Business Ideas
Swiss banking major Credit Suisse has said Neil Harvey will run its asset management business in Asia Pacific and emerging markets from February.
The markets continued to display range-bound movement for yet another week. The Sensex touched a high of 17,777, but steadily moved lower to 17,276. The index finally closed the week with a nominal gain of 14 points at 17,554.
P B Jayakumar / December 30, 2009, 0:59 IST
MANAGING DIVERSITY
The decision to exit your stock holdings is never easy. But it is important to keep profit-booking for better returns.
The markets continue to trade weak. The Sensex is quoting at 16,435, weaker by 345 points, and the Nifty is at 4,893, down 114 points. Realty, metal, auto and banking sectors are weak; the FMCG space is the only silver lining.
The benchmark indices fell today despite robust industrial production data for November and Infosys’ better-than-expected results. Fears that the central bank will tighten monetary policy at its January 29 meeting dented the sentiment on the Street.
This time around, the Idea Cellular campaign champions the cause of environmental awareness.
The government today said India is willing to take on more responsibilities than other SAARC members for the economic development of the region but said "bright" prospects of co-operation have been hurt by cross-border terrorism.
For a sign of how the mood has changed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, consider the speakers at an invitation-only client lunch hosted by Paul Calello, who runs Credit Suisse Group AG’s investment bank.
A lower tax burden helped Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd record a 15.5 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 31, 2009. The net profit rose to Rs 94.1 crore in the reporting period from Rs 81.4 crore registered during the corresponding three months of the previous financial year.
VE Commercial Vehicles today reported 37 per cent increase in sales in September at 2,558 units as against 1,865 units in the same month last year.
Eicher trucks and buses, a business division of VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, reported a 14 per cent growth in sales in July 2009.
The government"s disinvestment programme made a muted re-start with the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approving the part-sale of its stake in two power companies — NTPC and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL) — but postponing a decision on the overall disinvestment policy.
"Oomph" factor does make the likes of Katrina Kaif and Rakhi Sawant popular in online media, but they have been beaten by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as the top newsmaker on the popular search engine.
The 92 per cent year-on-year growth reflected the additional revenues from the SEZ refinery numbers
Fifty-seven per cent of workers in the corporate sector in India reported an increase in stress over the last two years, a survey has said. Of over 11,000 corporates across 13 countries, 58 per cent companies worldwide experienced an appreciable rise in their workplace stress over the last two years,according to a survey by workplace solutions provider Regus plc.
Two-wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India today said it is expecting its sales to grow by 18 per cent during the current fiscal on the back of several launches.
The total debt of cash-strapped Dubai could be as much as $170 billion, much higher than earlier reported, according to a report by EFG-Hermes regional investment bank.
United Nations’ top climate change czar Dr Rajendra Pachauri has been accused of making a “fortune” from his links with “carbon trading” companies dependent on the world body’s policy recommendations.
Hinduja Group Company Ashok Leyland would open three more outlets in Punjab including, one in Chandigarh in the current fiscal to expand its network.
Lowe India chairman and Cheeni Kum director Balki strayed into advertising, hoping to meet Ramesh Sippy. Now, many years and accolades later, he has discovered the mantra to success. “Unsureness”, he tells Aabhas Sharma
She began her career as a choreographer and then moved into film direction with aplomb. A full-time mother of three, Farah Khan is back in a new avatar as a talk show host for Tere Mere Beach Mein that is being aired on Star Plus.
Abhilasha Ojha / New Delhi October 25, 2009, 0:40 IST
- T N Ninan: Failing capitalism">T N Ninan: Failing capitalism - BJP, JD(S) win two seats each in bypolls - IT/ITeS firms operating income grows 15% - Non-basmati export ban hits organic farmers in Kerala - IDBI Bank yet to begin Rs 13,000 cr syndication for RPower - BHEL Trichy eyes Rs 10,000 cr turnover
Yash Raj films" New York, which released worldwide on June 26, has grossed Rs 35 crore in its three day first weekend.
The United Nations plans to reduce about 40 per cent of its staff in Pakistan by realigning their deployment due to growing security concerns in the wake of a wave of terrorist attacks across the country.
With just two trading days in the current week and a decision likely on the government borrowing plan for the second half, the yield on government bonds are expected to remain range-bound.
The government has slapped a penalty of Rs 32 crore on mobile operators for failing to adhere to the subscriber verification norms in 2008-09.
Health care workers lined up to be inoculated against swine flu as the United States began a massive campaign to administer 250 million vaccinations by year"s end.
The country"s biggest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda Motors Ltd today reported 32 per cent jump in November sales at 3,81,378 units as against 2,89,426 units in the same month last year.
Luxury car maker Audi India today reported 8.41 per cent increase in its sales in October at 116 units over the same period last year.
With a view to tap the growing used car market in the country, General Motors (GM) India Limited plans to roll out five more Chevy Ok used car centers within a fortnight. GM India has already opened 17 such centres across the country and these centres have recorded over 500 transactions. “GM India has got a very good response to its used car business in the country. We are going to add five more Chevy Ok centres in different locations within a fortnight,” P Balendran, vice-president (sales), GM India told Business Standard.
Fears of an imminent price rise, production spillovers owing to spare parts shortages plus a low base effect saw sales of the country"s major car makers grow a record 63 per cent in November.
Banks may soon have to cap the charges on basic services such as issuing a draft, remittances or for stop-payment instructions.
HCL Technologies, BPO services and Talisma Corporation have announced a joint go-to-market strategy. Through this partnership, HCL and Talisma unveil a new service offering which provides clients with a hosted CRM service - a unique approach where BPO and hosted services enhance performance, accelerate transition and provide a packaged governance services model.
A panel probing the July 12 accident at a Delhi Metro construction site that left six persons dead has submitted its report to DMRC chief E Sreedharan.
In yet another mishap involving the Delhi Metro, a labourer was killed after he was hit by a steel beam being lifted by a crane at an under-construction metro site in west Delhi early this morning. The incident took place at 5.45 am at Ashok Park Metro station in Punjabi Bagh.
With the city earning the dubious distinction of having the largest number of swine flu victims in the country, a heavily burdened health care apparatus is banking on development of herd immunity to combat the pandemic.
Drug maker Glenmark Pharmaceuticals today reported 31 per cent drop in its consolidated net profit at Rs 80.88 crore for the second quarter ended September 2009.
German luxury car maker Audi today said it will start assembling its Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) Q5 in India by March next year and is expecting its sales to grow by about 70 per cent in 2009.
The central pool of food grains is insufficient to provide for families above the poverty line (APL) who are covered by the Targetted Public Distribution System (TPDS), if they are to be all included in the proposed National Food Security Act, show data from the Planning Commission.
Having established its competence in acquiring intellectual property (IP) in telecom equipment, Bangalore-based Infinite Computer Solutions (India) Limited is now eyeing the remote infrastructure management (RIM) in the US, Europe and India markets. While currently Infinite Computer Solutions serves few customers in RIM vertical in these markets, the company is hoping to grab a larger pie in the near future."Our core competence lies in IP acquisition in telecom.
A year after Lehman Brothers, the 158-year-old Wall Street investment bank, filed for bankruptcy — signalling the global financial system’s descent into Great Depression II — the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index has risen 16 per cent, after having hit a low of 8,160 in early March.
Apollo Sindhoori Capital Investments Limited (ASCIL), the retail broking arm of Aditya Birla Financial Services Group, has appointed Ravishankar Gopalan as their new Chief Operating Officer.
Silver futures prices extended gain for the second straight day by adding 0.48 per cent on the Multi Commodity Exchange(MCX) today on increased offtake in the spot markets due to festival season.
After the Budget, it’ll be time for some Bollywood entertainment in Parliament. The Lok Sabha secretariat has arranged for a special screening of Danny Boyle’s highly-acclaimed film, Slumdog Millionaire, on August 3 for the MPs.
The 2009 KPMG-Ficci report on the Indian media and entertainment industry points out that the music industry has declined from Rs 830 crore in 2005 to Rs 730 crore in 2008. Revenue from the sale of compact discs (CDs) and cassettes that accounted for 87 per cent of the total turnover of the industry has dropped to 60 per cent. Piracy and the increasing trend of loading portable storage devices with unauthorised and unlicensed music have eroded the profitability of music companies. Against this backdrop, Bhushan Kumar, chairman and managing director of the Rs 350-crore Super Cassettes Industries, the country’s leading music company that owns the T-Series label, is gunning for platform-owners (television and radio channels, among others) who are making unauthorised use of his music. Kumar, 31, spoke to Shuchi Bansal on the challenges facing the industry and his company’s initiatives to keep its head above water. Excerpts:
The government on Tuesday said it would not withdraw the fiscal stimulus, provided in the last one year to help the economy deal with the global slowdown, in the current financial year.
Even as work on border road construction in Jammu and Kashmir was stopped after Chinese objection, Arunachal Chief Minister Doorjee Khandu has asserted that his government will not succumb to any such pressure.
Infosys chief mentor, N R Narayana Murthy is likely to become the non-executive Chairman of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) being set up to handle the retail payment operations of the Reserve Bank of India.
Eight automobile engineers from Detroit, the car capital of the United States, will join Maruti Suzuki’s operations in India in the next two months, as part of the start of the latter’s plan to transform itself as the largest research and development centre for parent Suzuki outside Japan.
The country"s largest car maker, Maruti Suzuki India, today said it is targeting to export one lakh units of its small car A-Star.
In my mind
City-based drug firm Natco Pharma (NPL) will make ten million strips of its generic version of Roche"s swine flu medicine Tamiflu available by October.
Barely a day after Force India’s historic podium finish at the Belgian Grand Prix, a war of words broke out between Sports Minister M S Gill and Vijay Mallya on the government’s refusal to acknowledge Formula One as a sport.
The Centre, in an attempt to end the imbroglio over Telangana, today convened a meeting here on January 5 of the eight recognised political parties in Andhra Pradesh for a discussion on the issue, a move welcomed by a grouping of all parties spearheading the statehood stir.
Vijay Mallya-led Kingfisher Airlines board today approved an enabling resolution to raise $100 million (nearly Rs 487.8 crore) by various fund raising instruments.
Ajai Shukla / New Delhi December 29, 2009, 0:19 IST
Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya has been elected President of the Aeronautical Society of India, replacing former Chairman of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Ashoke Baweja.
In a rebuttal to Plan panel"s comments that his ministry"s highway targets were "unrealisable", Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath today said he was "realistic" about his 2009-10 plans on awarding projects for 12,652 km, which will be completed by June.
The world"s largest steel maker ArcelorMittal may cut 10,000 jobs globally next year and plans to reduce costs in order to regain its lost market share particularly in Europe, a media report says.
Hailing the decision of the two neighbouring countries to resume dialogue, the Pakistan media today said credit must go to both sides for "seizing the moment and breaking the impasse" and that they should build on the "breakthrough" achieved in the meeting between the two Prime Ministers.
Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) would provide bandwidth services for the implementation of the Orissa State Wide Area Network (OSWAN) project in the state.
The Steel Ministry has sought absolute powers from the government on grant of mining rights for iron ore and other minerals to steel firms, a request that would, if granted, expedite projects, including that of Posco and ArcelorMittal, which are stuck for want of secure raw material supply.
With equities looking fully valued or overvalued, wealth managers are setting their eyes on the yellow metal.
Real estate firm Parsvnath Developers today reported a net profit of Rs 13.81 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, a 81 per cent decline over the corresponding period a year ago. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 73.96 crore in the same period last fiscal.
The intensifying tariff war among telecommunication players in India is likely to result in consolidation of smaller, regional and startup operators in the telecom space, global research firm Macquarie says.
Sunil Jain / New Delhi January 01, 2010, 0:35 IST
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers M K Azhagiri has said the Centre would launch a scheme that would enable farmers get fertiliser subsidy directly.
The Sensex finally ended (provisional) at 14,774 - down 638 points. The Nifty ended (provisional) down 192 points at 4,388.
The Sensex is now at 14,948, down 463 points. The NSE Nifty is now at 4,446, down 133 points.
CPI(M) Politburo member Sitaram Yechuri was invited to participate in the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. While giving him the invite, the organisers told him about the other participants, including former US president George Bush. When Yechury was asked the time that would be convenient to him, he made just one request — ensure the maximum possible time gap between his and Bush’s sessions. Bush addressed the summit on Saturday morning while Yechury, along with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Sushma Swaraj and Shiromani Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Singh Badal, took the stage after a few hours.
Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) organized an awareness camp at its headquarters at Burla near Sambalpur in association with the Young Men Christians" Association (YMCA) on the occasion of the World AIDS Day. Free comdoms and pamphlets on HIV/AIDS were distributed to the truck drivers on the occasion.
The miming operations at the mega Bhubaneswari open cast coal project of Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) may come to a grinding halt unless the villagers of Jilinda provide the land as per the agreement.
The company has an advance booking of over 170 cars
Communications Minister A Raja today alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led NDA government had distributed free spectrum to operators in what he called “biggest ever scam” that deprived the exchequer of over Rs 1.6 lakh crore revenue.
M J Antony / New Delhi December 16, 2009, 0:59 IST
PM puts onus on US, China.
Indian stocks trading on American bourses gained about $11 billion in one month, with IT bellwether Infosys and private sector lender HDFC Bank accounting almost half of the gains. For the month ended September 30, Indian entities listed on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq added $10.61 billion to their market-cap, with Infosys and HDFC Bank together contributing $5.82 billion.
The white paper (official position statement) on organisational, operational and financial performance of the railways, presented in Parliament today, busted former railway minister Lalu Prasad’s claims of raking in record profits during his 2004-09 stint.
It’s never easy to be in public domain. Members of Parliament (MP) cutting across party lines have realised that. Madhusudan Mistry, a Congress MP from Gujarat, gave his mobile number to the voters of his constituency. “Even in the middle of the night, people, evidently drunk, used to call me to solve their petty personal problems,” Mistry recalls.
US markets ended flat for the third straight day. The Dow Jones slipped 12 points to 10,572. The Nasdaq ended flat at 2,309.
Saksoft Limited, a Chennai-based software services company with focus on the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment, is planning to double its revenues by the end of the 2011-12 financial year, from last year’s Rs 120 crore, through the organic growth route.
The cost cutting measures taken by companies to tackle economic crisis, have sharply eroded morale and commitment of their employees, especially of the top performers, a study by Watson Wyatt says.
Swiss pharma major Novartis today said it will buy a 52 per cent stake in eye care firm Alcon for an estimated $28.1 billion.
Trashing the contention that the Pokhran-II nuclear tests in 1998 were a failure, India’s top scientists today said all objectives had been achieved and the country now has the deterrence capability of up to 200 kilotons.
Casual dining chain Pizza Hut is planning to extend its ‘Enhanced Dine-in’ brand transformation concept to almost a third of its 147 stores across India by next month.
Yum Brands, the operator of Pizza Hut and KFC, today said it will introduce its Mexican-style fast-food restaurant chain "Taco Bell" in the Indian market later this year, besides continuing to make investments to grow its business in the country.
India Inc today cautiously welcomed the RBI"s move to modify the ECB guidelines and said this also indicates a gradual withdrawal of stimulus measures announced to help the industry tide over the global credit crunch last year.
Despite being the fourth largest economy, India"s per capita emission levels are 70 per cent below world average and 93 per cent lower than those in the US, says a latest report on climate change.
With an aim to make visa services faster, hassle-free and efficient, Indian Consulate here has decided to outsource its consular services under a new visa regime which will become functional from May 22.
Industry body Assocham today suggested to the government to set up a coal trading company to import the dry fuel to bridge the demand-supply gap.
After acquiring United Western Bank three years ago, IDBI Bank is at it once again and has identified two domestic lenders as possible targets.
The world’s third largest wind energy turbine maker, Suzlon Energy, has shifted most of its management operations back to its headquarters in Pune.
The government at all levels needs to create an enabling environment to tap hydropower’s unrealised potential.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 cricket tournament is expected to see renewed high-stakes bidding with two new teams up for grabs from the fourth season starting 2011.
Kolkata-based Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited reported a 38 per cent fall in net profit to Rs 82.08 crore on a consolidated basis for the year ended March 31, 2009 compared to Rs 131.94 crore at the end of the previous year.
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.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), will set up a new age world-class university in India.
IT firm Wipro Technologies today said it will hire 5,000 people in the next couple of months and is looking at a fresh recruitment strategy of taking in graduates from non-engineering institutes.
Amid reports that the Satyam accounting fraud could be as high as Rs 14,000 crore, nearly double of what was confessed by its founder B Ramalinga Raju, the government today remained tight-lipped and said the real amount would be brought before the court of law.
Satyam Computer Services’ founder-chairman Ramalinga Raju and his aides forged board resolutions and unauthorisedly got loans/advances of Rs 1,220 crore in the name of Satyam Computers from banks but this is not reflected in the accounting books, according to the supplementary chargesheet the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed on Tuesday.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Shibu Soren who today became the chief minister of Jharkhand for the third time, has never been elected to the state Assembly.
Health experts in the US have claimed that acupuncture treatment potentially increases breast cancer patients" sex drive and also reduces the side effects of hormone therapy.
Technopak Advisors / New Delhi December 29, 2009, 0:03 IST
The Nifty closed in a Doji pattern after a breakout above 5,182 on profit-booking above 5,200. The trading volumes on the futures and options (F&O) segment declined by over Rs 10,000 crore with the number of contracts in index futures lower by almost 12 per cent. This means the participants are wary of taking positions at the current level as only two trading days are left for the expiry of the current series.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has raised Rs 1,970 crore through a issue of bonds to refinance the debt its overseas investment arm had taken to buy UK-based Imperial Energy.
Aditi Phadnis / New Delhi December 06, 2009, 0:23 IST
Leslie D"Monte & Kirtika Suneja / New Delhi December 5, 2009, 0:15 IST
The Nifty has a strong support at the 5,000 mark.
In one of the strongest moves made by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) to revive its equity derivative segment, the exchange today said it will pay a commission to stockbrokers who generate volumes.
Wholesale food prices touched 10-year high with food inflation inching to 19.95 per cent for the week ended December 5, prompting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to commit food imports to maintain supply in the domestic market.
Business Standard / New Delhi December 18, 2009, 0:19 IST
The government will import essential commodities to improve supplies, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said, as food inflation touched a ten-year high.
Saraswat Co-operative Bank Ltd (SCBL)- the largest multi-state co-operative bank in the country will shortly acquire financially troubled Anyonya Co-op Bank Ltd (ACBL) with 10 branches.
Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, said it plans to cut about 5,000 jobs in its administration, insurance and mortgage units.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc will receive 31.3 billion pounds ($51 billion) in a second bailout from the UK taxpayer as the two banks agreed to cap bonuses.
The West Bengal government has not received any compensation bill from Tata Motors for the land at Singur given for its small car project, although group chairman Ratan Tata has expressed willingness to return the land to the government if compensated for its investment.
State Bank of Mysore (SBM), the Bangalore-based associate bank of State Bank of India, is planning to raise Rs 600 crore through a rights issue. The bank’s board, which met here on Saturday, approved the proposal.