Business

Mumbai, July 10: Tata Steel subsidiary Corus, Europe’s second largest steelmaker, Thursday announced plans to cut a further 366 jobs at its site in Scunthorpe, Britain.

The move aims ‘to improve the competitiveness of its (Corus’) Scunthorpe site in Northeast England by aligning employment cost with anticipated steel demand. As a result, 366 jobs are identified as being at risk,’ Tata Steel said in statement here.

The announcement comes a month after Corus said it would retrench more than 2,000 people.

Mumbai, July 10: India’s Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex Friday rose by nearly 105 points in opening trade on increased capital inflows by funds after IT major Infosys Technologies posted better-than-expected first quarter profits amid firm trend in other Asian equity markets.

The 30-share index gained 104.92 points at 13,862.38 points.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also moved up by 28.55 points to 4,109.50 points.

Washington, July 10: After a night spent signing mounds of paperwork authorizing the transfer of cash, real estate, technology and other property, GM attorneys are expected to officially usher the new General Motors out of bankruptcy protection on Friday and onto a path toward a hopefully profitable future.

Bangalore, July 10: Infosys Technologies Ltd posted a net profit of Rs.15.27 billion (Rs.1,527 crore) in the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2009-10), registering 17.3 percent year-on-year (YoY) growth as per the Indian accounting standard.

In a regulatory filing Friday, the IT bellwether said the consolidated income for the quarter (Q1) under review is Rs.54.72 billion (Rs.5,472 crore), which is an increase of 12.7 percent YoY as the per the Indian accounting standard.

New Delhi, July 10: Infosys declared its first quarter results on Friday showing that there has been a five per cent fall over fourth quarter results of 2008-09.

The revenues are down 2.89 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 5,472 crore while net profit fell by 5.33 per cent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,527 crore

The results were announced just a day after founder and former co-chairman Nandan Nilekani big goodbye to the IT giant.

The figures also indicate how badly the economic slowdown has hit the infotech sector.

New York, July 10: US carmaker General Motors could exit bankruptcy in record time and come under the control of the US government by the end of this week, as a Thursday deadline for challenges expired.
A New York judge Sunday night approved GM’s plan to sell its best assets into a new company that would be majority owned by the US Treasury. The decision put GM on a path to exit bankruptcy less than two months after seeking court protection June 1 – a speed that has surprised most experts.

New York, July 10: US stocks edged up Thursday, led by financial shares, which were buoyed by a positive report on banking giant Goldman Sachs.
Bank of America suggested buying Goldman Sachs shares, helping financial firms close 1.4 percent higher on the day. Health companies fell after pharmaceutical giant Merck halted trials for a cholesterol drug.

New Delhi, July 09: Government will roll back the Rs 4 a litre hike in petrol prices and Rs 2 a litre increase in diesel rates if international crude oil prices stabilise between USD 50 and 60 a barrel, Oil Minister Murli Deora said.

“Yes, we will cut prices if crude prices stabilise for sometime between USD 50 and 60 per barrel,” he said here.

The Government had last week raised petrol and diesel prices citing spike in international crude oil prices to USD 70 a barrel.

Mumbai, July 09: The recession-hit auto industry has a reason to cheer, as auto sales are picking up, indicating earlier recovery of the market. The auto sales increased 14 per cent to 9.17 lakh units in June, as compared to 8.08 units in the same period last year.

Mumbai, July 09: Tata Steel subsidiary Corus, Europe’s second largest steelmaker, Thursday announced plans to cut a further 366 jobs at its site in Scunthorpe, Britain.

The move aims ‘to improve the competitiveness of its (Corus’) Scunthorpe site in Northeast England by aligning employment cost with anticipated steel demand. As a result, 366 jobs are identified as being at risk,’ Tata Steel said in statement here.

The announcement comes a month after Corus said it would retrench more than 2,000 people.

Hyderabad, July 09: Mahindra Satyam, an IT service provider, today announced that it has signed a new five-year Support Contract with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to provide SAP and other critical systems support to GSK’s businesses across the world.

New Delhi, July 09: State-run oil firms, including Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corp (IOC), will invest Rs 57,475 crore during current fiscal, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Jitin Prasada said today.

In a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha, Prasada said ONGC will invest Rs 20,867.58 crore in 2009-10 fiscal, while IOC has planned expenditure of Rs 11,561 crore.

ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas investment arm of the state explorer, would invest an additional Rs 9,365.06 crore this year.

New Delhi, July 09: The government today ruled out disinvestment of Air India (AI) and Airports Authority of India (AAI).

“There is no proposal for disinvestment of AI and AAI,” Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the Lok Sabha during Question Hour.

To a question whether the government was considering Initial Public Offer (IPO) for the national carrier, Patel said “Presently, there is no such proposal.”

New Delhi, July 09: The Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has partnered with Britain-based mobile marketing company 3rd Space Services to launch free video content with embedded advertisements on its mobile platform.

Under the agreement, 3rd Space will supply mobile video content like Bollywood songs, films and TV programmes to the Indian company, it said in a statement.

New Delhi, July 09: The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has pulled up BHEL for awarding contracts worth Rs 26.61 crore to a company banned by the power equipment manufacturer itself from doing businesses with it.

“The company contravened its laid down guidelines and ethical practices by placing contracts worth Rs 26.61 crore on a banned firm…,” CAG said in its report for March 2008.

New Delhi, July 09: The BSE Sensex was little changed on Thursday in choppy trading as investors awaited direction from quarterly earnings amid doubts about the prospects for a swift world recovery and the outlook for fund flows.

Export-focused outsourcer Infosys Technologies, which kicks off the earnings parade on Friday, is forecast to report quarterly profit fell 13 percent from January-March, but many companies that depend on the domestic market are expected to post better results, traders said.

Mumbai, July 09: A key index of the Indian equities markets closed on a flat note Thursday as investors booked profits towards the closing bell. It closed about 11.69 points in the red.

The 30-scrip benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened at 13,796.19 points, fell 11.69 points or 0.08 percent to 13,757.46 points.

However, the Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 0.05 percent higher at 4,080.95 points.

Mumbai, July 09: Drug maker Wockhardt’s two promoter group firms, including Khorakiwala Holdings and Investments, have revoked 53 lakh shares pledged with the lenders, reducing their combined stake of pledged shares to 52.89 percent.

In a regulatory disclosure to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Wockhardt today said its promoter Khorakiwala Holdings and Investments has revoked 11.47 lakh shares on June 22, after which the entity’s pledged stake in the drug company stands at 52.89 per cent.

New Delhi, July 09: Terming the nearly Rs 10,000 crore scam in Satyam Computers as an aberration, the government today said the proposed new Companies Bill provides more stringent provisions to avoid such frauds in the future.

“Government proposes to introduce the Companies Bill, 2008 as the Companies Bill, 2009, which seeks to have more stringent provisions in case of frauds by companies, their directors and auditors,” Minister of Corporate Affairs Salman Khurshid said in Lok Sabha during the Question Hour.

New Delhi, July 09: India’s annual rate of inflation dropped to minus 1.55 percent for the week ended on June 27, from minus 1.30 percent the week before, according to official data released here today.

India’s annual rate of inflation turned negative for the week ended on June 6, for the first time since the new wholesale price index (WPI) series started in 1995.

The inflation rate had last turned negative in 1977.

Mumbai, July 09 : Following were the indicative currency notes and traveller’s cheques buying and selling rates per unit as given by Thomas Cook India here today.

Mumbai, July 09: repare to post their earnings for the June quarter, analysts warn most reports will be weak but expect an improvement in the near future as government stimulus packages take effect.

For the three months to the end of June, the 30 stocks that comprise Mumbai’s benchmark Sensex index could see an annual fall in sales of four to eight per cent and lower profits of between nine and 13 per cent.

Mumbai, July 09: A key index of the Indian equities markets opened higher today, ruling 75 points above its last closing figure, about five minutes into trading.

The 30-scrip index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, which opened higher at 13,796.19 points, was at 13,844.96 — 75.81 points or 0.55 percent higher than Wednesday’s closing figure.

Around the same time, the S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, was ruling in the green at 4,107.95 points, up 0.71 percent.

New Delhi, July 09: The government is learnt to have decided on a largescale redeployment of Air India (AI) staff to its strategic business units (SBUs), cutting the airline’s current 33,000 strength by nearly 50 per cent.

This will bring down AI’s employees-per-aircraft ratio from a highly uncompetitive 230:1 to a globally accepted 100-150:1.

New Delhi, July 09: An estimated 1.5 lakh Indian workers have come back home from the United Arab Emirates due to economic crisis and recession, the Lok Sabha was told.

Replying to a question, Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi informed the House that an estimated 50,000 to 1,50,000 workers have returned to India as result of the delay in execution of projects due to economic slowdown and recession in the UAE.