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The scrip zoomed to a high of Rs 94 and finally ended at Rs 93, up 2.5% from the previous close. The counter clocked volumes of 30.16 million shares on the BSE as compared to the two-week daily average traded volume of 14.87 million shares .
A better reach in rural markets has helped both the soaps and hair colours businesses.
Bhupesh Bhandari / New Delhi November 19, 2009, 0:17 IST
Image spam has made an unwelcome comeback by contributing 16 per cent to all the spam messages recorded at the end of April 2009.
Public sector lender Dena Bank today said it has reported a marginal growth in net profit at Rs 111.17 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2009.
Sitaram Yechury, the CPI(M) leader, had a tongue-in-cheek explanation for Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee ripping into Brinda Karat during the discussion on inflation in Parliament. According to Yechury, “The FM was talking about the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) but we were telling him to talk about the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which showed a sharp rise in food prices. As we mentioned CPI, he thought we were talking about the political outfit CPI. That might have angered him.”
Industry experts still remain cautious on numbers.
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today said it is looking at the possibility of revisiting the telecom tariff issues which are currently determined by market forces.
May lose high-revenue-yielding subscribers; but users to benefit.
An express train carrying hundreds of passengers from Moscow to St Petersburg derailed, killing at least 22 people and injuring dozens of others, emergency officials said.
Essar Oil’s recoverable coal-bed methane (CBM) reserve at Raniganj block in West Bangal has been pegged at 1 trillion cubic feet (tcf), 43 per cent higher than the earlier estimate of 700 billion cubic feet (bcf). The basin has 3.5 tcf reserves, a third of which are recoverable.
Oilmeal exports from India are falling due to higher prices and low quality compared to those from the US, Brazil and Argentina, which are offering better quality of soybean and rapeseed at lower prices. Exports are expected to come down by 15-20 lakh tonnes during 2009-10.
Kingfisher Airlines, owned by the UB Group, is planning to raise up to Rs 500 crore through issue of further share capital.
The Telangana agitation has forced several companies including Bharat Forge, Lakshmi Mittal Group and NTPC-BHEL join venture to either put their expansion plans on hold or explore other states.Addressing the media here on Tuesday after a meeting with industry representatives, chief minister K Rosaiah said Bharat Forge, which planned to set up a nuclear power plant equipment unit at Nellore at an estimated cost of Rs 2,500 crore, was considering Gujarat.
Brewing major SABMiller today said it has moved the Andhra Pradesh High Court seeking its intervention on state beverage corporation"s decision not to procure to company"s beer.
It may be troubled times for the airlines business, but low-cost carrier SpiceJet sees an opportunity in this and is keeping its antenna up to see if some worthwhile carrier comes its way at "right price".
Indian automobile industry recorded an impressive 68 per cent growth in sales in December last year, thereby continuing with the push it had received from two stimulus packages since 2008-end and successfully beating the year-end blues.
It surely took a long time coming, but now that it has, it’s got top clearance from us. Ladies and gentlemen, say hello to our Bike Of The Year 2010 — the Kawasaki Ninja 250R! While there was an impressive list of opponents to the Ninja, none of them could handle going toe-to-toe with the Japanese warrior. And it wasn’t just its bright green colour either. But more on the Ninja later; let’s see who it was up against, shall we?
Tata Motors today said it will complete by the month-end an exhaustive check-up on the low floor CNG buses supplied to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC), following several incidents of red and green buses catching fire.
KPIT Cummins Infosystems Ltd, a global IT consulting and product engineering company, has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Sparta Consulting, a California, USA-based firm and a leading provider of high end SAP solutions. The all cash agreement is for a milestone based consideration of $38 million which includes a bonus of $4 million.
The Indian car market may be revving but the country"s marque event, Auto Expo starting on January 5, is being cut short to just a week as participants want to curtail expenditure in the face of the global slowdown.
US car maker General Motors today said it will display six production and concept vehicles during the Auto Expo here next month, besides putting on display its soon-to-be-launched mini car "Beat".
While there are visible signs of a recovery in the real estate market, price hikes by developers and any increase in interest rates could halt this momentum.
Car maker Fiat India is targeting sales of 50,000 units in the next financial year apart from planning a few variants of both its model — Grande Punto and Linea within the next two years.
Brace for short-term correction.
The move to acquire Brazil-based Vale Do Ivai and favourable business environment augur well for Shree Renuka Sugars.
Balrampur Chini has called off the deal it was looking to enter into with Bajaj Hindusthan after initial talks. In a communication to the stock exchanges, Balrampur Chini said “some discussions were held with Bajaj Hindusthan on future business strategies”. It said the promoters had not entered into any agreement with any party for sale of their stake.
Karnataka BJP dissidents today rebuffed Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa"s efforts to reach out to them by refusing to meet him.
A four-member committee to shortlist the candidates.
With Finance Ministry"s defiance pushing fuel retailers into red, Oil Minister Murli Deora today requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to immediately issue over Rs 20,870 crore worth of bonds to state-run firms to make up for losses they incurred on fuel sales.
A mid-year review of the economy by the government today stressed the need for urgent action to contain the rising prices of food articles, hitting the common man hard.
A consortium of Bharat PetroResources, Videocon Industries and the US-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp have discovered additional oil in their block in the Campos basin, off the Brazilian coast.
Iran is importing petrol from Indian companies, including Reliance Industries (RIL), National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Managing Director Seifollah Jashnsaz said today.
Bangladesh may soon emerge as a major investment destination for Indian power sector players, as its government is planning nine power projects and a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal worth $5 billion, with the help of expert private sector players around the world.
With the acute ethanol shortage derailing the programme to blend the sugarcane extract in petrol, Oil Minister Murli Deora will meet Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar next week to salvage the programme.
The Sensex ended (provisional) at 17,533 - down seven points. The Nifty ended (provisional) up seven points at 5,252.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 29, 2009, 0:11 IST
Wahid Mansoori (37) grew up watching Hindi movies from the 1930s. Courtesy his father’s habit of collecting Bollywood memorabilia, Mansoori now runs a business selling them.
In the last month of 2009, the Hindi film industry promises lots of fun, drama and action.
Capital infusion should help DTH market leader Dish TV to consolidate its position in a highly competitive segment.
Kishore Biyani to revamp existing print media business, introduce tailor-made packages for TV advertisers
Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today ruled out inspection of financial accounts of Reliance Communications (RCom), which is under attack for alleged understating revenues and evading licence fee payment, unless the DoT asks the Ministry to do so.
Anil Ambani-led RNRL has accused Mukesh Ambani’s RIL of trying to inflate its profits by pushing for $4.20 as per-unit sale price of gas from the KG Basin.
With the aggressive disinvestment of PSUs being planned for the coming months, the government is likely to introduce a fixed time-frame during which the nomination of independent directors should be completed by state-run companies.
Beginning today, all letters posted by the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) this week will carry a special sticker that ‘celebrates corporate week’ on its envelopes. Similarly, all hoardings that will come up on the premises of ICWAI’s 95 regional councils and chapters across the country will call for the celebration of the country’s first ‘corporate week’.
Little Nano made a big splash last year. Not surprisingly, it tops the Brand Derby ranking as the most successful launch
Kumar Gallery in Delhi turns 55.
Titan Industries, a Bangalore-based watch and jewellery arm of Tata Group, today reported 41 per cent jump in its net profit at Rs 46.04 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal.
- Parsvnath Q2 net up three fold to Rs 61.43 cr - Banco Products net up 99% at Rs 21-cr - Indusind Bank Q2 net zooms 131% at Rs 77.8 cr - HDFC Bank Q2 net jumps 30% at Rs 687.46 cr - Mid & small-cap firms to see single-digit growth - Geojit BNP Paribas Q2 net zooms 150%
Corporate India today warned the government that any regulation of CEOs" pay may lead to flight of talent and capital from the country and said salaries are best decided by the industry.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) is likely to seek approval for auctioning three blocks of 5 MHz each of 3G spectrum pan-India except Rajasthan and North East, from the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) scheduled to meet tomorrow.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked NM Rothschild (India), the e-auctioneer appointed by DoT to conduct 3G and WiMAX auctions, to furnish details about its relationship with Rothschild (Malaysia), including whether both have a common holding company/parent.
We all watch videos and TV content online. But we also know that streaming videos can become frustrating on a dawdling internet connection, which usually kills the experience. This is where mobile broadband connections come to the rescue. A mobile broadband connection is essentially a mobile phone for your PC — it uses the same GSM/CDMA and 3G technologies that provide voice and data to your mobile.
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has sought financial and operational details of broadcasters, cable operators and multi system operators (MSOs), which it requires for preparing a consultation paper on the issue of tariff for cable TV services in non-CAS areas.
Rajya Sabha was today adjourned sine die after a month-long session, which witnessed passing of 17 government bills and discussions on a range on issues, including the Liberhan report and price rise.
Suven Life Sciences Limited, a Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company specialising in central nervous system (CNS) diseases, has received patents corresponding to three new chemical entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neuro-degenerative diseases.
In view of the security threat to offshore oil and gas installations, the government is mulling on extending the safety zone around these facilities beyond 500 meters.
The much-awaited auction of spectrum for third generation (3G) mobile services would be delayed by over a month and is likely to start by the end of February.
Bharathi Cement Corporation commenced its commercial operations from its Nallalingayapalli manufacturing plant located in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday.
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is quick to admit that he doesn’t “particularly enjoy heights”. So why would he climb into a cherry picker to be lifted 40 feet in the air?
The market could test 5,300 going into the December settlement
Business Standard / New Delhi November 17, 2009, 0:10 IST
Saturation in other businesses triggers the move.
Petroleum Minister Murli Deora, an otherwise able administrator, may earn the distinction of presiding over the fall of individuals and institutions in oil sector in a year when he also faced accusations of taking sides in corporate battles.
India Inc today urged the Finance Minister to continue the stimulus packages till firm signs of economic recovery are visible, and also reducing the corporate tax rates.
State-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today announced the launch of per-second billing plan, joining a host of mobile phone operators who have already introduced such tariff scheme.
Huawei, Samsung, Alcatel-Lucent, Hitachi may also bid.
In a surprise move, state-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) has cancelled the equipment purchase order given to Chinese company Huawei saying the conditions imposed by the vendor are not acceptable, leaving the fate of Rs 32,000-crore capacity addition programme in limbo.
State-run telecom majors BSNL and MTNL are not seriously considering to be a part of the consortium led by Delhi-based Vavasi Group to pick up a 46 per cent stake in Kuwait’s Zain Telecom.
The Centre appears to be bracing itself up for more discussions with political parties and groups on the issue of Telangana on the lines of the dialogue held here yesterday.
Subir Roy / New Delhi December 9, 2009, 0:20 IST
J K Lakshmi Cement today clocked a 38 per cent increase in sales at 5.06 lakh tonnes for the month of January, 2010.
Investors got the upper hand in 2009, while fund houses struggled to cope with regulatory changes and upheavals in the economy, even as the industry shrugged off recession blues with its assets hitting an all time high of Rs 8 lakh crore.
American companies are planning to hike employees" salaries next year to retain talent as the economy is showing signs of recovery, says a report by consulting firm Mercer.
Accelerating mobile PC shipments will drive the worldwide PC market to grow again, according to Gartner Inc, an information technology research and advisory company’s preliminary fourth-quarter forecast. In 2010, PC shipments are projected to reach 336.6 million units, a 12.6 per cent increase over 2009.
The next date for arbitration hearings on the terms of sale of the government’s residual 49 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco) to Sterlite Industries is January 31. A three-day hearing by a panel of three retired judges of the Supreme Court concluded today.
The sugar industry is all set to challenge the recent amendment to the Essential Commodities Act, which seeks to introduce a fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane, besides absolving the government of a Rs 14,000-crore levy price obligation arising out of several court rulings.
Tata Group firm, Rallis India, plans to infuse Rs 150-crore in its Dahej (Gujarat) plant to expand its production capacity, a senior company official said.
For the Tata group, which owns the luxury hotels brand Taj, Ginger Hotels are a sort of "Nano Taj" in terms of business.
Business Standard / New Delhi August 20, 2009, 0:46 IST
Among professional Indian economists, C Rangarajan comes next only to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in terms of the number of years spent in economic policy-making. His professional life, like that of the PM, began in academia. Both chose to be teachers and ended up in government. Both served as governors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Both worked closely together during the crisis months of 1991-92. One went on to become prime minister, the other almost became union finance minister!
A K Bhattacharya / New Delhi October 27, 2009, 0:48 IST
The Andhra Pradesh government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the chopper crash in which former chief minister Rajasekhara Reddy and four others died last week. Interim Chief Minister K Rosaiah requested Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for a CBI probe into the tragedy, a statement issued by the government said.
Pyramid Saimira today said N Narayanan has been appointed as Chairman on board of the firm.
The last one year’s efforts of the IT companies in India in terms of increasing utilisation rates, effective use of the onsite-offshore model and new engagement models, have resulted in better margins despite the drop in the revenues. However, going forward, IT companies have to depend on volumes picking up, to see growth as there is little room for improving the utilisation rate, Som Mittal, president of industry body Nasscom, said here on Tuesday.
India has emerged as a dominant player globally in providing IT engineering services, with the sector set to touch $50 billion by 2020, a Nasscom-Booz study said.
Hinduja group"s flagship company Ashok Leyland today unveiled the country"s first electric plug-in CNG hybrid bus, HYBUS, at the Auto Expo here.
Chef Patrick Verre goes microbiotic in search of “food energy”.
The Imperial, Delhi, tries its best to turn you into a master chef.
Karen Anand, adding booze to dishes, whips up deliciously naughty delights in the kitchen.
Consider the following aspects while reviewing my portfolio:
The Telangana agitation over the Centre’s decision to create a new state in the region has forced several companies, including Bharat Forge, the Lakshmi Mittal Group and the NTPC-BHEL joint venture, to either put their expansion plans on hold or explore other states.
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is all set to make another serious bid to clean up the river Ganga, the World Bank has agreed in principal to make available $1 billion for the purpose.
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) may ask two leading private operators, Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications, to terminate their contracts with Singapore Telecommunications (SingTel), which was allegedly offering international long distance (ILD) services here without a licence.
No takers for road, port projects.
News Corp, Time Warner Inc, and Qualia Capital LLC are interested in buying the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc film studio, owner of the ‘James Bond’ franchise, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
On Thursday morning, the first prototype twin-seater, trainer version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will taxi out to the runway in Bangalore. With its design team watching tensely from the sidelines, the two test pilots will rev up the engine, race down the runway and, if all goes according to plan, lift the twin-seat Tejas into the sky for its first flight.
Country’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel today said it was disappointed by 3G spectrum auction being postponed until next financial year, but would participate when it takes place.
Brian Moynihan, Oswald Gruebel and Josef Ackermann, leaders of some of the world’s biggest banks, met during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to plot how to reassert their influence with regulators and governments.
Reliance Industries (RIL) held Petroleum Trust has sold 10.5 million equity shares of the company today. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, is the sole beneficiary of the Trust.
The below-average monsoon this year and the subsequent shortfall in the production of sugarcane in India will see the prices of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) increase by 10-15 per cent in the next financial year, say industry experts.
Companies across the world have continued to send employees overseas to take advantage of business opportunities, despite a reduced budget for international assignment programs during the economic downturn, a KPMG survey said.
From setting the rates, to the constitutional changes required and the training needed, it is unlikely we will be able to implement it by April 2010, says S Madhavan.
The budget may not mention the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from next fiscal as there are already voices expressing doubts about meeting the deadline.
CEOSPEAK: Sanjeev K Chaudhry, CEO, Super Religare Laboratories Limited
Sun TV ended at Rs 333, higher by 0.2%, on the BSE. The stock opened at Rs 336, which was also the day"s high and a low of Rs 333.
The fate of candidates aspiring to grab a seat on the board of Kheda District Co-operative Milk Producers Union Ltd (KDCMPUL), popularly known as Amul Dairy, was today sealed. The polls saw more than 99 per cent of voting while the results would be declared on Friday.
In line with the initiatives taken by some other state governments, the Orissa government is mulling over bringing in a separate legislation for control, utilisation and management of ground water in the state.
The government has rejected the telecom industry"s plea for a single tax regime, giving a big blow to the private GSM operators long-pending demand.
Last week, I had suggested that Commerce Minister Anand Sharma should announce an ad hoc Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) for the remaining eight months of the current year (2009-10). It now appears that he will opt for a long-term policy, with some measures that have sunset clauses. The basic framework of the 2004-09 policy may be preserved and most of the export promotion schemes retained. Whether some rationalisation of the schemes, ad hoc measures to help distressed sectors and moves to reduce transaction costs within the existing framework will sufficiently help exporters hit by slack demand abroad is a matter of doubt.
Insurance regulator IRDA would soon announce disclosure norms for insurers wanting to raise money from the capital markets.
Contribute a daily trading turnover of around 10 per cent.
Paul Samuelson had a Nobel Prize in economics to his credit, a large and faithful following who venerated him for his resurrection of Keynesian economic theory, the ear of several US Presidents and a tradition of fruitful, running battles with the likes of Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan. But when he died this Sunday, at the age of 94, the legacy he left behind him was to be found in college classrooms across the world.
Only the steady tide of readers overflowing into the aisles of the Gulmohar Hall indicated that this was not just another book discussion at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. Vilayanur Ramachandran’s lecture drew students, fellow neurologists and inquiring readers in such numbers that we could easily have filled the nearby Stein Auditorium.
Kolhapur based Ghodawat Energy Private Ltd (GEPL), part of Ghodawat Industries, is planning to invest around Rs 1,300 crore to increase its wind turbine production and to set up wind farms. To support the investment the company is planning to go public and initiated talks with private equity for fund raising.
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today said it has decided to include 25 scrips in thw BSE mid-cap index with effect from January 11.
Hinduja Group’s flagship company Ashok Leyland’s Rs 1,300-crore Pantnagar (Uttarakhand) plant is likely go onstream within the next few months. The plant would have an installed capacity of 50,000 units of commercial vehicles annually.
Hinduja Group flagship company Ashok Leyland is likely to increase prices of its commercial vehicles across all models by April 2010 to offset rising input costs.
Gurgaon-headquartered DuPont India, a science-based products and services company, plans to double headcount to 3,000 employees in the next two to three years. This is in line with the company’s plans to focus on emerging markets like India in the coming years. The expansion in headcount will come across nearly 13 of its business verticals including agriculture and nutrition, construction, automotives, renewable energy, textiles and chemicals. The company has 1,500 employees in the country at present. Under the hiring drive, the company plans to recruit scientists for its R&D centre in Hyderabad, engineers for its technical team and personnel for sales and marketing.
Driven by robust growth in its larger units, hospital chain Fortis Healthcare today reported a 23.4 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 12.9 crore for the second quarter ended on September 30, 2009.
Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers of Rs 2,330.25 crore (provisional) today, according to data released by BSE.
Zenotech today asked Japanese drug firm Daiichi Sankyo, whose open offer to buy 20 per cent more in the bio-technology firm hit legal hurdles, to go in for independent valuation to determine open offer price.
FMCG major Emami today said its realty arm Emami Infra will be listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in the next three-four months.
Piramal Healthcare today said its shareholders have approved the appointment of Nandini Piramal, daughter of Chairman Ajay Piramal, as the Executive Director on the board of the pharma company.
Global rates of the yellow metal jump 38.4% compared with 34% at home in 2009.
Shantha Biotechnics founder Vara Prasad Reddy, who found a new partner in Sanofi Pasteur, is planning to dilute a part of his stake in the company.
With government"s flagship Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) scheme showing encouraging results in expansion of elementary education, the World Bank has come forward with an offer to provide additional funding of $500 million for the programme.
The power ministry and the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) have projected a total investment of Rs 20,120 crore for renovation and modernisation, as well as extending the life span, of various old power plants during 11th and 12th Five-Year Plans.
For filmstar Bipasha Basu, the New Year festivities will be a hugely rewarding experience. As she spreads cheer among fellow Mumbaikars, Basu will get a whopping Rs 2.47 crore for a 15-minute song-and-dance appearance at Mumbai’s Sahara Star, a suburban hotel next to the airport.
State-owned NTPC today said it has appointed a consultant for evaluation of a coal mine in Indonesia.
Announces target a day after US offered 17% cut in emissions.