Business

Kolkata, August 28: Commercial vehicles and bus maker Ashok Leyland sees industry sales down by 3-5 percent during the second half of 2009-10 on the likely impact of a poor monsoon, a company official said Thursday.

“We see the negative impact of a poor monsoon getting restricted to a 3-5 percent degrowth in the industry but the negative impact on us would be lower,” Rajive Saharia, the company’s executive director (marketing) said on the sidelines of the launch of the 2516 Super Torque Multi-Axle Truck.

New York, August 28: US stocks gained Thursday after economic output figures signalled that the country’s recession could be nearing an end.

The US economy shrank an annualized 1 percent in the April-June period. The Commerce Department’s second estimate of gross domestic product (GDP) was better than most economists had expected and compares with a massive 6.4-percent contraction in the first three months of the year.

A rise in oil prices helped propel energy companies. Crude oil rose 1.44 percent to $72.68 per barrel in New York trading.

San Francisco, August 28: US computer maker Dell reported a 23-percent drop in second-quarter profits Thursday as corporate spending continued to lag.

But the earnings of $472 million on sales of $12.76 billion narrowly beat Wall Street expectations, and the Texas-based company said that its prospects for recovery were improving.

“If current demand trends continue, we expect revenue for the second half of the year to be stronger than the first half,” chief executive Michael Dell said.

New Delhi, August 28: Passenger car leader Maruti Suzuki Thursday said a deficient monsoon and the consequent drought will not affect its sales in the hinterland as rural India constitutes hardly 15 percent of its total market.

“The deficient monsoon will have a very minimal effect and any effect will only show after November,” said Mayank Pareek, managing executive officer of Maruti’s marketing and sales division.

According to Pareek, the rural segment which is expected to be the worst-hit by the drought, contributes a mere 15 percent to the company’s sales.

Washington, August 28: Computergiant Dell’s second-quarter profit fell 22 per cent however was better-than-expected and said revenue should rise through the second half of the year.
Shares of the world’s second largest PC maker rose 7 per cent on Wall Street overnight.

Revenue fell 22 per cent to $US12.8 billion ($15.2 billion), but came in ahead of Wall Street’s estimate of $US12.6 billion.

The company reported a net profit of $US472 million, or 24 cents a share, in its second quarter ended July 31, down from $US616 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period.

Chennai, August 27: The Tamil Nadu government will import 10,000 tonnes of toor dal from Canada and Myanmar that will be sold through the public distribution system, said Food Minister E.V. Velu here Thursday.
The state government has resorted to import as the demand for toor sold through the public distribution system has outstripped supply as it is cheaper than that available in the open market, Velu said.

In ration shops, toor is sold at Rs.32 a kg, in comparison to the around Rs.80 a kg in other stores.

Mumbai, August 27: India’s deficient monsoons may affect the inflation outlook more than growth prospects, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday, adding that prolonged expansionary fiscal and monetary policies threatened to push up prices and eventually crimp growth.

Its warning tone on rising price pressures comes after many analysts have scaled down growth projections and pushed back their expectations for policy tightening further into 2010.

New Delhi, August 27: India’s new Foreign Trade Policy was unveiled today with a mix of fiscal sops and procedural reforms in a bid to reverse 10 consecutive months of decline in merchandise exports and ensuring healthy growth of out-bound shipments.

The continuation of the popular duty-free export promotion scheme till end-2010, special sops for labour-intensive sectors and zero duty on capital goods import were some of the highlights of the policy unveiled by Commerce Minister Anand Sharma here.

Mumbai, August 27: The Indian rupee on Thursday fell to touch a seven-week low of 49.03 against the US currency in early trade on month-end dollar demand from importers amid expectation that the local bourses would open on a weak note.

Forex dealers said hardening of dollar against major Asian currencies also influenced the rupee sentiment.

They said month-end dollar demand from importers, particularly refiners, and expectation that the stock market may open lower in tandem with other Asian bourses, which are down up to 1.75 percent in morning trade, weighed on the rupee.

New Delhi, August 27: The country’s largest Liquefied Natural Gas importer, Petronet LNG Ltd, may come out with a USD 100 million follow-up public offer or a rights issue in 2011-12 to part fund a 1,200-MW power plant, to be set up at Dahej in Gujarat.

Petronet LNG CEO and MD P Dasgupta said that the company may look at raising USD 100 million (about Rs 480 crore) through FPO or rights issue.

The 1,200-MW power plant will cost Rs 3,500 crore, 30 percent of which will be through equity contribution and internal accruals. The remaining 70 percent would be debt, he said.

New Delhi, August 27: After months of clamouring for help, exporters on Thursday said they are happy with the Foreign Trade Policy that has offered them, among others, subsidised credit and help to diversify to new markets.

“It is a very realistic trade policy. I think new products (and) new countries have been best thought out… in a very innovative Foreign Trade Policy,” CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said on the five-year policy unveiled by Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday.

Singapore, August 27: It pays to work in Switzerland: employees in Zurich and Geneva have the highest net wages in the world, a study by banking group UBS shows, while those in Mumbai take home the lowest.

The Swiss cities were also ranked among the top five most expensive in the world in the bank’s 2009 “Price and Earnings” international study.

“With its extremely high gross wages and comparatively low tax rates, Switzerland is a very employee-friendly country,” the Swiss bank said in a statement.

Singapore, August 27: Oil prices continued to fall in Asian trade on Thursday with investor sentiment under pressure from an unexpected jump in US crude stocks, analysts said.

New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, slipped 20 cents to USD 71.23 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October eased 39 cents to USD 71.26.

The two contracts had closed lower yesterday after weekly data from the US Department of Energy (DoE) showing a rise in crude reserves.

Kolkata, August 27: Coal India Limited, a Navratna Public Sector Company, has invited application for the posts of Public Relations officers.

The company has invited applications for the post of Public Relation executives in E3 grade and Dy Public Relation Manager E4 grade.

Last date of receipt of the application form is September 30.

The selection of the candidates will be done through interview.

Company will reimburse AC-II ‘to and fro’ tickets for the candidates who are selected for interview.

For more details log on to http://www.coalindia.nic.in/

—Agencies

Mumbai, August 27: Leading private sector bank ICICI today announced to slash home loan interest rates for its new customer.

The new interest rates will be applicable on new customers. The decision was taken to match the interest rate with the rival bank HDFC Bank.

—Agencies

Mumbai, August 27: Indian firms raised over $2 billion through external commercial borrowings in July to fund various programmes, including overseas acquisitions and for importing capital goods, the Reserve Bank of India has said.
It is for the first time in nine months that external commercial borrowings of Indian companies have crossed the $2-billion mark in what has emerged as yet another strong sign of recovery after the sharp growth in industrial output in June.

New Delhi, August 27: Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications today said it has partnered China Telecom for launching the first direct terrestrial cable link between India and China.

The cross-border cable would provide telecommunications connectivity between India, China, Hong Kong and Far East Asia and has been laid between Siliguri (India) and Yadong (China) via Nathula Pass, RComs said in a statement.

Mumbai, August 27: Snapping a five-session winning streak, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today plunged by 84 points in opening trade on emergence of profit-booking at higher levels amid weak Asian markets.

The 30-share index, Sensex, which had gained nearly 960 points in the past five straight sessions, fell by 84.36 points at 15,685.49, or 0.80 per cent, as stocks of realty, metals and auto came under some pressure.

Similarly, the Nifty index on the wide-based National Stock Exchange lost 35.70 points,or 0.29 per cent to 4,645.15.

Mumbai, August 27: The Indian rupee today fell to touch a seven-week low of 49.03 against the US currency in early trade on month-end dollar demand from importers amid expectation that the local bourses would open on a weak note.

Forex dealers said hardening of dollar against major Asian currencies also influenced the rupee sentiment.

They said month-end dollar demand from importers, particularly refiners, and expectation that the stock market may open lower in tandem with other Asian bourses, which are down up to 1.75 per cent in morning trade, weighed on the rupee.

Bhubaneswar, August 27: Dismissing reports that the company was planning to relocate its proposed steel plant in Orissa, South Korean steel major Posco on Wednesday said it will start the construction work for the greenfield project early next year.

“There is no plan to relocate the steel plant to another site. It’s all rumour. We will start levelling land early next year,” Posco India chairman Tong Hee Lee told reporters after meeting Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

Udaipur, August 26: Former President APJ Abdul Kalam today said the stocks of sugar available were enough to fulfill the requirement of the country for two months only.

Calling the situation as alarming, Kalam said immediate steps should be taken to improve it.

Speaking at the inauguration of 70th annual conference of the Sugar Technologists Association of India, Kalam said the per hectare production of Sugar in India had fallen from 70 metric tons in the year 2000 to 60 metric tons in 2009.

New Delhi, August 26: Faced with a grim scenario, Air India management has asked its employees to consider the financial crisis facing the company and accept proposals to cut wages and other costs in order to avoid job losses.

The views were expressed by Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav at his meetings with leaders of 14 unions till late Tuesday night, where he is understood to have articulated various scenarios which could arise if costs were not managed well.

Mumbai, August 26: The Maharashtra government today decided to scrap octroi in 15 ‘D’ class municipal corporations in the state and substitute it with local cess.

The decision would be with effect from April 1 next year, an official said after a Cabinet meeting here.

The municipal corporations include Kalyan-Dombivli, Ulhasnagar, Bhiwandi, Mira-Bhayander, Malegaon, Sangli, Kolhapur, Solapur, Aurangabad, Nanded, Akola, Amravati, Jalgaon, Ahmednagar and Dhule.

Chandigarh, August 26: Punjab has demanded a special package of Rs.7,410 crore from the central government to fight the drought like situation prevailing in the state.
A special delegation from the state, headed by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in New Delhi Wednesday and submitted a memorandum in this regard, a state government spokesperson said.

Mumbai, August 26: Vice President Hamid Ansari Wednesday expressed hope that private utility providers will run nuclear power plants in India in the “not so distant future”, and stressed the need to have trained human resource in the atomic sector.
“While we can import nuclear fuel and technology, human resource would have to be developed and equipped within the country,” said Ansari, addressing the graduation ceremony of the 52nd batch of students of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) Training School.