Tuesday, September 01st 2009
Economy shows positive signs
As per the current data released by the government of India the economy may have begun its upswing. The data showed the economy growing by 6.1% during the first quarter(April-June) of the fiscal. Officials now expect a 6.5% growth this year. This growth rate is second only to China's economical growth which is the fastest at 8%. Uncertainty however continues to prevail regarding a consistent performance of the economy for the coming quarters.
Tuesday, September 01st 2009
Maytas Infra acquired by IL&FS
The control of the tainted Raju family over Hyderabad based Maytas Infra came to an end with the Company law Board approving the takeover of the company by Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services. In consequence of the Satyam scam, Maytas lost several projects, including the prestigious Rs 12,132 crore Hyderabad Metro Rail project in July 2009. It has recently declared a loss of Rs 490 crore for 2008-09. IL&FS already holds 14.5% equity in Maytas and as per the CLB order will now foreclose its rights on another 22.6% pledged to it by the Rajus, bringing its total equity stake in the company to 37.1%. It will then make an open offer for another 20% stake in the company as per SEBI norms. The CLB order has also said that IL&FS shall retain management control of Maytas for the next two years, during which it would have to maintain at least 26% stake in the company.
Tuesday, September 01st 2009
Tata Motors reports Rs.329 crore loss
In the face of sagging luxury car sales during the ongoing severe recession, Tata Motors' JLR brands, acquired by the Indian major in June 2008, reported a loss of £64 million in first quarter of FY10. JLR's retail sales volumes went down 35% during the period under review. Bled largely by this segment, Tata Motors has reported a first quarter consolidated loss of Rs 329 crore.
Wednesday, September 02nd 2009
EBay to sell stake in Skype
EBay Inc will reportedly sell 65% stake in its online phone unit Skype for $1.9 billion to a group of private investors, including Silver Lake, Index Ventures, Canada Pension Plan and a venture firm run by the Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen. Skype is a service that charges for calls to regular telephones but provides free computer-to-computer voice, video and text services. It had about 405 million registered users at the end of 2008. EBay had bought this popular service in 2005 for $3.1 billion but the present deal values Skype at $2.75 billion. The deal also precludes the risks associated with an initial public offering that eBay had slated for Skype next year.
Thursday, September 03rd 2009
Indian Mutual Fund Industry records impressive growth
The average Assets under Management (AUM) of the mutual fund industry grew to its highest ever level of Rs 7.5lakh crore in August 2009 (up 8%) while it recorded an impressive growth of 42% in the last one year. While the growth has largely been attributed to strong inflows in debt, liquid and money market schemes, it is interesting to note that the many of the fund houses which showed strong growth were ones which saw a complete change of management, or induction of a new partner, or some strategic changes at the highest level. Cases in point would be IDFC, Religare, DBS Chola, Birla SunLife, Baroda Pioneer and Taurus. Others, which grew above 65% on the basis of their inherent strengths were Kotak, HDFC and UTI Funds.
Thursday, September 03rd 2009
Pfizer pays record penalty to settle charges
Pharma major Pfizer has agreed to plead guilty and pay a fine of $2.3 billion to settle criminal charges and civil suits filed against it over improper promotion and marketing of 13 medicines, including the now-withdrawn Bextra pain medicine. The company has been judged a repeat offender in pitching drugs to patients and doctors for conditions not approved by healthcare regulators.
Friday, September 04th 2009
Oracle-Sun deal put on hold
Overriding the sanction of US regulators to Oracle Corporation's $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into the implications for competition in the market for databases, especially in Europe, if the deal goes through. Oracle competitors such as SAP AG and Microsoft had been demanding an extended probe, arguing that the Sun-Oracle deal could drive up prices for databases. This throws a cloud over the purchase by Oracle, which by its own estimates could add $1.5 billion to its operating earnings. The transaction can now be completed only with the approval of the European Commission.
Saturday, September 05th 2009
Arcelor's surprise entry into India
World's largest steel company, the LN Mittal controlled ArcelorMittal is all set to make its entry into India by becoming a co-promoter of the Mumbai based steel firm Uttam Galva. This steel firm is promoted by the miglani family who share old business ties with the Mittals. Starting Monday ArcelorMittal will launch an open offer for a 29.4% stake in Uttam Galva at a price of Rs 120 per share. If the open offer is fully subscribed to, then ArcelorMittal will obtain a 35% stake for Rs 500 crore which would imply an enterprise value of Rs 2,800 cr.
Saturday, September 05th 2009
WTO's Doha round to resume
In an informal meet at Delhi of all trade ministers from around 29 countries hosted by India a decision to resume the Doha round of trade negotiations was taken. The ministers agreed to conclude the negotiations by 2010. Senior officials are to meet in Geneva in 10 days to work out plans for the next two-three months to sort out issues which had cropped up during the earlier talks. The Doha round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) talks were initiated in 2001.
Saturday, September 05th 2009
WTO talks to resume
In a meeting of trade ministers of 35 countries held in New Delhi, it was decided that negotiations at the WTO Doha Development Round shall be taken ahead, based on the text issued by WTO director-general Pascal Lamy in December 2008. Talks, which have been stalled since July 2008, are expected to resume in Geneva on September 14.
Saturday, September 05th 2009
Arcelor buys stake in Indian steel company
LN Mittal-owned ArcelorMittal Netherlands BV has signed a co-promotion agreement with Uttam Galva Steels, a company controlled by the Miglani family. According to the agreement, Arcelor will make an open offer to acquire 20% additional shares of the company under Sebi norms. Uttam Galva has also sent a notice to the BSE to the effect that if the offer by ArcelorMittal is under-subscribed, the promoters who currently hold 40.71% in Uttam galva will themselves offer part of their stake to the former so that it becomes an equal owner of Uttam Galva.
Wednesday, October 14th 2009
Starent to be bought by Cisco
The largest maker of networking equipment Cisco Systems has agreed to buy Starent Networks. The deal has been valued at $2.9 billion. This would be Cisco's second multi billion dollar acquisition in less than two weeks time. The acquisition will help Cisco benefit from the increasing demand for devices such as the iPhone and Blackberry
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