22-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•NALCO has added 120 MW capacities at its captive power plant under its ongoing second phase of expansion. (Reuters)
•Indian Oil Corporation's refinery project at Paradip in Orissa would be operational from November 2012 after its completion in August that year. (BS)
•IRB Infrastructure Developers has emerged as the lowest bidder for the Rs. 12 bn project of National Highway Authority of India. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said that the Reserve Bank of India should look at eventually reversing the expansionary policy pursued in the wake of the global economic crisis. (Reuters)
•Seeking to mollify the fears of banks that high government borrowing would not allow interest rate to come down, the Planning Commission said that the fiscal deficit will be high but not in "double digits". (BS)
•The European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet dismissed concerns over a possible threat of deflation and said that the ECB would guarantee price stability over the medium term. (Reuters)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

19-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Tech Mahindra has received approval from the US anti-trust authority regarding its Rs. 11.54 bn open offer for the purchase of an additional 20% stake in Satyam Computer. (BS)
•Shree Renuka Sugars said that it will expand its sugar refining capacity at its Athani unit in Karnataka to 2,000 tonne per day from 1,000 tonne per day. (BS)
•ONGC is resuming operations in insurgency-hit Nagaland after a gap of 15 years and has opened a liaison office at Dimapur. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•Inflation turned negative 1.61% for the first time in thirty years but the prices of food items like fruit and vegetables, cereals and oil were still higher than last year. (BS)
•The index of the US leading economic indicators rose 1.2% in May for a second consecutive month and a regional factory gauge climbed more than forecast in June, showing the worst recession in five decades may soon end. (Bloomberg)
•The UK retail sales unexpectedly dropped 0.6% in May for the first time in three months and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said the economic recovery may be sluggish as banks ration credit. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

18-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Omaxe said its subsidiary has bagged a contract worth Rs. 1.28 bn from UP Projects Corporation Ltd for various construction related works. (BS)
•Ansal Properties & Infrastructure sought shareholders approval to raise Rs. 40 bn from private placement of shares with qualified institutional buyers and through international fund raising routes. (BS)
•BPCL has entered into an agreement with Engineers India for commercializing the in-house technology developed by BPCL- Kochi Refinery. (ET)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Finance Ministry is contemplating diluting provisions of Fringe Benefit Tax by which companies may not have to pay taxes on certain perks and allowances availed of by employees. (BS)
•The cost of living in the US fell 1.3% in the year ended in May, the most since 1950, easing concern that government efforts to revive the economy will lead to an immediate outbreak of inflation. (Bloomberg)
•The UK saw a whopping 2.26 mn people becoming jobless in the three months to April 2009, pushing the unemployment numbers to the highest in 12 years, as the economy continued to reel under recession. (BS)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

17-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•RNRL has joined the race to hire the LNG terminal adjacent to the Dabhol power plant to import liquefied natural gas cargoes. (BS)
•Sesa Goa is looking to raise about Rs. 5.83 bn through issue of shares to the firm's promoters and its associates. (ET)
•IVRCL Infrastructures and Projects has secured orders worth Rs. 4.32 bn from Mumbai-based Coastal Gujarat Power Limited for design and construction of all main civil works. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•Available data on advance tax payments for the first quarter of the financial year indicates that the manufacturing sector may take more time to recover, while the financial sector remains buoyant. (BS)
•Housing market in the US starts jumped more than forecast in May while industrial production tumbled, offering a picture of an American economy still struggling to emerge from the deepest recession in half a century. (Bloomberg)
•The UK inflation rose 2.2% from a year earlier in May, at slower than economists forecast after higher taxes and the weakness of the pound sustained price pressures in the economy. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

16-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•RIL has received order from the Bombay High Court to assure gas supply of 28 mmscmd from Krishna-Godavari basin D6 block to RNRL for 17 years at USD 2.34 mmbtu. (BS)
•Ansal Properties & Infrastructure is planning to raise funds up to Rs. 15 bn through the issue of securities on a private placement basis to qualified institutional buyers. (BS)
•Deep Industries has bagged two contracts worth Rs. 720 mn from ONGC for hiring natural gas compressors to the company. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•Leaving for Russia on his first foreign visit after assuming office for a second term, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India is ready to play its part in coordinating global efforts to overcome the economic slowdown. (BS)
•The International Monetary Fund has raised its outlook for the US and called for steps to reduce concern about rising public debt and inflation. (Bloomberg)
•Group of Eight finance ministers began drawing up contingency plans for rolling back budget deficits and bank bailouts as the economy shows signs of recovery and investors start worrying about inflation. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

12-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Sesa Goa has acquired Goa-based iron ore mining company – Dempo Mining Corporation for Rs. 17.5 bn. (BS)
•ONGC said it will borrow about Rs. 270 bn over next three to four years to fund its projects. (BS)
•NTPC and BHEL have joined hands to set up a major power projects equipment manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The inflation rate for the week ended May 30 came down to 0.13% primarily due to decrease in prices of manufactured products on an annual basis. (BS)
•Retail sales in the US rose 0.5% in May, for the first time in three months, an increase driven almost solely by shoppers returning to automobile showrooms seeking bargains and the rising cost of gasoline. (Bloomberg)
•The Japanese economy shrank at a staggering rate of 3.8% in the first quarter of 2009, but the pace of contraction is still less than anticipated. (BS)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

11-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Tata Teleservices announced the launch of its services in GSM platform in partnership with Japanese firm NTT DoCoMo and said it will invest USD 2 bn by this fiscal to roll out operations across the country. (BS)
•SAIL received the nod for acquiring four pending mining leases in Chiria iron ore mines of Jharkhand. (BS)
•RIL has increased LPG supplies to Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum from its twin refineries at Jamnagar, forcing the state-run firms to sell cooking fuel cargoes that they had contracted from overseas suppliers. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that banks have agreed to consider interest rate cuts, responding to his strong pitch saying measures to ease their burden were not being passed on and that industry needed credit at reasonable rates to push overall growth. (BS)
•The UK manufacturing rose 0.2% for a second month in April, as a rebound in motor vehicle production helped end the yearlong factory slump and temper Britain's recession. (Bloomberg)
•The orders for Japanese machinery fell 5.4% in April and producer prices tumbled as dwindling profits forced companies to cut costs amid the worst postwar recession. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

10-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•ONGC said its overseas crude output will fall this year as fields age, and an increase is likely after new areas in Brazil and Myanmar start production by 2012. (Bloomberg)
•NTPC has agreed to buy natural gas from RIL but is opposed to paying marketing margin to the private firm and wants to use the fuel at plants other than Kawas and Gandhar that were identified by the government. (BS)
•Infotech Enterprises has secured a multi-million dollar contract from Malaysia-based inCONTROL Tech for implementing GIS information system for a power utility in that country. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the country's economy is even now capable of growing by 8%-9%, the same rate as it did before the global financial meltdown set in. (BS)
•JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley were among 10 lenders that won the US Treasury approval to buy back USD 68 bn of government shares, freeing them from added oversight that curbed lending practices, hiring, and pay. (Bloomberg)
•China's passenger-vehicle sales rose 47% in May, the biggest jump since February 2006, as tax cuts and government subsidies helped extend the country's lead over the US as the world's biggest auto market this year. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

9-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Areva T&D India has bagged four contracts worth Rs. 3.5 bn from power transmission utility Power Grid Corporation of India for developing four substations in the country. (BS)
•Wire & Wireless is planning to raise Rs. 1.92 bn on a private placement basis from institutional investors. (BS)
•Power Trading Corp is planning to acquire coal properties overseas and has identified mines in Australia and Indonesia for the purpose. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•With economic condition turning better compared to that three months ago, the Planning Commission said economy should record at least 6.7% growth rate this fiscal, the same as was witnessed in 2008-09. (BS)
•The Bank of England is proposing an extension to its Asset Purchase Facility to buy secured commercial paper as part of its plan to restore liquidity to credit markets. (Bloomberg)
•Japan's corporate bankruptcies dropped 6.7% in May, for the first time in 12 months and merchant sentiment climbed to a one-year high, signs that the economy is starting to recover from its deepest postwar recession. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

8-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•JSW Steel has reported a 33% rise in crude steel production to 4.59 lakh tonnes in May 2009. (BS)
•C&C Constructions has bagged two orders worth Rs. 3.75 bn from Jaiprakash Associates. (BS)
•ONGC approved the revised cost estimates for developing the nation's most prolific on-land oilfield in Rajasthan and agreed to invest around USD 350 mn more in the fields operated by Cairn India. (ET)


Economic and Political Headline

•The government's direct tax collection in May this year recorded a 16.88% jump to Rs. 119.19 bn from Rs. 101.98 bn in the same month last year. (BS)
•Payrolls in the US fell by 345,000, the least in eight months, after a revised 504,000 loss in April, reinforcing signs that the deepest recession in half a century is starting to abate. (Bloomberg)
•Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company, scrapped an investment from Aluminum Corp. of China in favor of raising USD 21 bn from a share sale and an iron-ore venture with BHP Billiton Ltd. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

5-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Parsvanath Developers has bagged a Rs. 200 mn contract from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for construction of a residential project at Mundka Depot for phase II of Delhi MRTS project. (BS)
•RIL has won a contract to supply up to 50,000 barrels of petrol per day to Iran until the end of this year but may have temporarily halted exports to the Persian Gulf nation. (BS)
•Kingfisher Airlines has got crucial funding of Rs. 20 bn from SBI and a consortium of other banks to meet working capital requirements. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•Inflation declined to 0.48% for the week ended May 23, giving head room to the government to initiate expansionary measures and prompt banks to cut rates. (BS)
•President Pratibha Devisingh Patil said that India may allow greater overseas investment, sell stakes in state-run companies, and inject more capital into lenders to stoke economic growth. (Bloomberg)
•The Bank of England left the benchmark interest rate at a record low to 0.5% and kept up its plan to buy bonds with newly created money to pull the economy out of the worst recession in a generation. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

04-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•HPCL is planning to invest Rs. 6.14 bn in the two sugar mills it had bought in Bihar to manufacture ethanol. (BS)
•Jaihind Projects has received an order of Rs. 2.31 bn and Rs. 148.4 mn from Gujarat State Petronet Ltd. (BS)
•BHEL has bagged Rs. 3.75 bn order from Oman for supplying and erection of two gas turbine generating units of 126 MW each. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•As exports dipped by 30% in May -- extending the fall to eighth month in a row -- the government reviewed the grave situation with top exporters promising them incentives. (BS)
•Service industries in the US shrank to 44, at a slower pace in May, while job losses mounted, indicating that any economic recovery will be slow to develop. (Bloomberg)
•The UK service industries from banks to airlines unexpectedly grew 51.7 in May, the first time in a year, adding to evidence the deepest recession in a generation may be past its worst. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

3-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•HDIL has entered into a joint venture with Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for the development of 525 acre of land under rental housing scheme at Virar. (BS)
•Infosys Technologies has incurred a capital expenditure of Rs. 630 mn in its three loss-making subsidiaries in China, Mexico, and the US. (BS)
•SBI is planning to raise Rs. 280 bn from bonds to meet regulatory capital requirement and to fund business growth during the current fiscal. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Dinsha Patel said that the government will address the credit needs of the tiny and small firms, while a separate fund for enterprises in the unorganised sector is proposed. (BS)
•The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes climbed 6.7% in April, more than forecast and the fourth increase in five months, as lower prices attracted buyers. (Bloomberg)
•The UK mortgage approvals rose 43,201 in April, compared with 40,038 in March, the highest level in a year, underpinning demand for homes as the property-market slump shows signs of easing. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

2-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Maruti Suzuki India reported a 15.75% jump in the total sales in May at 79,872 units as against 69,001 units in the same month last year. (BS)
•Parsvnath Developers is planning to invest Rs. 7 bn to develop a premium luxury housing project at Civil Lines in the national capital and expects a realisation of about Rs. 13 bn in three fiscals. (BS)
•Sun Pharmaceuticals is planning to spend Rs. 3.32 bn in research & development of low-cost version of original drugs to be sold in domestic and global markets. (ET)


Economic and Political Headline

•The global downturn has taken the wind out of the sails of India's exports, which fell the most in 14 years in April, by 33.2%, over the same month last year, while domestic slowdown led to imports dropping by 36.6% in the same period. (BS)
•The US factory index rose to 42.8, the highest level since September, from 40.1 in April, spurred by the first gain in new orders since the recession began, a sign companies are increasingly confident the slump will end this year. (Bloomberg)
•The UK manufacturing index rose to 45.4 from 43.1 in May, more than economists forecast and to the highest in a year, adding to signs that the recession may be past its worst. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

1-June-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Power Grid Corporation of India has bagged Rs. 10.33 bn worth transmission project from Punjab State Electricity Board. (BS)
•BHEL has signed an MoU worth Rs. Rs 18.5 bn with SAIL for supply of steel materials like flats and long products. (BS)
•Anant Raj Industries is planning to raise Rs. 20 bn by issuing securities, including ADRs and FCCBs, to qualified institutional buyers on a private placement basis. (BS)

  
Economic and Political Headline

•Braving the global recessionary trends, India managed 6.7% economic growth in 2008-09. (BS)
•The UK house prices unexpectedly jumped 1.2% in May, matching the biggest gain since 2006, displaying signs of an easing property market slump. (Bloomberg)
•Japan's consumer prices fell 0.1% for the second month in April, adding to signs that the recession will herald a return to deflation. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

29-May-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Siemens is planning to invest Rs. 2.75 bn to expand its steam turbine facility at Vadodara. (ET)
•BOC India has decided to invest Rs. 10 bn in enhancing its installed capacity in the next three years. (ET)
•Dewan Housing Finance Corporation is planning to issue non-convertible debentures worth up to Rs. 10 bn in July to meet its credit disbursal targets for the current financial year. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated that the full Budget for 2009-10 may announce a disinvestment of government stake in public sector companies. (ET)
•Inflation remained unchanged at 0.61% for the week ended May 16 in comparison to the previous week. (BS)
•General Motors Corp. is planning to file for bankruptcy protection on June 1 and sell most of its assets to a new company. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

28-May-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline
•BHEL reported Q4'09 result, net sales increased 35.4% yoy to Rs. 162.34 bn, and net profit rose 21.35% yoy to Rs. 13.47 bn. (BS)
•IVRCL Infrastructure & Projects has bagged Rs. 3 bn order, awarded by the Government of Bihar, Public Health Engineering Department. (BS)
•Simplex Projects has got a project from the PWD Department, government of Tripura for construction of bridges over rivers under different packages for Rs. 1.13 bn. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the government would continue to rely on market borrowings to spur economic growth and restore the growth momentum witnessed earlier. (BS)
•Concerned over high credit cost and availability of funds, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that he would ask banks for a "benign plan of action" while committing to stimulate economic growth by stepping up public expenditure and speeding up reforms.(BS)
•Home resales in the US rose 2.9% to an annual rate of 4.68 million in April, the second time in three months, as foreclosure auctions and cheaper prices spurred bargain hunters, buttressing the case for an end to the industry's slump this year. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

27-May-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline

•Tata Communications reported Q4'09 result, net revenue increased 3.67% yoy to Rs. 8.87 bn, and net profit rose five-fold yoy to Rs. 3.02 bn. (BS)
•SAIL, NMDC, and RINL are planning to infuse Rs. 130 bn this fiscal as part of their programme to expand production capacities to about 35 MT in the next two-three years. (BS)
•Unitech has sold a hotel in Gurgaon for Rs. 2 bn and is close to selling another hospitality project by June-end for a similar amount, as part of its exercise to raise funds for reducing debt. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•Promising all "appropriate measures" for the economy, the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the government would take a fresh look at fiscal deficit as it has crossed the previously self-imposed ceiling. (BS)
•The confidence among the US consumers jumped to 54.9 in May, the most in six years, fueling speculation the economy will recover later this year. (Bloomberg)
•European industrial orders declined 26.9% from a year earlier in March as the worst recession in more than six decades curtailed global demand for machines and equipment. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

25-May-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline
•ITC reported Q4'09 result, net income dipped 2.84% yoy to Rs. 39.27 bn, but net profit rose of 9.97% yoy to Rs. 8.09 bn. (BS)
•NTPC reported Q4'09 result, net sales increased 6.54% yoy to Rs. 114.45 bn, and net profit rose of 57.77% yoy to Rs. 21.13 bn. (BS)
•Era Infra Engineering bagged an order worth Rs. 1.17 bn from Aravali Power Company for developing a permanent township at the Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Project in Haryana. (BS)


Economic and Political Headline

•The RBI said that the new UPA government, which is slated present the Budget some time in July, should resist pressure for another stimulus as sustained economic recovery would require fiscal consolidation in medium term. (ET)
•Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called for major changes in compensation practices at financial companies and said the Obama administration's plan to help realign pay with performance will be rolled out by mid-June. (Bloomberg)
•The UK's Gross domestic product dropped 1.9% in the period, the most since 1979, as consumer spending slumped the most since 1980 and companies ran down inventories at a record pace in the first quarter. (Bloomberg)
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone

Ministers of India after Election 09

Shri Pranab Mukherjee : Minister of Finance
>Shri Sharad Pawar : Minister of Agriculture
Minister of Food & Civil Supplies
Minister of Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution
>Shri A. K. Antony : Minister of Defence
>Shri P. Chidambaram : Minister of Home Affairs
>Kum. Mamata Banerjee : Minister of Railways
>Shri S. M. Krishna : Minister of External Affairs
Sent from my BlackBerry® smartphone