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US lawmakers agree on $700 b bailout Maruti to roll out ‘A-Star’ in mid-Nov
‘Financial turmoil to hit FDI inflow’
Inflation static at 12.14 pc
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Bumper profit for Buffett
Honda Motor Company’s CEO Takeo Fukui along with Honda Siel Cars CEO Masahiro Takedagawa (right) at the launch of third generation "Honda City " in New Delhi on Thursday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal
Govt to determine gas pricing
Anil wants apology, besides Rs 10K cr as damages
Indian carriers likely to post $1.5-b loss
Bull Semen Import
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US lawmakers agree on $700 b bailout Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Thursday announced that they had reached an agreement on the outline of a $700 billion bailout plan to rescue the troubled US financial system. Democratic Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said lawmakers had reached “fundamental agreement” on the principles of a deal. President George W. Bush was scheduled to meet with the two men who are vying to succeed him, Barack Obama and John McCain, as well as the leadership on Capitol Hill to discuss the bailout. Dodd said Congress could act in the next few days to pass a bill on the bailout. Republican Robert Bennett said after a meeting with lawmakers: “We now expect that we will have a plan that can pass the House, pass the Senate and be signed by the president.” Details of the package were not immediately available but it is expected this will include restrictions on executives’ pay whose firms take bailout money, protection for taxpayers, effective oversight and help for homeowners facing foreclosure. The breakthrough followed a plea on Wednesday night from Bush, who urged Americans to support his multi-billion dollar bailout of the financial system and warned them “our entire economy is in danger.” In a prime time address on the financial crisis that has shaken Wall Street, Bush said, failure to support the bailout could plunge the United States into “a long and painful recession.” He implored Americans: “we must not let this happen.” Bush’s speech followed calls from members of Congress for the president to address the nation on the matter and explain his $700-billion bailout proposal. American taxpayers are skeptical about funding the bailout, which they see as a lifeline to greedy CEOs. Bush assured them this rescue effort is not aimed at preserving any individual company or industry. “It is aimed at preserving America’s overall economy,” he said. Obama and McCain issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying, “This is a time to rise above politics for the good of the country. We cannot risk an economic catastrophe.” McCain said he was suspending his campaign to find a solution to the financial crisis and challenged Obama to do the same. The Democrat rejected the challenge. “The jobs, savings, and prosperity of the American people are at stake,” they warned. They said the bailout plan was “flawed, but the effort to protect the American economy must not fail.” Bush acknowledged this is “an extraordinary period for America’s economy.” Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future, he said, adding, “I understand their worry and their frustration.” Bush said the bailout was big enough to solve a serious problem. Under the proposal, the federal government would put up to $700 billion taxpayer money on the line to purchase troubled assets that are “clogging” the financial system. “In the short term, this will free up banks to resume the flow of credit to American families and businesses, and this will help our economy grow,” he said. Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin said on Wednesday that the United States could be headed for another Great Depression if Congress doesn’t act soon. In an interview to CBS, she was asked whether there’s a risk of another Great Depression if Congress doesn’t approve the bailout package. Obama said “several core principles” should guide this bailout legislation. “This is not a Democratic problem or a Republican problem, this is an American problem. Now, we must find an American solution.”
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Maruti to roll out ‘A-Star’ in mid-Nov
Chandigarh, September 25 Company officials said the car would roll out from the company’s plant at Manesar. A-Star is powered by a brand-new K-series engine, a low-weight three-cylinder aluminium next-generation engine, developed at the company’s Gurgaon facility. This will be a five-door hatchback and is Maruti Suzuki’s fifth World Strategic Model. Pegged as one of Maruti Suzuki’s most environment-friendly cars, A-star conforms to BS-III emission norms and also boasts of lower carbon dioxide emissions. The launch of this car is in line with Suzuki Motor Company’s commitment to promote production of small cars over the next three years. The company aims to strengthen its portfolio in the A2 segment through the launch of A-star, which will be Maruti Suzuki’s seventh model in this segment. It may be noted that Maruti enjoys a dominant 55 per cent market share in the A2 segment. Though its market share has been dented with the launch of i10 by Hyundai Motors last year, the company hopes to retain its share with this new car. Company officials say their target is to sell a million units of their cars by 2010-11. A-Star will also be exported to the European countries from here. Out of the overall export target of 2,00,000 units by 2010-11, A-Star exports is expected to contribute 1,00,000 units, say officials. |
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‘Financial turmoil to hit FDI inflow’
New Delhi, September 25 Despite a global financial and credit crisis, which began in the second half of 2007, the year’s inflows surpassed the previous record set in 2000 at $400 billion, states the 2008 World Investment Report of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The report also predicts that this financial turmoil will lead to reduced FDI activity in developed countries beginning with 2008. The report notes that South, East, South-East Asia and the Pacific Island economies together remained the largest recipient of FDI among all developing regions and transition economies in 2007, accounting for two-fifths of such flows. With regard to India, the report mentions ONGC and Ranbaxy in top 100 developing country MNCs; Tata Communications, Bharti Airtel, and Suzlon Energy in top 50 developing country infrastructure MNCs. It rates India as the most promising country for Japanese transnational companies; Tata-Corus takeover among top 20 mergers and acquisitions in 2007 and Vodafone-Hutch takeover in top 20 infra mergers and acquisitions. The report was globally launched yesterday, and shows how developing countries enjoyed a 21 per cent increase in FDI inflows to $500 billion, reflecting in many cases booming commodity prices and an improving policy environment. “About two-thirds of this increase went to Asia, a quarter to Latin America and the Carribean, and a tenth to Africa. Record-breaking inflows were recorded by Least-Developed Countries at $13 billion and Africa at $53 billion,” the report finds. Commenting on the findings, secretary-general of UNCTAD Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi said the 2008-2010 report also indicated that investors would take a more cautious approach due to the financial crisis and economic slowdown. “We therefore expect the FDI inflow to be below last year’s peak, although sovereign wealth funds and other relatively new players are projected to maintain their strong showing.” |
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Inflation static at 12.14 pc
New Delhi, September 25 Manufacturing products, however, were down by 0.5 per cent, while fuel, power and light remained unchanged. Economists see inflation stabilising around this level before it starts to fall. However, they expect the RBI to raise interest rates by 25-50 basis point in its October review. “The headline inflation will stay in double digit, due to base effect, till January before easing off. The inflation we are seeing today is the second round effect of oil, steel (prices) etc,” said Pronab Sen, secretary in the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. |
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Bumper profit for Buffett
London, September 25 According to The Times, within hours of revealing his investment desire in Goldman Sachs on Wednesday, Buffett had made a theoretical profit of $783 million. "The Wall Street investment bank astounded its rivals by raising $10 billion in fresh capital — $5 billion from Berkshire Hathaway, Buffett's main listed company, and $5 billion through a public share offering. "Shares in Goldman rose six per cent to $133, giving Berkshire an instant theoretical profit on a side deal, under which it has warrants to buy up to $5 billion of new Goldman shares at $115 a share at any time in the next five years," the newspaper said in a report published in its online edition today. — PTI |
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Honda unveils new ‘City’
New Delhi, September 25 The new City, which has been redesigned both externally and internally, will be priced between Rs 7.7 lakh and Rs 8.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The car was unveiled by Takeo Fukui, president and CEO, Honda Motor Company, Japan. The new Honda City would come in three different grades with both automatic and manual transmissions and would be available with a 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine. While bookings for the car will start immediately, the deliveries would start only by mid-November. According to the company, the 3rd generation City will be the only car in its segment to be equipped with five speed automatic transmission with a ‘paddle shift’ option to allow the driver to enjoy a manual transmission-like driving feel. |
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Govt to determine gas pricing
New Delhi, September 25 Delivering a keynote address at the 7th Petro India conference on ‘Gas in India — Issues, opportunities and challenges in Delhi’, organised by Observer Research Foundation and Indian Energy Forum, Pandey said the gas market was completely controlled by the suppliers because of the shortage in the availability of the gas. “Where is the competition now? How can the price be fair when the market is controlled by the suppliers? In such a scenario, the government will have to determine the pricing formula of gas to balance the interests of both, suppliers and consumers,” he said. Pandey said gas pricing was key to both demand and growth. So, the government control over pricing would help prevent any hardship to the vast majority of individual consumers besides accentuating growth in the sector. He said the government was giving priority to increasing the gas supply and negotiations were progressing well with Iran, Turkmenistan and other countries regarding the pipeline projects. |
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Anil wants apology, besides Rs 10K cr as damages
Mumbai, September 25 In the 19-page suit, annexure to which ran into an about 180 pages, Anil has named, besides his brother, chairman and publisher of the New York Times and nine other defendants, mostly Indian newspaper editors and publishers. The suit is based on a New York Times article on June 15 that also included an interview of Mukesh Ambani. Describing the article and the remarks attributed to his brother Mukesh as "malicious," Anil has alleged that defendants were "part of a concerted conspiracy whose object is to damage" his reputation. Anil, who filed the suit in his individual capacity on August 22, said that the publication of the article as also the statement of Mukesh quoted in it were clearly malicious and made with "intent to cause damage." — PTI |
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Indian carriers likely to post $1.5-b loss
New Delhi, September 25 International Air Transport Association (IATA) director-general Giovanni Bisignani yesterday said growth had slowed from 33 per cent in 2007 to 7.5 per cent for the first six months of this year. And the past two months have been negative. “Indian carriers could post $1.5 billion in losses in 2008, the largest outside the US. Urgent action is needed to help Indian carriers weather the perfect storm of high costs and falling demand,” he added. Identified three priority areas — reducing costs, improving infrastructure, and adopting global standards to cope with the crisis — he said India was among the most expensive places on the planet to buy ATF. In August, it was 58 per cent more expensive to buy fuel in Mumbai (for domestic flights) than in Singapore (for international). Excise duties, throughput fees charged by airport operators and state taxes of up to 30 per cent for domestic flights result in a cost structure that cannot support a competitive industry. Removing excise tax, implementing a standard 4 per cent state tax for domestic fuel and greater transparency in overall pricing were urgently needed, Bisignani said. Taking note of India’s service tax on premium class tickets, overflight, landing and airport charges, he said taxing overflight charges breaches India’s international obligations under the Chicago Convention. Bisignani also questioned the lack of transparency in India’s airport and ATC costs. There is an estimated 20 per cent over-collection for air traffic control while international operations are charged 33 per cent more than domestic flights to land at India’s airports. Not just these, India urgently needs infrastructure investments. The IATA director-general said while Delhi was moving towards the capability of handling 100 million passengers, the situation at Mumbai remained critical. |
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Google forays into cell phones
New York, September 25 So what's it like? The G1, which is made for Google by HTC Corp and sold by Deutsche Telekom AG unit T-Mobile, actually resembles an older handset — the Sidekick, a soapbar-shaped phone also created by G1 designer Andy Rubin, the father of Google's Android mobile operating system. It has touch-screen controls, and a miniature computer keyboard that is uncovered by sliding the screen out. This means a chunkier gadget than the svelte iPhone. But it makes for a more familiar typing experience for consumers who dislike iPhone's virtual keypad, especially for typing longer notes. The G1, which was greeted with cheers when it was unveiled in New York on Tuesday, shares many functions with iPhone — a full web browser, an online market to buy games and software, and a music player. This will work in its favour for shoppers whose expectations from Google weren't as lofty. — Reuters |
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Bull Semen Import
Chandigarh, September 25 Officials in the Punjab government informed TNS that a global tender was floated earlier this year for importing one lakh semen doses of high genetic level. The idea was to get semen of bulls whose offspring had averaged 11,000 litre of milk in one lactation, with average fat of more than 3.5 per cent. However, most of the companies in the UK, France and New Zealand, who had shown interest to deliver the semen doses, said they could not meet the specifications for both high milk yield and protein and fat content. Some of the companies could not even meet the requirements for the packaging in which the doses had to be sent. As a result, the government had no option but to withdraw the tender. A senior official informed TNS that a committee has now been constituted to rework on the specifications. “The specifications, once decided, will be run through dairy search engines like dairybull.com to assess if these are viable and sufficient number bulls are available to provide one lakh doses. We have also got in touch with the trade missions in France, Australia and New Zealand, who will be informed and asked to participate in the global tender, as and when it is refloated,” said S.C. Aggarwal, principal secretary, Animal Husbandry. At present, Punjab has the highest per capita production of milk. It is accounting for almost 10 per cent of the total production of milk in India. However, experts feel that it is time to further increase milk potential in the state and upgrading the local livestock by introducing new germplasm from advanced dairy countries.
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