IIM-B eyes biz of films


BANGALORE: Students of one of the country’s premier Bschools will soon be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bollywood superstars Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra, Sandalwood star Upendra, directors Madhur Bhandarkar and Yogaraj Bhat. 

The elective for understanding the business of moviemaking in the Indian Institute of Management-Bangalore (IIM-B ) is attracting more than the usual crowd this year. 

Encouraged by last year’s response, IIM-B is organizing a general management programme in March for a motley group of cinema professionals who have opted to scale new frontiers in entertainment . 

“We are overwhelmed by the response we got for our programme last year, following the shooting of Three Idiots starring Aamir Khan on our campus. We now plan to take it to greater heights by roping in some prominent film and television personalities from Sandalwood and Bollywood, and give our programme a new dimension,’’ said S Raghunath, professor of corporate strategy and policy at IIM-B. He said the entertainment industry’s focus has now shifted on understanding the business dynamics of making movies. 


DEEPAK KUMAR 
PGDM 2ND SEM

Budget 2011: Budget likely to cater to populist pressure despite deficit
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's embattled government will likely boost spending on social programmes in a populist budget on Monday, even as India is threatened with a potentially ballooning subsidy bill for food and fuel. 

Higher spending to appease voters will make it tougher to reach deficit-cutting targets in a year that could see slower economic growth , and could also make policymakers' battle against inflation more difficult. 

"Pruning the (fiscal deficit) is tricky, especially when the economy is showing signs of a slowdown, cash-guzzling social sector projects are due to be announced and high commodity prices globally are likely to bloat the subsidy bill," HDFC Bank Chief Economist Abheek Barua wrote in a note. 

Unlike in the current fiscal year ending March 31, New Delhi will not be bailed out by unexpectedly strong growth and revenue from the sale of 3G telecom licences. 

The government's political imperative not to cut subsidies will be hugely expensive. Food subsidies total nearly $13 bn, or 5 percent of the budget, while fuel subsidies total around $5.5 bn, 68 percent more than a year ago. 

Political obstacles, including from within the ruling Congress party, which is increasingly moving to the left, will also discourage any major reforms in the new financial plan, such as allowing more foreign investment in the financial services and retail sectors in Asia's third-biggest economy. 

The government has become bogged down in a slew of corruption scandals, and soaring food prices have only made matters worse. 


DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM 2ND SEM

Vodafone emerges biggest gainer of MNP,adds nearly 1.9 lakh users
NEW DELHI: Nearly a month after the nationwide rollout of mobile number portability services, Vodafone Essar has emerged as the biggest gainer, notching up 1.9 lakh new subscribers, whereas state-owned BSNL lost more customers than it attracted from other service providers. 

Since the launch of MNP services, nearly 20 lakh mobile subscribers have switched service providers using the facility. 

MNP allows users to change service providers while retaining their phone numbers. 

"A total of 19,79,600 numbers of subscribers have ported their numbers so far using the MNP facility," according to official figures provided in the Rajya Sabha by the Department of Telecom ( DoT )). 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had launched nationwide MNP services on January 20 this year. It has been a month since the service was started and as expected, older GSM operators like Vodafone Essar, Airtel and Idea Cellular continue to lure the bulk of subscribers to their networks. 

According to latest available figures, Vodafone Essar gained as many as 1.9 lakh customers, followed by Idea Cellular, with a net gain of 1.5 lakh subscribers. 

The figures denote the difference between the number of customers porting in and porting out. 


DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM 2ND SEM

Seven of top-10 firms lose over Rs 38K cr in market capitalisation last week

The combined market capitalisation of seven of the country's top 10 companies declined by Rs 38,767.51 crore last week, with banking giant State Bank of India emerging as the biggest loser. 

SBI shed Rs 10,883.72 crore from its market valuation, which stood at Rs 1,64,075.07 crore as on Friday last week. During the week, shares of SBI on the Bombay Stock Exchange fell by 6.22 per cent to Rs 2,583.90 on Friday. 

Two state-run firms mining entity Coal India (CIL) and power producer NTPC together lost Rs 12,764.46 crore from their combined valuations. The m-cap of CIL stood at Rs 1,84,374.55 crore while that of NTPC was at Rs 1,40,543.87 crore on Friday last week. 

Oil & gas explorer ONCG too witnessed an erosion of Rs 4,534.4 crore from its m-cap which stood at Rs 2,24,966.35 crore. IT bellwether Infosys Technologies' market worth also declined by Rs 5,060.87 crore to Rs 1,72,709.65 crore. 

The m-cap of telecom giant Bharti Airtel fell by Rs 1,120.27 crore to Rs 1,25,014.36 crore. 

ICICI Bank's m-cap diminished by Rs 4,403.79 crore to Rs 1,13,425.96 crore. 

However, country's most valued firm Reliance Industries (RIL) along with IT major TCS and FMCG honcho ITC were on the gainers side. 

RIL added Rs 9,360.92 crore to its market valuation which stood at Rs 3,16,160.26 crore on Friday last week. 

The market cap of TCS swelled by Rs 4,070.97 crore to Rs 2,17,484.06 crore, while ITC saw an addition of Rs 506.86 crore to its m-cap which stood at Rs 1,20,574.35 crore. 

The stock markets declined nearly 3 per cent during the week under review, following concerns over the rising global crude oil prices due to political tensions in the Middle East that might stoke up domestic inflation.


DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM 2ND SEM

Yum! Restaurants re-jigs leadership 

 

Yum! Restaurants International has announced the realignment of its leadership for its brands in the Indian subcontinent.
Unnat Varma, director of marketing at KFC, will move on to Taco Bell as general manager. In this new role, he will provide strategic thought leadership to the expansion of Taco Bell in the Indian subcontinent and develop a scalable model for expansion.
In an effort to support expansion plans and strengthen organisation focus, a new brand vertical for PHD (Pizza Hut Delivery) has been created with a dedicated team. It will be headed by Ashok Bajpai who was earlier general manager at Taco Bell. As part of his new mandate, Bajpai will aim to establish PHD as a leading player in the home delivery segment in India.
Additionally, Dhruv Kaul, business head at PHD, will take over a new role as head of marketing at KFC. In his new avatar, he will continue to strengthen and expand the brand KFC across the Indian subcontinent.
In the new roles, Bajpai and Varma will continue reporting to Niren Chaudhary, managing director at YRI India Subcontinent, while Kaul will report to Sandeep Kataria, chief marketing officer, YRI India Subcontinent.
Speaking on the new role assignments, Chaudhary said, “India is an important market for us and is growing at a fast rate. The extremely talented leadership behind Yum! Brands has been instrumental in driving this growth and success in the last few years. It gives me great pleasure to announce the internal restructuring at Yum! Brands and believe that the move supports our overall growth plans in the Indian Subcontinent. I am confident that the rich experience Ashok, Unnat and Dhruv bring to the table will help them to drive the brands towards greater heights.”

NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ 

PGDM

IIMT

 

Twitter dismisses report of Google-FB takeover

Boston: Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has dismissed as rumour reports that Google and Facebook were in talks of acquiring the micro-blogging site for USD 10 billion.

"People write that stuff all the time ? I don't know where these things come from, it's just a rumour," Costolo, who took over as CEO from Twitter co-founder Evan Williams last October, said.

Costolo said Twitter was "making money" and now regularly carried 130 million tweets a day, up from 100 million at the end of 2010.

Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, he said Twitter is focussing on a mission statement, which is to "instantly connect people everywhere to what's most meaningful to them".

Costolo said Twitter, which started operations in February 2006, will introduce this year a new method of making money, to add to its existing roster of promoted tweets, accounts and trends. He did not give further details. (PTI) 

NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ

PGDM

IIMT

 

Wipro to offer 3G & LTE solutions

New Delhi: IT firm Wipro Technologies said it has partnered with US-based Continuous Computing to provide solutions to 3G and Long Term Evolution (LTE) network equipment-makers.

The two companies are working together to provide Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and Femtocell products for network equipment providers supplying 3G and LTE network infrastructure, Wipro said in a statement.

By using these solutions, mobile service providers can lower their operational costs, while end-users benefit from improved coverage and performance, it added.

"Continuous Computing has developed (these solutions for) LTE and Femtocell that allow mobile operators to make the most of their network resources and maximise the value of their spectrum assets," Wipro Technologies General Manager, Global Media and Telecom, Devaraj Srinivasan said.

The companies will deliver these solutions to network equipment providers worldwide, it said. (PTI)

NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ

PGDM 2ND

IIMT

 

BARCELONA: Microsoft announced an Internet-friendly revamp of its Windows Phone operating system to help capture new territory in the smartphone wars.

Congress MP from Kerala, K Sudhakaran, was charged on Tuesday with concealing crime after he claimed to have seen a Supreme Court judge accept Rs 21 lakh as bribe in 1996 to revoke a Kerala high court verdict. Sudhakaran, MP from northern Kannur, had made the claim on Saturday at a reception for

ormer minister R Balakrishna Pillai, who was sentenced to a year's rigorous imprisonment by the Supreme Court on Thursday in a corruption case concerning the building of a dam.

The CPI(M) and other parties have asked Sudhakaran to come out with details of his bribery claim and also criticised his silence all these years.


                                  NIRAJ KUMAR
                                  PGDM  2 SEM.

Breaking News:Windows Phone to support 3rd party apps

BARCELONA: Microsoft announced an Internet-friendly revamp of its Windows Phone operating system to help capture new territory in the smartphone wars.

Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer unveiled a series of improvements this year to Windows Phone, which got a major boost last week when it was adopted by leading phone maker Nokia.

The software titan is struggling far behind Google's hugely popular Android system and desperate to replicate some of its success in the Microsoft-dominated personal computer market.

"We need to give people the full web, the full Internet on their phone, like they've come to expect with the PC," Ballmer said at the mobile industry's annual get-together in Barcelona.

"Later this year we are going to release a version of Internet Explorer 9 (web browser) complete with hardware and graphics and other hardware acceleration for the Windows Phone," he added.

"The web in some senses was designed for the PC first -- we need to make it a first class citizen on the phone," he added.

Together with a free update for Windows Phone 7, which was released just four months ago, the company aims to provide a smoother web experience on smartphones that rivals surfing on a PC.

A prototype demonstration showed similar performance of moving graphics on a website between a smarthphone and PC.

It had markedly superior performance to other smartphone operating systems due to hardware acceleration, with graphics flowing fast and smoothly instead in shuddering slow motion movement.

                                           NIRAJ KUMAR

                                         PGDM  2 SEM

Amar Singh's phone tapped on official directions: Reliance Infocomm

NEW DELHI: Reliance Infocomm on Monday told the Supreme Court that whatever wiretap it had carried out on Rajya Sabha member and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh's telephone was done strictly on the directions of Delhi Police.

The court was told that Amar Singh's telephone tapping was done in a bona fide manner.

The 21-page affidavit of Col. (Retd) AK Sachdeva, a nodal officer with Reliance Communication, said under the prescribed procedures, once the company receives directions from the law enforcement agencies, it is duty-bound to act immediately in public and national interest.

Senior counsel Ram Jethmalani appeared for Reliance Communication

                                       ANIMA SINHA

                                       PGDM  2SEM

SBI to offer 15-year retail bonds at 9.95%

MUMBAI: State Bank of India will sell bonds to retail investors offering returns of 9.75% and 9.95% on 10- and 15-year bonds, respectively.

In a letter to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the bank said its central board has approved raising funds through the issue of subordinated debt (lower tier II bonds). It has approved selling bonds worth Rs 1,000 crore, with an option to retain oversubscription of up to Rs 1,000 crore. In case of retail demand, SBI can retain the oversubscription beyond Rs 2,000 crore up to Rs 10,000 crore.

This time around the bank is offering different rates for retail and non-retail investors. Non-retail investors, who include institutions and high net-worth individuals who invest in bulk, will receive 9.3% for 10 years and 9.45% for 15-year investments. The bank also has an option to pre-pay investors in the 10-year bonds after 5 years and after 10 years for 15-year bondholders.

Senior officials of the bank said that details regarding the opening of the issue would be announced on Tuesday. Although these investments are long-term in nature, investors are assured liquidity through the listing of these bonds.

Investment bankers who are distributing the issue say earlier experience suggests that SBI is bound to receive a huge oversubscription on the first day itself. "There are many banks that are offering 9.5% and above on fixed deposits. But these investments typically are for one-two years and interest rates are widely expected to come down in the long-term," said an investment banker.

SBI`s earlier retail bond issue, which offered a much lower return, was a huge success with the bonds being sold out on the first day. Successful investors got an opportunity to make equity-like gains as the bonds were listed at a 5% premium on listing. While the returns on the bonds are even better, the listing position would depend on the extent of unsatisfied demand in the public issue. Prices of SBI`s earlier bonds fell marginally on Monday, but the securities continue to trade at a significant premium over the issue price.

Although the size of the issue is minuscule compared to the bank`s balance sheet, the issue is part of an ongoing programme to develop a market for long-term resources. The bank presently funds all its long-term loans, which include home loans and loans to the infrastructure sector, through core savings deposits and medium-term deposits. The long-term bonds will enable the bank to match some of its long-term fixed liabilities.

ROHIT KALIA
PGDM2ND SEM

Coca Cola's secret recipe 'exposed', claims website

LONDON: The ingredients of Coca Cola have always been a mystery. Now, a website claims to have uncovered the soft drink's top secret recipe which is said to be guarded 24 hours a day in a vault in Atlanta, Georgia.

'Thisamericanlife.org' claims to have discovered a list in a photograph in a newspaper article giving the secret ingredients and exact quantities to make the drink which was founded by John Pemberton, a medicinal pharmacist in 1886.

The February 8, 1979, edition of the 'Atlanta Journal- Constitution' has a photo of someone holding open a book with a recipe claimed to be an exact replica of Pemberton's, 'The Daily Telegraph' reported.

The recipe reportedly contains the exact measures of all the different oils needed for Coca Cola's secret ingredient, Merchandise 7X. Despite making up only one per cent of the drink's total formula, Merchandise 7X is thought to give the popular soft drink its unique taste.

The secret recipe includes fluid extract of Coca 3 drams USP; citric acid 3 oz; caffeine 1oz; sugar 30 (it is unclear from the markings what quantity is required); water 2.5 gal; lime juice 2 pints 1 qrt; vanilla 1oz; and caramel 1.5oz or more to colour 7X flavour.

The recipe also includes alcohol 8oz; orange oil 20 drops; lemon oil 30 drops; nutmeg oil 10 drops; coriander 5 drops; neroli 10 drops; and cinnamon 10 drops.

                                          PUSHPAM CHAURSIYA

                                           PGDM   2 SEM

RCom bonds sink on fears over repayment of debt

MUMBAI: Bonds sold by billionaire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Communications (RCom) completed their worst week in more than two years after a slump in the company’s shares added to concern over its ability to cut debt, reducing the allure of India . securities. The tumble in RCom’s assets is undermining investor confidence in India.

Investors will be “selective” in buying Indian debt, said Heather Beattie, a London analyst with Barclays Capital.
Ambani’s group, which suffered a $2.6 billion drop in its market value on February 9, said last week investigators have questioned some of its executives and that it has identified brokers spreading “sensational charges”.

The yield on India’s second-largest mobile phone operator’s zero-coupon convertible notes due March 2012 jumped 317 basis points to 10.75% last week, the highest since December 2009, Nomura Holdings prices show.

“It’s a minefield at the moment,” said Peter Reinmuth, who manages $300 million of Indian convertible debt, including RCom, as senior portfolio manager at Fisch Asset Management AG in Zurich. “It’s not building confidence, especially for foreign investors.”

The yield on the convertible bonds of Mumbai-based Gitanjali Gems due November 25 rose 30 basis points last week to 12.53% on February 11, the highest since November 25. The yield on Videocon Industries’ 6.75% convertible maturing in December 2015 rose 183 basis points last week to 10.84% on February 11.

Relative yields on India’s top-rated five-year rupee company debt rose 23 basis points this year to 115 more than similar-maturity government bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They touched 130 on February 7, the highest since October 2009, as investors shunned riskier securities.

RCom’s net debt increased to about Rs 29,200 crore ($6.41 billion) as of September 30, from Rs 3,370 crore at the end of September 2007, according to the company’s quarterly reports. The company has Rs 2,730 crore of debt due for repayment this year, or 59% of its profit last year. A further Rs 5,510 crore are due in 2012.

Reliance Infrastructure, has Rs 9,800 crore of debt, of which Rs 1,650 crore is maturing this year. Reliance Power has Rs 53,500 crore of obligations. About 70% of the generator’s debt matures after 2024.

Overseas investors thought Anil Ambani was heading businesses “which would outstrip growth in the medium and long term”, AS Thiyaga Rajan, senior managing director at Singapore-based Aquarius Investment Advisors, said. “But that has not happened.”

The February 9 share plunge, led by a 14% drop in Reliance Infrastructure, dragged India’s benchmark Sensitive Index to a seven-month low that day. “This should really only affect the stock, it shouldn’t affect the bond after some near-term weakness because Reliance Communications still has options to raise money,” said Atul Gharde, credit analyst at SJS Markets in Hong Kong.

“As far as the company not redeeming the bond, I don’t see that as an issue. North of a 10% yield, the bond is interesting.”

The company was in talks to sell a stake or do an IPO of its mobile-phone tower unit after negotiations to sell it to GTL Infrastructure collapsed on August 31. RCom will borrow $1.93 billion from China Development Bank Corporation. The loan would have a 10-year maturity and would be funded by a syndicate including CDB and other Chinese banks

ROHIT KALIA
PGDM 2ND SEM

Nithari killing: Surender Koli sentenced to death

                                    vikash singh

                                      PGDM  2 SEM

GHAZIABAD: A special CBI court in Ghaziabad on Wednesday awarded death sentence to Surender Koli, the lone person accused in the second Nithari case. Koli has been held guilty for raping and murdering seven-year-old girl Arti.

Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special judge A K Singh said Koli was to be hanged till death.

On May 4, the court had convicted 38-year-old Koli of the rape and murder of Arti who had disappeared from her home in September 2006.

Meanwhile, residents of Nithari said the CBI should be held responsible if Mohinder Singh Pandher escapes without punishment. Noida police said extra policemen would be posted near Pandher's D-5 residence at Nithari.

Both Pandher and his domestic Koli were on February 13, 2009, sentenced to death in the Rimpa Haldar case. However, Pandher was acquitted by Allahabad high court on September 11, 2009.

Arti's rape and murder is the second conviction out of the total 19 cases related to the rape and murder of children and a young woman, whose body parts were found in a drain behind Pandher's bungalow in 2006.

Bryan Adams' concert in Delhi cancelled

NEW DELHI: Canadian rock star Bryan Adams' much-awaited concert which was to be held on Tuesday evening at the NSIC grounds in Okhla has been cancelled for the time being. Officials say that show has been postponed but no date is decided yet.

Delhi Police did not give no objection certificate (NOC) on the security grounds saying that there will be law & order and parking problem for such a large number of spectators.

"We have denied permission for the concert because of security concerns. The place chosen to organise the concert is not suitable for this kind of a programme," a senior police official said.

The organizers have also written to several authorities saying that they are postponing the show seeing the bad weather conditions.

                                 vivek  kumar

                                    PGDM 2 sem

Delhi HC acquits Pandher in one Nithari case

ALLAHABAD: The Allahabad High Court on Friday acquitted Noida businessman Moninder Singh Pandher for want of evidence in one of the sensational Nithari serial murders, but upheld the death sentence of his domestic help Surinder Koli.

The order by a division bench of Justice Imtiyaz Murtaza and Justice Kashi Nath Pandey came on an appeal filed by 52-year-old Pandher and 38-year-old Koli, challenging the death sentence awarded on February 13 by the Ghaziabad additional sessions judge for murder.

While allowing the appeal of Pandher and dismissing that of Koli, the bench made it clear that the
``findings recorded by them were confined to the murder of 14-year-old Rimpa Haldar''. They made it clear that the judgment will not affect decisions in other Nithari cases by the trial court.

``The depraved and brutish acts of Surinder calls for only one sentence and that is death sentence. We agree with the reasoning of the sessions judge,'' the bench said.

``The findings recorded are only confined to the murder of Rimpa Haldar and the lower court shall not import any observation/comments in the body of this judgment for being applied to the decision while hearing other cases relating to Nithari incident,'' the bench obse

                                 Niraj kumar

                                  PGDM 2 sem

Rahul Bhatt scripts his Headley story

The beefy Rahul Bhatt would have continued to lead an anonymous and unremarkable life, but for his ill-fated encounter with Pakistani-American terror mastermind David Headley.

Mahesh Bhatt's fitness instructor son, had walked into the Bigg Boss house last year, and immediately vented his anguish about being hounded by the media, pleading his ignorance and innocence.

Well, the scars seem to have healed and a wiser and smarter Rahul, post his brush with reality TV, is busy making the most of the episode that changed his life.

Bhatt Junior is writing a script detailing his interaction with the dreaded Lashkar -e- Taiba operative who had befriended him during his reconnaissance trip to Mumbai. "It is a story I have to tell before I move on with my life.

I now realise that my life and career are tied to that event. The world knows only what it has read. I'll reveal the truth in my film," says Rahul.

Rahul had been grilled by government agencies after reports of his association with Headley surfaced. "I never suspected what Headley's actual designs were on this country.

The friendship could've destroyed my life. Although, the government agencies believed me, the scars have remained."

Having waited endlessly to be launched as an actor, Rahul has decided to play himself in the film, but is keen on casting Salman Khan as Headley. But he has wisely decided to stay away from the director's chair. "It may be too much," he says.

                                            Niraj kumar

                                             PGDM.  2 sem

Read more on »suzlon|stocks|sensex|nifty|markets|jp associates

MUMBAI: Indian markets ended sharply higher Monday as the relief rally continued for second straight session. Positive cues from global peers and a marginal dip in inflation also boosted sentiments. All the sectoral indices ended in the green with capital goods, auto and metals stocks in the lead.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 5460.40, up 150.40 points or 2.83 per cent. The broader index touched a high of 5463.80 and low of 5340.25 in today’s trade.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 18220.51, up 491.90 points or 2.77 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 17857.12 and high of 18227.62 intraday.

BSE Midcap Index was up 3.58 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 3.98 per cent higher.

Amongst sectoral indices, BSE Capital Goods Index rallied 5.65 per cent, BSE Auto Index gained 3.77 per cent and BSE Metal Index moved 3.61 per cent higher. BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.03 per cent.

L&T (7.26%), Suzlon Energy (6.78%), Jaiprakash Associates (6.59%), Tata Motors (5.75%) and Kotak Bank (5.57%) were amongst the major Nifty gainers.

DLF (-0.61%) and Siemens (-0.25%) were the only losers.

Market breadth was positive on the NSE with 2434 gainers against 491 declines.

(All figures are provisional)

                                    vikash pgdm

 

Father of Texas A&M meningitis victim will push for vaccine law

COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The father of a Texas A&M junior from Sugar Land who died of bacterial meningitis says he plans to push the Legislature to require that all students at Texas universities be vaccinated against the fast-moving infection.

Nicolis "Nico" Williams, a 20-year-old economics major, complained about flulike symptoms on Monday. He was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, and he died Friday.

State law that requires the meningococcal vaccine for first-time, on-campus college students did not apply to Williams because he lived off-campus.

Greg Williams, an administrator at Texas Southern University, praised the staff at College Station Medical Center and said he could see why his son loved being at A&M.

"No parent should have to go through what we're currently going through and no children should have to die," Williams told the Houston Chronicle by phone late Friday.

                

                                                 Niraj kumar

                                                  2 sem pgdm

                    

Budget Glossary

Appropriation Bill: It is presented to Parliament for its approval, so that the government can withdraw from the Consolidated Fund the amounts required for meeting the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund. No amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund till the Appropriation Bill is voted is enacted



                                                         Niraj kumar
                                                           2sem pgdm

Distribution and format

sells 144,000 copies daily in English, mostly to the business and policy-making élite. The Hindi edition sells 53,000 copies daily.
ACNielsen's survey of the upper middle and rich market in India places Business Standard next to The Economic Times in total readership.
The paper has a reputation for reliable reporting and responsible journalism, as well as for its stimulating page of analysis and editorial comment. It has pioneered the ranking of the wealthiest Indians (the Billionaire Club) and provides an automobile magazine as a free monthly supplement.
In 2006, BSL began to produce a Sunday edition that is now published in four centres.
The Hindi edition was launched in February 2008 from seven centres stretching from Mumbai in the west, running across the Hindi Belt, and to Kolkata in the east.
BSL also publishes various periodicals, including BS Motoring, Indian Management and the Asian


                                            Niraj kumar
                                              2 sem

Improve your Business Standard with GSA Schedule

GSA Schedule is a special business development program of US federal government. The objective of this program is to develop small business standard and uplift the state economy structure as well. It is a highly beneficial program for all the small business veterans especially those who are among the minority group, women or service disabled individuals. So, if you think you fall in these groups and deserve the GSA Schedule Contracts take a look at the program details. A number of business development programs are there from where you must opt for the best suitable

                                                        Niraj kumar
                                                          2 sem
                                      

NEW DELHI: After a fall for three successive weeks, the stock markets are likely to witness a relief rally this week on the back of normalcy in Egypt and a correcting trend in global crude oil prices.

The Bombay Stock Exchange bellwether has plummeted by 6.72 per cent or 1,278.92 points in the last three weeks on the macro concerns, including inflation and an 18-day long crisis in Egypt.

But analysts feel military rule after the exit of embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak late on Friday is likely to lift the sentiment on the street.

"The start of the coming week should be on a positive note with the end of the crisis in Egypt. Besides, the market is in oversold zone and all the negative news have been discounted by the investors," Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Research Head Alex Mathews said.

The benchmark index Sensex which plunged by 1.55 per cent in the last week, surged by 265 points on Friday, ending the week on a positive note and the experts feel that the recovery is likely to continue in the coming days.

Voicing Mathews opinion, Globe Capital's PMS Head KK Mittal said that the stock markets should respond positively as the situation in Egypt is back to normal.

"Also, ease in the inflationary pressures with the fall in the crude prices to about USD 85 in the international market and moderating vegetable and onion prices should bring respite to the tumbling market," Mittal added.

Market observers said the headline inflation numbers slated to be announced this week and the third quarter numbers of big honchos like Satyam Computers, Reliance Communication and Reliance Power will also set the tone for the Dalal Street.

However, some analysts opine that the bearish sentiment in the market will take some time to get over.

"Currently, on slight temporary weakening of fundamentals and consequent FII outflows, sentiments have swung to the extremely pessimistic side causing deep cuts across market caps," Emkay Global Financial Services Managing Director Krishna Kumar Karwa said.

VIVEK KUMAR

PGDM -2 SEM

ASIA FX: US Dollar Mixed, Mild Improvement in Risk Sentiment

SINGAPORE, Feb. 14 - The US dollar was holding a mixed tone in late morning Asian trade Monday, with a slight improvement in risk appetite putting the dollar under mild selling pressure, although the euro also continued with a slightly heavy ...


                              Niraj kumar
                               pgdm.2 sem

Japan overtaken by China as Number 2 economy

TOKYO: Japan lost its 42-year ranking as the world's second-biggest economy to China in 2010, with data out Monday showing a contraction in the last quarter due to weak consumer spending and a strong yen.

While Japan was expected to fall behind a surging China in the year, the data underlined the weak state of a Japanese economy burdened by deflation, soft domestic demand and pressured by the industrialised world's biggest debt.

"It is difficult for the deflation-plagued Japanese economy to achieve self-sustained growth," said Naoki Murakami, chief economist at Monex Securities.

While China's leap forward reflects a shift in economic power as the country transforms itself from poverty-hit communist state to global heavyweight, it highlights the need for shrinking Japan to energise its economy, analysts said.

Japan's post-war "economic miracle" put it at number two behind the United States for more than four decades, but stagnation after the Japanese property bubble burst in the 1990s helped put China on course to supplant its neighbour.

However, Japan remains around 10 times richer on a per-capita basis, noted top government spokesman Yukio Edano. GDP per head in Japan is around $42,000, say economists.

Predictions vary as to when China may overtake the United States as number one economy, but it should happen by 2025, according to estimates by the World Bank, Goldman Sachs and others.

Japan's real gross domestic product slipped by an annualised 1.1% in the October-December quarter as the expiration of auto subsidies hit car sales, a new tobacco tax sapped cigarette demand and a strong yen hurt exports.

In contrast, China grew nearly 10% in the same period.

While Japan's first contraction in five quarters was not as severe as forecasts of a 2.4% slide, the data is subject to constant revision.

The economy grew 3.9% in 2010, its first annual growth in three years. But this was not enough to keep it ahead of surging China.

Nominal GDP of $5.474 trillion in 2010 put Japan behind China's $5.879 trillion, the data showed. China first eclipsed Japan in the second quarter.

Despite Japan crawling out of a severe year-long recession in 2009, its recovery remains fragile with deflation, high public debt, an ageing population and a strong yen all concerns for policymakers.

Pressure is on Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has seen his approval ratings tumble as his government looks to boost the economy without deepening the debt amid a legislative impasse over a $1.1 trillion budget for next fiscal year.

Last month Standard & Poor's cut Japan's credit rating one notch to "AA-" from "AA", saying the government lacked a "coherent strategy" to ease a debt running near 200% of GDP, the highest of any developed nation.

Nearly a third of government spending is being swallowed up by a social security system catering to a rapidly greying society, Standard & Poor's warned, with that ratio set to rise without reforms as Japan continues to age.

NARENDRA KUMAR NIRAJ

PGDM

IIMT

Coal India to set up 20 new washeries: Jaiswal

NEW DELHI: Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal today said Coal India will set up 20 new washeries with a combined capacity of 111 million tonnes to help realise a better price for its produce.

"... Twenty new washeries with an annual capacity of 111 million tonnes per annum are being taken up by Coal India (CIL) during the XI and XII Five-Year Plans," Jaiswal said at a coal gas summit here.

At present, CIL operates 17 coal washeries, out of which 11 are coking coal and the remaining are non-coking coal washeries, with a total capacity of 39.40 million tonnes per annum.

The ministry had earlier estimated that establishment of the new washeries would require an investment of Rs 2,500 crore, with a view to reduce the ash content in coal produced by CIL and improve its calorific value, among other things.

Indian coal has high ash content. The average ash content in Indian coal is 35-38 per cent. In this regard, washing will help reduce the ash content by 7-8 per cent. 


DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM
2ND SEM

IIMT

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                                      niraj kumar
                                     pgdm 2 sem

Nifty above 5400; Tata Motors, L&T, Jindal Steel up

MUMBAI: Pull-back rally helped the Indian markets to gain momentum for second straight session Monday led by capital goods, auto and metals space. Rally in global markets also helped the bulls to stage a come-back.

“Friday’s bounce could well spill over into today’s session, at least in the early morning trade. The global cues are positive. The exit of Egypt’s autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak and the subsequent drop in oil prices could aid the sentiment. For the Nifty, a breakout above 5400 should pave the way for an extension of the rally towards 5670 levels.

Watch out for ADAG stocks; besides the Q3 results investors will watch closely all other developments though enough clarifications have been issued. RIL could be a laggard amid reports of a hefty SEBI penalty in connection with the insider trading case. Other key result to keep an eye on today is that of GSK Pharma, Satyam, Unitech and Videocon,” said IIFL report.

At 12:30 pm; National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5418.55, up 108.55 points or 2.04 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 5340.25 and high of 5432.70 in trade so far.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 18079.85, up 351.24 points or 1.98 per cent. The broader index touched a low of 17857.12 and high of 18126.14 in trade so far. 

DEEPAK KUMAR
PGDM 2ND SEM
IIMT