Month: January 2015

Treating women as mere body parts harm them the most

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A new study of same and mixed-gender gaze patterns has found that women are viewed more frequently and for longer periods of time – even when their photos were blended in groups of both genders.

“What we found was that women overall were looked at more frequently. They were looked at first, they were looked at last and they were looked at for longer durations. This was the case for both male and female viewers,” said Mary Jean Amon, doctoral student in University of Cincinnati’s psychology programme.

Oil slumps to near six-year low under $44

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Crude futures also fell sharply yesterday after official data showed US crude stockpiles surged by 8.9 million barrels to 406.7 million in the week to January 23.

New York oil prices tumbled to a near six-year low underneath US $44 per barrel today, as record-high US crude inventories deepened worries over the global supply glut. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for March delivery dived to US $43.57 a barrel, a level last seen on March 12, 2009. The contract later stood at US $43.87, down 58 cents from yesterday’s close.

HCL Tech Q2 Net up 28% at Rs 1,915 crore

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India’s fourth-largest software services exporter HCL Technologies on Friday reported 28 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,915 crore for the second quarter ended December 2014 on growth in European business as well as life-sciences and healthcare verticals.

The city-based firm, which follows July-June fiscal year, had posted a net profit of Rs 1,496 crore in the year-ago period, it said in a BSE filing.

Consolidated revenues grew by 13.4 per cent at Rs 9,283 crore in the October-December 2014 quarter as against Rs 8,184 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Vodafone decision eases tax worries for Shell, others

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India`s decision to drop a tax dispute with Vodafone Group Plc is likely to mean relief for Royal Dutch Shell PLCand others caught in similar, protracted battles, as the government tries to attract much-needed foreign investment.

India`s image as an investment destination has been tarnished by a reputation for red tape, unpredictable rules and a tax office long seen as over zealous in its pursuit of foreign firms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi`s government, seeking to reboot a slowing economy, has sought to change that.

Nissan aims to double sales network to 300 outlets by 2016-end

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Japanese car maker Nissan is looking to double its sales network in India to around 300 dealerships in the next two years with almost 50 percent of the new outlets in smaller cities and towns.

“We plan to double our dealership network by the end of next year. This is our vision. Apart from big cities we are also working hard to establish presence in tier II and tier III towns,” Nissan India Operations President Guillaume Sicard told PTI.

Sensex hits another peak of 29,844.16; Nifty at 8,996.60

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The BSE Sensex continued its record setting spree and hit a new peak of 29,844.16 and the NSE Nifty inched towards the 9,000-level in early trade on Friday on robust fund inflows and sustained optimism over the upcoming Budget.

The 30-share index rose by 162.39 points, or 0.54 per cent, to hit a new peak of 29,844.16 (intra-day), breaking its previous record of 29,786.32 touched on January 28.

In previous ten sessions, the Sensex had recorded a massive rise of over 2,346 points, or more than 8 per cent.

Office space absorption up 28% at 32.5 mn sq ft during 2014

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Office space absorption increased by 28 percent to 32.5 million sq ft during last year in the country’s eight major cities on the back of improved business sentiments post-election, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield.

Office absorption in these eight cities — Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune — stood at 25.35 million sq ft during 2013.

Rupee recovers 12 paise at 61.74 against US dollar

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The rupee recovered by 12 paise to 61.74 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday at the Interbank Foreign Exchange on fresh selling of the American currency by exporters.

Forex dealers said the dollar’s weakness against other currencies overseas and a higher opening in the domestic equity market also supported the rupee.

The rupee had lost 45 paise against the dollar yesterday, its worst single-session drop in nearly seven weeks, to end at 61.86 on month-end dollar demand from importers and banks amid speculation that the

Diageo confident of retaining majority stake in United Spirits

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Diageo Plc, which is up against legal hurdles in India regarding purchase of shares of United Spirits from United Breweries (Holdings) Ltd (UBHL), is confident that it would retain majority shareholding in the Indian firm even if the outcome of the cases were not to be in its favour.

The purchase of shares by the company, whose Indian arm Diageo India reported 12 percent volume growth in six months ended December 31, 2014, from UBHL has been under dispute following a number of winding up petitions being filed against the company promoted by Vijay Mallya.

Third phase of Rajasthan ​Panchayat polls underway

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Polling for Zila Parishad members and Panchayat Samiti members under third phase of Panchayat elections in Rajasthan will take place on Friday.

Under the third and the last phase, 254 seats of Zila Parishad are going to polls.

Of them, candidates on five seats have been elected unopposed and polling for remaining 249 seats will be held today from 8 am to 8 pm.

A total of 702 candidates are in the fray for 249 seats of Zila Parishad members, Chief Election Officer and Secretary of the State Election Commission, Satyaprakash Buswala, said on Thursday.

Delhi rape victim sues Uber in US court

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A 25-year-old woman, who alleged she was raped by an Uber driver in New Delhi, has sued the online car service in a US federal court accusing the company of failing to maintain “basic standards” for hiring drivers.

The financial executive, who was not named in the lawsuit, called Uber the “modern day equivalent of electronic hitchhiking” in the suit.

“Buyer beware – we all know how those horror movies end,” the suit stated.

VHP urges HP Governor to act against Love Jihad, conversions

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A day after Kalyan Singh took over as acting Governor of Himachal Pradesh, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad submitted a memorandum, drawing his attention towards incidents of Love Jihad, religious conversions and infiltration of Bangladeshi migrants and urged him to take necessary action in this regard.

Bassi defends cops on Liyaqat Shah arrest

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Defending the role of the Delhi police officials in the arrest of Sayed Liyaqat Shah in 2013 on terror charges, Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi today said his men are fighting terrorism without fear.

“I can only tell you that our officers have been doing a great job. I have neither seen the report nor have read it.

“I would read it then I will talk about it. Before that I can only tell you that Delhi police has been doing a great work in fighting terrorism,” Bassi said.

Foreign firms eager to invest in Andhra Pradesh: Minister

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Many investors from Japan, Switzerland and Singapore have evinced interest in setting up ventures in Andhra Pradesh, which is aggressively promoting itself as a hub for IT and electronic firms, a Minister said today.

Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently visited these countries to promote Andhra Pradesh and investors there have shown interest in coming to the State, Information Technology Minister Palle Raghunatha Reddy said here.

Addressing a gathering at the Vizag Startup Village, he said Andhra Pradesh is aiming at 500 startup companies by the year-end.

Indian jailed for killing compatriot in Qatar

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A 44-year-old Indian in Qatar has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and slapped with a hefty fine of about USD 54,000 for killing his compatriot last year.

The court found the accused, an air-conditioning mechanic, guilty of killing the 26-year-old fellow worker on their weekly off, following an altercation between the two earlier in the day.

The incident took place at their company accommodation located in a villa compound in Al Wukair area on April 18, 2014, Gulf Times reported.

Unnao: Skeletons discovered in Police Line campus

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In a shocking discovery, scores of skeletons have been found inside the Police Line campus here.

As per the police, the skeletons were body parts used in crime investigation and had been found lying in the viscera room of an old hospital.

“An investigation is underway, this was an old hospital. This was a viscera room,” said additional Superintendent of Police, RK Yadav.

Meanhwile, the ruling Samajwadi Party said a report had been submitted to the District Magistrate and advised the opposition to not politicize the issue.

Analysts say Apple outdoes Samsung as ‘world’s largest smartphone vendor’

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After netting the biggest quarterly profit by any company ever, Apple has added one more feather to its hat by establishing itself as the world’s largest smartphone vendor, eclipsing Samsung in the process.

The tech giant reported record sales of 74.5 million smartphones in the quarter whereas Samsung sold a total of 95 million handsets, of which about 71- 75 million were smartphones, reported The Verge.

Stones pelted at building inside police academy in Hyderabad

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Unidentified persons allegedly pelted stones at the short firing range complex on the premises of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy here, police said today.

According to the complaint lodged by the NPA officials yesterday, the first incident took place on January 23 when some unknown person pelted stones at the complex from outside the perimeter wall adjoining Hassannagar, a police officer said.

“Window glass of store room on the first floor was shattered,” said Sub-Inspector G Narender of Rajendranagar police station.

Now, app that ranks your relationship with people you interact

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Researchers have launched a new app that monitors the reaction and behaviour of the users while interacting with others.

Lauren McCarthy and Kyle McDonald are the creative minds behind this innovative app called ‘Pplkpr’ (People Keeper) that observes the negative or positive impact of the people by recording the feelings of the user while interacting, Mashable.com reported.

Courtney Love reveals took drugs during pregnancy

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Courtney Love has admitted in her late husband and musician Kurt Cobain’s documentary ‘Montage of Heck’, that she took heroin while she was pregnant.

The ‘Uncool’ singer revealed that she took heroine while she was conceiving her daughter Frances Bean Cobain , but then she stopped it and knew that it will not going to harm her baby, the New York Post reported.

The 22-year-old star-kid served as an executive producer on the film that is all about the Nirvanas frontman’s love life, his parenting problems, getting involved with drugs, and his unfortunate death. (ANI)

Unhealthy food makes it difficult for Kim K to lose baby fat

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Kim Kardashian has revealed the secret behind her slow baby fat reduction by stating that she doesn’t have time to cook healthy food.

The American reality star said that she started looking a nutritionist, as she used to eat really bad, but now the star is back on the healthy eating track with right workouts, People Magazine reported.

The American TV personality added that after pregnancy she didn’t know what to cook and how to make it healthier, that’s the reason she took time to get back her flat tummy.

Swine flu: Two more succumb in Andhra Pradesh

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With temperatures remaining cool, 26 more cases of swine flu have been reported from Andhra Pradesh, with two people succumbing to the virus.

Provincial Minister for Information and Public Relations (I-PR) Palle Raghunatha Reddy said that the government was monitoring the situation in Visakhapatnam.

“In Andhra Pradesh, the viral disease swine flu has extended all over the 13 districts of the state, of which 49 cases were reported. Around 26 cases are positive and two deaths have occurred. In order to prevent all these disease we are taking many steps,” he said.

27 IAS officers shifted in UP reshuffle

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Close on the heels of two major transfers involving 94 IPS officers in Uttar Pradesh, the Akhilesh Yadav governmet today carried out a reshuffle in top burecracy by transferring 27 IAS officers, including district magistrates.

The transfer order of Abhishek Singh as Chief Development Officer, Banda, has been cancelled and he has now been posted as CDO, Mathura.

Principal Secretary, Language, Shailesh Krishna has been relieved from the charge of Labour Department.

Arun Kumar Sinha, who was on the wait list has been posted as Principal Secretary, Labour.

If mobile numbers can be ported why not bank a/cs: Mundra

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As technological advancements continue to change the world of finance and banking, Reserve Bank Deputy Governor S S Mundra today called upon bankers to “reinvent themselves” if they want to remain relevant.

“If there is a cloud-funding, if there is P2P lending today, then what is the role of banks? What they would be expected to do? Probably banks will have to reinvent themselves to maintain their relevance in the world of finance,” Mundra said speaking to a select audience consisting of leading bankers at a meet organised by business daily ‘Mint’.

Delhi elections: 150 AAP members join BJP at Smriti Irani rally

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Over 150 members of Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday joined BJP at a rally in Shakur Basti attended by Union Minister Smriti Irani over “resentment” against the local AAP candidate Satyendra Jain.

The local joint-convener of AAP, Bhuwan Sharma led the breakaway group. Later, addressing the rally, Irani wooed the middle class by pushing forth the issues of women security, corruption, education and development while urging voters to elect Kiran Bedi.