investments made in a basket of fixed income securities, with a provision to offer liquidity at periodic interval.

Benchmark S&P CNX 500 Fund extends NFO period

Date : Dec-17-2008 Benchmark Mutual Fund has extended the closing date of New Fund Offer (NFO) period of Benchmark S&P CNX 500 Fund till 16 December 2008 in place of 15 December 2008. The new fund offer was opened for subscription on 17 November 2008. Benchmark S&P CNX 500 Fund is an open-ended index scheme aims to generate capital appreciation through equity investments by investing in securities, which are constituents of S&P CNX 500 Index in the same proportion as in the index. For investment less than Rs 2 crore, the scheme charges an exit load of 1.50% if redeemed within 1 year from the date of allotment, 1.00% if redeemed after 1 year but within 2 years from the date of allotment and 0.50% if redeemed after 2 years but within 3 years from the date of allotment. It will not charge any exit if redeemed after 3 years from the date of allotment. For investments of Rs 2 crore and more, the scheme will charge 0.50% of an exit load if redeemed up to 3 months from date of allotment and nil for the redemption made after 3 months from the date of allotment.

Market remained volatile: Sensex hovering around 9,900 mark

Date : Dec-16-2008 13:36

Hopes of additional interest rate cuts by the central bank to support the domestic economy from the global economic recession, is boosting the sentiments of domestic investor. In addition to this, inflow of foreign funds has lifted the market sentiments. The weak industrial output has raised expectations from the government and the central bank to shield the domestic economy from the global recession. The market is anticipating send round of fiscal stimulus package.

Meanwhile, slowdown in companies performance due to decline in demand have resulted in reduction in advanced tax payments for Dec’08 quarter. This is giving strong sign of a slowdown in the economy.

On the sectoral front, traders on-loaded positions in some sectors. Auto stocks were trading mixed on hopes, lower interest rates would boost demand for vehicles which is mainly driven by finance. Whereas, Banking stocks fell on anticipation that defaulters list will increase.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of 2,409 stocks traded so far, 1,687 shares advanced while 657 shares declined. Nearly 65 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 18.48 points at 9,813.91 and NSE Nifty is up by 10.15 points at 2,988.30.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading higher by 49.29 points at 3,214.80 and Small cap is trading up by 85.73 points at 3,744.82.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex Pack are ONGC higher by (4.10%) at Rs.700.50 along with Tata Motors by (3.73%) at Rs.164.00, TCS by (2.36%) at Rs.480.70, NTPC by (2.05%) at Rs.171.95, Infosys Tech by (1.96%) at Rs.1,122.70, Ranbaxy Laboratories by (1.75%) at Rs.217.50 and ACC by (1.59%) at Rs.521.50 among others.

Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Sterlite Ind by (5.90%) at Rs.289.55 along with Housing Development Finance Co by (3.86%) at Rs.1,549.80, Reliance Infra by (3.19%) at Rs.632.20, Mahindra & Mahindra by (3.12%) at Rs.293.75, DLF by (3.86%) at Rs.270.00, Maruti Suzuki by (2.18%) at Rs.497.75 and RCom by (1.88%) at Rs.234.50 among others.

The BSE CD index is higher by 78.46 points or (4.29%) at 1,906.92. Stocks trading higher are Videocon Indu by (14.00%) at Rs.118.90 along with Gitanjali Gems by (4.24%) at Rs.76.15, Blue Star by (3.41%) at Rs.147.00, Rajesh Exports by (2.00%) at Rs.28.05.

The BSE Realty index is lower by 25.75 points or (1.15%) at 2,220.12. Stocks trading lower are Anant Raj down by (3.90%) at Rs.76.30, DLF by (3.86%) at Rs.270.00, Unitech Ltd by (1.19%) at Rs.37.45 and Penland Ltd by (0.42%) at Rs.23.55.

Housing Development Finance Corporation slipped by 3.84% to Rs.1550.00 on concerns the company''s margins may get hit if it follows state-run banks in cutting home loan rates.

Suzlon Energy rose by 4.41% to Rs.56.80 after it agreed with Portugal''s Martifer to a revised payment schedule to increase its stake in Germany''s REpower.

Deccan Chronicle Holdings soared by 10.10% to Rs.56.70 since its board approved buy back of shares at a maximum price of Rs 100, a 73.91% premium over the ruling market price.

Sensex gains 142 pts, realty, metal stocks soar

MUMBAI: The benchmark Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at one-month high of 9,832.39 points on Monday on a sharp rally in realty and metal counters after trimming the handsome gains it made in early trading.

The market got a boost on anticipation of a second tranche of fiscal incentives from the government soon and the central bank cutting the key policy rates further.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer ended the day at 9,832.39, up by 143.32 points, or 1.47%, higher from previous close. It was only nearly 50 points short of the psychologically important 10,000 level at intra-day high of 9,948.33.

The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also improved by 59.85 points, or 2.05%, to 2,981.20.

Brokers aid another round of rate cut by the US Federal Reserve in its forthcoming meeting helped the market to regain some of its lost ground. Expectations of US government reconsidering the bailout plan for the troubled auto industry also helps, they added.

Strong cues in Asian bourses also bolstered the sentiment here. While Asian indices ended up by about 0.5% to 5.2% on the back of some recovery on Wall Street last weekend, European markets showed signs of stability and were quoted in the green this morning.

Marketmen, however, said concerns over the sharp decline in industrial production by 0.4% in October persisted and hence some investors preferred to play safe by booking profits at every rise.

Realty stocks netted handsome gains with the sectoral index closing higher by 5.53%, followed by metal index at 5.19%. However, IT scrips continued their weakness and the index ended lower by a negligible 0.22%.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/Sensex_ends_higher_realty_metal_soar/articleshow/3839940.cms

Wikipedia needs more contributors from India

CHENNAI: In a bid to bolster user interface, the sixth most popular website in India and the fifth most popular in the world, Wikipedia is ushering in WikiAcademy, a connect between Wiki and its users. The aim: Garner as much contributions for the site from users.

With close to 277 million users visiting it every month, Wikipedia needs more contributors or participants from India, and also the world. Sue Gardner and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, were in the city to promote the WikiAcademy, started recently by Kiruba, founder of the Knowledge foundation.

WikiAcademy is a community driven initiative that can be started by anyone. It focuses on teaching people how to edit Wikipedia and all other issues related to the site. Volunteers teach and attend various sessions. This is the only such academy across Asia. Some of the issues raised were regulatory in nature and referred to course of action incase of false information or biased articles.

Wales also said that 'western bias' in the articles (most articles are put up by others) could be controlled only through the creation of a diversity of contributors. He equated the neutrality or balance in the entries in Wikipedia to journalists having to keep a neutral view while writing.

Though Wikipedia needs more participants, a majority of the contributions for it's regional pages like Tamil comes from non-resident Indians. This, Wales says, is due to the fact that they are tech-savvy and have access to broadband internet.

"The core concept behind the WikiAcademy is sharing knowledge, India values education, free speech and Wiki is the definition of free speech, simply because information is available to all," Gardner said. The fact that India values education, knowledge and free speech makes an enormously opportunity for us, said Gardner. The understanding that Wikipedia is not merely for consumption and contributions should be made was the motive behind this WikiAcademy.

"Currently, to edit, a wiki syntax similar to HTML needs to be used which inhibits some people from editing or even bothering. We received a grant of $9,00,000 from the Stanton foundation to make the wiki interface easier," Gardner said.

"We would like to see one billion people on Wikipedia, our aim is to get information to people who don't have access to the internet," said Sue Gardner, executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation. A third of the population should have access to Wikipedia and one out of ten of those users should move to becoming active participants in the process of editing the articles.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Wikipedia_needs_more_contributors_from_India/articleshow/3837038.cms

RIL regains Rs 2 trillion market capitalisation

MUMBAI: The recovery on bourses last week has added over Rs 52,600 crore to market valuations of country's 10 most valued firms, with Reliance Industries gaining the most and regaining the crucial Rs 2 trillion mark.

The combined market capitalisation of the country's top 10 firms-- comprising five pubic sector and five private sector entities-- gained Rs 52,621.06 crore last week at Rs 9,98,374.84 crore at the end of Friday's trading. The combined valuation of the elite club stood at Rs 9,45,753.78 crore a week ago.

After dabbling below the psychological Rs 2 trillion mark for six consecutive weeks, the country's most valued firm Reliance Industries regained its lost turf by adding Rs 29,524 crore to its valuation last week.

Mukesh Ambani-led RIL saw its market capitalisation rising to Rs 2,05,568 crore at the end of Friday's trade against a valuation of Rs 1,76,044 crore a week ago.

The shares of RIL gained nearly 17 per cent in the week to settle at Rs 1,306.20 on last Friday. Since October 24, when the firm had first slipped below the Rs 2,00,000 crore mark, it has gained about 29 per cent to its share price.

Leading cellular operator Bharti Airtel rose to the third place, adding Rs 10,820 crore in a week to its valuation. However, state-run NTPC dropped to the fourth spot despite a gain of Rs 3,092 crore last week.

Public sector ONGC and IT bellwether Infosys Technologies bucked the trend and lost a combined over Rs 3,400 crore. ONGC lost Rs 1,797 crore but kept in tact its second position with a valuation of Rs 138,267 crore.

Infosys' valuation eroded by Rs 1,620 crore and the IT major lost out the seventh slot to ITC.

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex gained 527.45 points last week at 9,690.07 points at the end of Friday's trade.

In the coveted top 10 club, the PSU firms added Rs 11,627 crore last week while the private sector entities witnessed an addition of Rs 40,994 crore.

Country's largest lender State Bank of India added Rs 5,019 crore and retained the fifth slot with its market valuation at Rs 77,116 crore. Mining giant NMDC gained Rs 4,302 crore in the week.

On other hand, the biggest private sector lender ICICI Bank saw its valuation rising Rs 45,805 crore, up by Rs 5,900 crore. Also HDFC Bank saw its valuation rising to Rs 45,805.08 crore, thereby adding Rs 1,331.58 crore during the week.

RIL, the numero-uno in the list of the most valued firm, is followed by ONGC (Rs 2,05,568 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 1,37,107 crore), NTPC (Rs 1,36,050.09 crore), SBI (Rs 77,115.70 crore), BHEL (Rs 66,557.59 crore), ITC (Rs 65, 027.45 crore), Infosys (Rs 63,398.65 crore), NMDC (Rs 56,318.56 crore) and HUL (Rs 52,964.11 crore).

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Crisis-hit_Yamaha_recalls_India_CEO_Mabuchi/articleshow/3837039.cms

Gain-loss ratio of IPOs in last 5 years at 1:4

Date : Dec-15-2008 Initial public offerings (IPOs) ratio of gain-loss stood at 1:4 in last 5 years as analysis of 257 IPOs, which were launched during the last five years, showed that investors have lost money in the 204, while in balance 53 investors are still in the profit. This is despite the current turmoil in the market, which has shaved about 55% off the BSE Sensex in the last 11 months.
The IPOs showing profit are Educomp Solutions and Indiabulls Financial Services, which have given over 1,000% return since their respective IPOs, after adjusting for bonus, split, demerger of businesses etc. Apart from these two, there are nine stocks, which have at least doubled investors' money since IPO.

ICICI Prudential Income Plan announces change

Date : Dec-15-2008
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has declared changes in the institutional plan of ICICI Prudential Income Plan. The fund house announced changes in the minimum application amount under the institutional plan of the scheme. The minimum application amount for all fresh purchases/switches under the scheme will be 25 lacs and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter, effective from 16 December 2008. However the minimum additional purchase amount under the scheme remains unchanged. ICICI Prudential Income Plan (IPIP) is an open-ended debt fund with an object to generate income through investments in debt securities.

Market extended gains on firm Asian Stocks. Sensex hovering around 9,800 mark

Date : Dec-15-2008 13:41 Indian bourses indices continue extending last weeks gains on firm Asian stocks. Expectation of second phase of stimulus package from the government and additional interest rate cuts by the central bank to support the domestic economy from the global economic recession, boosting moral of the investors. On account of weak industrial output data for Oct’08 has raised expectations of new policy from the government and RBI to shield the domestic economy. In addition to this, firm Asian Stocks movement and buying by foreign funds paved support to domestic bourses.

Moreover, the White House said that, the administration would consider using part of the Treasury''s USD 700 billion bailout package for financial institutions to keep the Big 3 automakers afloat after an autos bailout bill failed in the Senate.

On the sectoral front, all indices are trading in green. Banking stocks gained on hopes of further rate cuts by the central bank in order to sustain the growth momentum of the economy. Further, IT stocks grew as a rally in ADRs was seen on December 12, 2008. Realty stocks rose on hopes housing demand will improve on expectation of special home loan package from the state-owned banks. In line with this, Consumer Durables stocks grew on hopes of further rare cuts that will in turn boost the demand for goods.

The Market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of 2,371 stocks traded so far, 1,785 shares advanced while 507 shares declined. Nearly 79 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading higher by 125.13 points at 9,815.20 and NSE Nifty is up by 55.80 points at 2,977.15.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading higher by 101.44 points at 3,151.92 and Small cap is trading up by 108.32 points at 3,639.28.

Gainers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Hindalco higher by (7.56%) at Rs.56.90 along with Tata Steel by (7.39%) at Rs.234.00, Grasim Industries Ltd by (6.93%) at Rs.1,148.00, Sterlite Ind by (5.17%) at Rs.308.00, ONGC by (3.95%) at Rs.672.00, Mahindra & Mahindra by (3.77%) at Rs.304.00 and Bharti Airtel by (2.54%) at Rs.740.65 among others.

The BSE Metal index is higher by 278.23 points or (5.28%) at 5,543.36. Stocks trading higher are Welspun Gujarat up by (12.05%) at Rs.110.65, Steel Authority of India by (9.81%) at Rs.87.85, Hindalco by (7.56%) at Rs.56.90, Tata Steel by (7.39%) at Rs.234.00 and Sesa Goa by (7.28%) at Rs.84.00 among others.

The BSE Realty index is higher by 96.23 points or (4.52%) at 2,224.41. Stocks trading higher are Ansal Infra up by (14.52%) at Rs.34.70, Orbitco by (13.23%) at Rs.61.20, Housing Dev by (13.03%) at Rs.123.20, Unitech by (10.79%) at Rs.38.00 and Indiabulls Realty by (9.43%) at Rs.138.15 among others.

The BSE Bankex index is higher by 115.63 points or (2.28%) at 5,178.88. Stocks trading higher are Indus Ind by (13.57%) at Rs.38.50 along with Indian Overseas by (4.58%) at Rs.71.90, Federal Bank by (3.89%) at Rs.144.20, Kotak Bank by (3.83%) at Rs.387.35 and Yes Bank by (3.25%) at Rs.76.15 among others.

Insurance growth may moderate to 20-25%

Date : Dec-15-2008 10:51 Economic slowdown has resulted murkiness over insurance sector too as most of the life insurance players are expecting moderate growth in new business premium collection in the remaining fiscal. According to Max New York Life Insurance Senior Director and CFO Sunil Kakar, the growth in first premium income collection in the remaining five months would moderate on account of negative sentiment across the market.

According to Mr Kakar, most of the insurers receive about 60-70% of the total business in the second half of the year. As a result, the private sector is expected to wrap the year with a growth of somewhere around 20-25% against 40% in the first 7 months of 2008-09.

Presenting the same view SBI Life Insurance Managing Director and CEO has told, the first premium income till November has gone up by 100%. In the remaining months it is likely to moderate. The reason behind this moderate growth according to Kakar is sentiment which is affecting the insurance business. Most of the prospective clients are delaying their buying decision. However, he added that, the insurance is long-term investment and the current crisis would have no impact on the returns on assets. Explaining about the current market situation, th bearish mood of market is expected to be continue for 6-9 months more and it is temporary phase which would be fine in the coming year.

ADAG group Reliance Life Insurance also expects the same growth in new business premium to be around 100% as compared to 200% registered last fiscal. Further, the new business premium of the company has grown over 200% at Rs 2,751 crore (USD 625 million) for the fiscal ended March. Besides, all the private companies'' growth percentages so far are ahead of the estimates for the full year. Nevertheless, in order to meet the current estimates for FY09, private insurance players would have to book residual new premiums (over the period November 2008 to March 2009) which are about 105-150% of new premiums booked year-to-date October 2008. About 40 of annual insurance sales occur in last quarter (January-March) of every year and first half of the year accounts for less than about 40% of annual sales for Indian insurance industry.

NPPA cuts drug prices by 2.84%

NEW DELHI: Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has cut by 2.84% prices of all scheduled drugs on account of reduction in Cenvat and asked manufacturers to follow the suit.

"The reduction in the equivalent maximum retail prices shall take effect immediately," it said. "All manufacturers are required to reduce the equivalent maximum retail prices (inclusive of excise duty and all taxes) by 2.84%," it added. Reduction in prices would not apply on manufacturing units in excise-free zones such as Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Worlds_1st_energy_mkt_in_India/articleshow/3830571.cms

Administrative charge on 3G players to be discussed by Telecom Panel

The Department of Telecom on December 19 will consider adopting the proposal of TRAI for levying 2 percent administrative charge from 3G players.

"Telecom Commission will discuss the TRAI proposal on administrative charge on December 19. Worldwide there are charges like this. But there is also a spectrum charge of 3 per cent.

"We have to see if this could put a burden on the prospective bidders", Siddhartha Behura, Telecom Secretary said here on the sidelines of India Telecom here.

TRAI on Wednesday proposed that companies successful in their 3G bids pay 2 per cent of the highest bid amount annually as administrative charges for utilizing radio frequencies. It has proposed for standalone 3G players and new entrants who want to enter the Indian market via the 3G route, share an additional 3 per cent of their annual gross revenues with the government.

Car sales worst in 8 years, dip 19 per cent

Date : Dec-12-2008 13:34 Automakers are in fears of a complete slowdown as auto sales decelerated further in November. According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) monthly data released on December 10, sale of popular cars fell 19.38 per cent to 83,059 vehicles from 1.03 lakh vehicles during the same month last year.

Sales of all vehicles reported a bigger fall in November than in the previous month due to the high interest rate and credit crises, seen as the worst month for the auto industry in eight years. The industry sold 7.11 lakh vehicles in November against 8.67 lakh vehicles in the same month last year, a drop of 18 per cent.

As per SIAM data, 8 of the 13 carmakers have posted negative sales previous month. Maruti Suzuki, the largest car maker, has posted a 36 per cent drop in car sales to 43,258 vehicles as Hyundai Motors has reported a 23 per cent fall to 14,601 vehicles Automakers are forced to cut production due to slowdown to adjust with the market situations.

The overall drop in sales reported from all types of vehicles but mainly led by commercial vehicle that declined 49.52 per cent to 20,637 vehicles in November from 40,879 vehicles last year. Two-wheeler sales also slipped 14.68 per cent to 5.67 lakh vehicles from 6.65 lakh vehicles in the same month last year. Motorcycle sales that form 85 per cent of the total two-wheeler segment declined 20.24 per cent to 4.31 lakh vehicles against 5.40 lakh vehicles last year.

Industry is now banking on the economic package announced by the government to revitalize its fates. Excise on all vehicles was cut by 4 per cent following which car companies reduced prices hoping for some rise in demand.

Industrial output shrinks for first time in 15 years

India''s industrial output slipped into the negative territory for the first time since 1993. The industrial production growth in October fell into the negative territory, indicating a sharper slowdown in the economy. The Index of Industrial Production in October posted a negative growth of 0.4 per cent, from positive growth of 5.45 per cent in September and 12.2 per cent in October 2007. The manufacturing output, which accounts for 80 per cent of the index, in October is down 1.2 per cent in the negative as against 13.8 per cent positive growth a year earlier.

Earlier this month, the government sought to rescue manufacturers by announcing an across-the-board (barring petroleum goods) 4 per cent cut in excise duty. Electricity sector grew by 4.4 per cent during the month, bettering 4.2 per cent output of the year-ago period, while mining sector grew by a slower 2.8 per cent against 5.1 per cent in the previous year''s comparable period.

Exports down 10% in Nov

NEW DELHI: India's exports declined by around 10% in November, showing a negative trend for the second month in a row this year, following a recession in the US and several other European markets. "Although the government is yet to officially release the November figures, exports showed an almost double-digit decline on lack of demand in most of the buying markets," sources said. Following the global financial meltdown, the country's exports dipped for the first time in seven years by over 12% in October.

India has been facing the ripple effects of the global financial turmoil, which has resulted in slowdown of country's exports. Several developed markets including the US, the UK, Japan and other countries in the Eurozone, which are India's major export destinations, are officially in recession. The government and the RBI have taken several steps including making available cheap credit to exporters, to boost the sector.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Exports_down_10_in_Nov/articleshow/3825387.cms

Rupee depreciates 32 paise against dollar

MUMBAI: The Indian rupee on Friday depreciated by 32 paise against the US currency in opening trade on capital outflows by foreign funds, melting Asian equity markets and dollar demand from importers.

At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic currency traded at 48.65 against the greenback, a fall of 32 paise over the previous close of 48.33/34, after reaching one-month high yesterday.

Dealers said that the rupee lost on capital outflows by foreign funds amid dollar demand from importers and bearish trend in Asian equity markets and fears of weak opening on the domestic bourses.

Asian markets today opened very weak with Hong Kong's Hang Seng going down 6.20 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei falling 4.12 per cent in early trade.

The rupee, shot up by 65 paise in the last trading session yesterday against the dollar.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/Exports_down_10_in_Nov/articleshow/3825387.cms

Gemini Engi-Fab Ltd files draft red herring prospectus for IPO with SEBI

Date : Dec-11-2008 Gemini Engi-Fab Ltd, a Mumbai based manufacturer of industrial fabrication related products has filed a draft red herring prospectus with SEBI for an initial public offering of 55 lacs equity shares of Rs 10 each. The price will be decided through 100 per cent book-building process. The shares will be listed on BSE and NSE.
The issue comprises of a net issue of 27.5 lacs shares of Rs 10 each to public, out of which 5 per cent that is 1,37,500 shares will be allocated to mutual funds and remaining will be allotted to qualified intuitional buyers. Almondz Global Securities is appointed as a book running lead manager and Karvy Computershare as registrar to the issue.

The company wants fund to set up a new manufacturing unit at Umbergaon, Gujarat. This facility would have better machinery like a plate bending machine, a tube sheet drilling machine, SAW machines with motorized rotators and electrically operated cranes which will not only help to handle larger material but also to work on it with better precision. This facility would also handle more equipment with a larger work space.

UTI MF commences 90 days plan

Date : Dec-12-2008 UTI Mutual Fund has opened initial offer of UTI Short Term Fixed Maturity Plan Series II-IV (90 days) on 11 December 2008. The new fund offer period will remain open for fresh subscription till 17 December 2008. The new offer price of units is Rs 10 per unit.
The date of allotment will be 17 December 2008. The 90 days plan will open for redemption on 19 December 2008, which will mature on 17 March 2009. It is a close-ended income scheme with an investment objective to generate regular returns by investing in portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing along with the maturity period of the plan. The scheme offers two plans, retail and institutional plan with growth and dividend options. The minimum application amount for retail option under dividend sub option is Rs 10,000 and under growth sub option is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Re 1 thereafter. The minimum application amount under institutional option is Rs 1 crore and in multiples of Re 1 afterward. The scheme will invest up to 0-90% in debt including securitized debt and 10%-100% in money market instruments. The scheme may invest up to 100% in the securitized debt.

Market managed to recover from day’s low: Sensex below 9,500 mark

Date : Dec-12-2008 13:37 Weakness worries the investors as Asian stocks and US index futures tumbled after proposal to bail out the US auto industry failed get confidence vote in the Senate. Further, corporate news has added to worries about global crisis. India''s industrial production declined 0.4% in October 2008, as compared to an upwardly revised 5.5% growth in September 2008, data released by the government today, 12 December 2008, showed. Manufacturing production fell 1.2% in October 2008 from a year earlier.

On the sectoral front, traders off-loaded positions across the sectors. Outsourcing firms slumped on fears of weak global economy that would cut the amount firms spent on technology. Further, the proposed deregulation of fuel prices, will provide full freedom to oil companies to set petrol and diesel prices. Some amount of profit booking is seen in Metal, Tech and Realty stocks.

The market breadth, indicating the overall strength of the market, was strong. On BSE, out of 2,241 stocks traded so far, 1,192 shares advanced while 962 shares declined. Nearly 87 shares are unchanged.

At 1.30PM, the BSE Sensex is trading lower by 147.33 points at 9,498.13 and NSE Nifty is down by 52.25 points at 2,867.90.

The BSE Mid Cap is trading higher by 18.12 points at 3,021.20 and Small cap is trading up by 36.97 points at 3,480.56.

Losers from the BSE Sensex Pack are Wipro lower by (5.92%) at Rs.235.20 along with Tata Motors by (5.54%) at Rs.151.65, TCS by (5.27%) at Rs.480.90, Tata Steel by (3.88%) at Rs.209.40, Infosys Tech by (3.40%) at Rs.1,097.40, ONGC by (3.38%) at Rs.642.50 and Satyam Comp by (3.08%) at Rs.217.45 among others.

The BSE IT index is lower by 86.83 points or (3.68%) at 2,272.37. Stocks trading lower are HCL Ltd by (7.18%) at Rs.107.25 along with Wipro by (5.92%) at Rs.235.20, TCS by (5.27%) at Rs.480.90, Financ Tech by (3.60%) at Rs.480.50, Infosys Tech by (3.40%) at Rs.1,097.40 and NIIT by (3.31%) at Rs.24.80.

The BSE Metal index is lower by 101.38 points or (1.93%) at 5,151.73. Stocks trading lower are NALCO down by (7.27%) at Rs.181.80, JSW Steel by (5.74%) at Rs.226.00, Sterlite Ind by (3.58%) at Rs.284.50 and Tata Steel by (3.37%) at Rs.210.50.

Inflation cools off to 8%

Date : Dec-12-2008 11:30
New Delhi:Inflation for the week ended 29th November 2008, stood at 8% as compared to 8.4% of the previous week. It was 3.89% during the corresponding week last year. Inflation rate for primary articles, which has a weight of 22% in the index number, fell to 11.66% in the reported week as compared to 11.98% in the previous week.

The closely tracked Wholesale Price Index fell 0.04 per cent to 233.6 vs 233.7 a week earlier. In inflation break-up, prices of fuel, power, light and lubricants remained unchanged. However, they are likely to see a big fall in the next inflation numbers after the recent cut in fuel prices. The price of primary articles is down 0.2 per cent, while that of food articles is down 0.4 per cent.

Sensex surges on positive Asian cues

Date : Dec-11-2008 09:27
The markets were firm in early trade despite overnight plunge on Wall Street. Most Asian indices were trading higher on December 10. The markets witnessed a strong bear market rally and the Nifty may cross 3000 this week. Next week, a couple of economic numbers are expected and if these numbers are below expectations, then the markets may slide again, Seshadri Bharathan, Director - Stock Broking, Dawnay Day AV Financial Services. All sectoral indices ended in positive turf with IT, banking and realty counters leading the gains. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 492.28 points at 9,654.90 and NSE Nifty ended up by 144.25 points at 2,928.25.

The markets are likely to re-test the October lows. Macroeconomic conditions and earnings de-growth are key concerns for the markets. Moreover, there are certain asset quality issues with a few banks, said Amar Ambani, VP (Research), India Infoline.Among the Sensex stocks, Sterlite Industries leads gainers. RCom, Infosys and ICICI Bank are the other main gainers in the group.

Wall Street turned cautious on Tuesday after a two-day rally as disturbing corporate news reminded investors of the magnitude of the economy''s troubles. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 242.85, or 2.72 percent, to 8,691.33 after logging a gain 560 points over Friday and Monday. Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index fell 21.03, or 2.31 percent, to 888.67. The Nasdaq composite index fell 24.40, or 1.55 percent, to 1,547.34.

Govt to miss tax targets, lose over Rs 40K cr

Date:Dec-11-2008 12:06
At a time when the government is busy pump priming the economy to try and retrieve some amount of growth, its own balance sheet is going for a toss. The indirect tax collections, which account for almost 35 per cent of the total government revenue, are being hurt the most. The government is losing money to help the economy and the taxmen are having a nightmarish year. Now its almost certain that the government will miss the indirect tax collection target. PC Jha, Chairman, CBEC said that after the post budget duty rate cut, the total impact is Rs 40, 475 crore. That''s a lot of money over 12.5 per cent of the government''s estimate of Rs 3,20,000 crore for the financial year about Rs 22,000 crore is already lost on account of abolishing import duty on crude. This means that collections from excise customs and service tax will almost slide below last year''s level of about Rs 2,80,700 crore. The growth for excise collections has been a dismal 0.6 per cent against the target of 9.6 per cent, with the only relief coming from service tax collections, which have grown at 32 per cent against a target of 26 per cent. The headline excise rates have already been slashed by six per cent in the last seven months and NDTV also learnt that there is equal pressure to hike headline customs duty, which was cut, to 7.5 per cent in this year''s budget.

Quantum MF launches Tax Saving Fund

Date : Dec-10-2008
Quantum Mutual Fund has started Quantum Tax Saving Fund an open-ended equity linked saving scheme. The scheme will open for subscription on 10 December 2008 and closes on 13 December 2008. The NFO price is Rs 10 per unit. Investment Objective: The investment objective of the Scheme is to attain long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in shares of companies that will typically be included in the BSE 200 and are in a position to benefit from the anticipated growth and development of the Indian economy and its markets.
Load Structure: The scheme will charge an entry load nor exit load. Investment Options: The scheme offers growth and dividend plan. The dividend plan shall have payout and reinvestment facility. The minimum application amount is Rs 500 and in multiples Rs 500 thereafter.

Birla Sun Life MF introduces new option

Date : Dec-10-2008
Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund has introduced the new option named, daily dividend option with reinvestment facility under Birla Sun Life Floating Rate Fund - Long Term Plan, which is an open ended income scheme, with effect from 10 December 2008. The offer price is Rs 10 per unit and at applicable NAV based prices after that. The option introduced under the scheme will have the same investment objective, portfolio, liquidity, minimum application amount, applicable load structure and expense ratio as that of existing options.

Markets maintained its yesterday’s rally and open significantly higher.

DateDec-10-2008 10:40
The markets today maintained its yesterday’s rally and open significantly higher on the back of positive Asian markets. All the sectorial indices are trading in green in the opening trade. The significant buying is seen among the Metal, Realty, Oil & Gas, Power, IT and Capital Goods stocks. The BSE Mid Cap and the Small Cap are also trading higher.The BSE Sensex is now trading above the 9,300 mark and the NSE Nifty is trading above the 2,800 mark.The Asian markets are also trading higher barring Shanghai. Seoul Composite, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Straits Times index are trading higher by (4.13%), (3.56%), (2.99%) and (1.38%) respectively. However, Shanghai Composite index is trading lower by (1.16%).The US stock market on Tuesday ended lower, on the back of some downside earnings guidance from some corporate. Earlier the market was traded in the positive territory following a better-than-expected housing report. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) dropped by 242.85 points to close at 8,691.33. The NASDAQ Composite (RIXF) index decreased by 24.40 points to close at 1,547.34 and the S&P 500 (SPX) fell 21.03 points to close at 888.67.Sterlite Industries reported a top gainer among the BSE Sensex pack up by (6.18%) at Rs. 265.50 while Tata Motors the top loser down by (2.11%) at Rs. 148.80.The overall market breadth remains positive as 729 stocks are advancing while 445 stocks are declining on BSE.At 10.33AM, the BSE Sensex was up by 170.10 points at 9,332.72 and the Nifty was up by 58.95 points to 2,842.95.The BSE Mid Cap increased by 17.05 points to 2,902.08 and the BSE Small Cap advanced by 16.55 points to 3,359.75.BSE IT index is trading higher by 59.22 points or (2.48%) to trade at 2,445.20. The top gainers are Infosys Technologies increased by (2.31%) to Rs.1,184, HCL Technologies up by (1.97%) to Rs.119, TCS inclined by (1.84%) to Rs.532 followed by Wipro grew by (2.87%) to Rs. 245.15.BSE Metal index is trading higher by 142.17 points or (2.97%) to trade at 4,923.39. The major gainers are Sterlite Industries inclined by (6.18%) to Rs. 265.50, SAIL up by (5.31%) to Rs.72.45, Sesa Goa increased by (3.73%) to Rs.76.40 followed by JSW Steel grew (3.43%) to Rs.229.25.

PM calls meet on Dec 10 on textile industry bailout

Date, Dec-10-2008 09:30
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has arranged a meeting on Dec 10 on bailing out the textile industry due to rise in input costs led by sharp increase in the minimum support price (MSP) of cotton in September.The Centre has increased the MSP of standard cotton (long staple) to Rs 3,000 per quintal for 2008-09 from Rs 2,030 during the previous year. The MSP of medium staple cotton has been raised to Rs 2,500 from Rs 1,800 per quintal. The industry has protested strongly against the MSP hike, saying domestic rates will skyrocket at a time when prices in global markets are declining. The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry has cautioned that the hike in MSP will prompt domestic traders and millers to import cheaper cotton and exports may plunge by a half to about 50 lakh bales (one bale is equal to 170 kg) in 2008-09 from 100 lakh bales last year .India is projected to produce at least 320 lakh bales of cotton in the 2008-09 season.