|
|
|
|
Japan slips into recession
Citi to cut 50,000 jobs
JPMorgan cuts India growth forecast
|
|
Govt to review export target
GM to sell stake in Suzuki
SBI hikes interest rates on NRE deposits
A.C. Varma
Mallya: Allow foreign carriers to have stake in Indian Cos
India, Malaysia to up weekly flights
Pak-IMF accord on $7.6-b bailout
Air India to raise $165 m
PM
reviews economy
|
|
London, November 17 Meanwhile, the battered auto industry came into focus. The US Senate was to begin debating a bailout later in the day, Germany was to hold talks with General Motors unit Opel, and Japan's Toyota came under ratings scrutiny. Wall Street looked set for a poor start to the week to follow sharp losses on Friday and European shares were down 2 per cent. In something of a surprise, figures showed Japan, the world's second-biggest economy, sliding into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter as financial crisis curbed demand for Japanese exports. The 0.1 per cent contraction in July-September was worse than consensus forecasts. The euro zone is also in formal recession, with two consecutive quarters of contraction, Britain and the United States are on the brink and China is slowing sharply. Britain's main employers group forecast on Monday that unemployment could rise to almost 3 million by 2010 while France's central bank said that the French economy should contract 0.5 per cent in the fourth quarter. Policymakers have little doubt that their economies will continue to decline. "We need to bear in mind that (our) economic conditions could worsen further as the US and European financial crisis deepens, worries of economic downturn heighten and stock and foreign exchange markets make big swings," Japanese economy minister Kaoru Yosano told a news conference. International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn told the BBC his organisation was likely to need at least $100 billion in extra funding over the next six months to help countries out of the mire. G20 laundry list
Financial markets continued to shudder under the joint strain of declining economies and ructions in the financial system. Oil fell more than $1 to below $56 a barrel and MSCI's main world stock index was down three-quarters of a percent for a 46 percent year-to-date loss. Leaders of the world's 20 largest economies, meeting in Washington over the weekend, agreed on a host of steps to rescue the global economy. But they left it to individual governments to tailor their response to their own circumstances and troubled industries. The post-meeting statement from the group of major industrialised and developing countries contained a laundry list of reform pledges aimed at soothing volatile markets and calming consumers' worries. Finance ministers were told to develop specific plans with the first set of actions to be completed by the end of March, and a follow-up meeting held by the end of April. On Sunday, Iceland said it had reached a deal with several European Union states on how to repay thousands of foreign savers with money in frozen Icelandic accounts, potentially paving the way for an IMF-led package worth as much as $6 billion for the crisis-hit country. Car trouble
With a $700 billion fund promised to stabilise the battered US financial system, the outgoing Bush administration and its successor was set to tackle the urgent question of how, or whether, to rescue the nation's "big three" automakers. The Senate was due on Monday to begin debating emergency legislation to provide $25 billion in aid to General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Chrysler LLC.— Reuters n
IMF says needs $100 billion over six months n Markets shrug off G20 pledge to stimulate global growth n US Senate to debate automaker rescue plan n Toyota on negative ratings watch |
|
New York, November 17 Quoting people close to the company, television channel CNBC today said the number of jobs cuts may rise as high as 50,000 in order to bring the company's workforce to about 300,000 worldwide. "These people say these cuts will occur in a relatively shorter period of time, such as over the next five or six months," CNBC said in a report published on its website today. Further, the report noted that Citi would cut expenses by as much as 20 per cent. "Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit plans to make a dramatic statement about major cut-backs in the struggling firm's workforce aimed at calming market fears that the troubled financial services giant isn't taking the steps necessary to address its many ills, which include a bloated cost structure...," CNBC said quoting people close to the company. Further, the report attributing to a person close to the firm said, "The object here is for the people to take notice... The exact number is still a moving target but it will be dramatic." On Friday, the Wall Street Journal had reported that Citi would be handing out pink slips to at least 10,000 employees. In October, Citi had posted a net loss of $2.8 billion for the third quarter. — PTI
|
|
JPMorgan cuts India growth forecast
Mumbai, November 17 The Indian economy may grow 6.7 per cent in the year ending March 2009, JPMorgan said, down from its earlier forecast of 7 per cent. The economy may grow 6.2 per cent in 2009/10, down from its previous estimate of 6.8 per cent, the bank said. "The moderation in exports, small business output, and real estate related activity could crimp urban consumer spending as employment and household income growth slackens," JPMorgan said in the note. India's economy grew at an annual rate of 9 per cent or more in the past three years, second only to China among the major economies. Last month, the Reserve Bank cut its estimate for FY09 growth to 7.5-8.0 per cent, but analysts expect it to be lower. Other global financial groups like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Nomura have also lowered their estimates for India's GDP growth over the past one month. "As global and domestic financial conditions are likely to ease in the rest of this fiscal year and over the course of next year, some recovery is on the cards... but it is unlikely to completely reverse the trend," JPMorgan said. "Consequently, investment growth — the major driver of activity growth in India over the past five years — will likely moderate." The Reserve Bank could lower rates again if liquidity conditions do not ease sufficiently or signs of further economic slowdown emerge, JPMorgan said, adding that the drop in inflation to single-digit levels allows for easier monetary policy. It expects the Reserve Bank to cut its repo rate, at which it lends funds to banks, by another 50 basis points and along with an identical reduction in reserve requirement by its January policy review. "Alternatively, the RBI could cut the repo rate by 100 basis points —in which case the reverse repo would also be reduced 50 basis points in order to keep the gap between the repo and the reverse repo rates at 100 basis points," it said. Over the past month, the Reserve Bank has reduced the repo rate by 150 basis points to 7.5 per cent, the cash reserve ratio by 350 basis points to 5.5 per cent, and the ratio of deposits banks must invest in bonds, by 100 basis points to 24 per cent. "If needed, there is also scope to reduce the SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) further by another 150-200 basis points, at least temporarily," it said. — Reuters
|
|
Porsche targets rich Punjabis
Pune, November 17 The new generation model of the iconic “Porsche 911”, a sports car used in several Hollywood movies, will be available among other models. The Cayenne, its top-selling sports utility vehicle (SUV) in India, besides the Boxer and the rear-engine mounted sports car Cayman will also be available for the Punjabis. The new generation ‘911’ will have Porsche's latest technology in direct fuel injection engines and double-clutch gear box Porsche Dopplekuplung (PDK), the company said here today. The cars from the Porsche stable are priced between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 1.4 crore. For the Indian market, Porsche vehicles are imported as completely-built units (CBUs) from Germany. “There is a boom in demand for super-luxury cars among the Indian elite and Porsche will open its dealership in Ludhiana in next two weeks,” said Rod Wallace, managing director of the company, at “Porsche World Road Show” at the Amby Valley, Pune, here today. Wallace told TNS: “Porsche intends to make its presence felt in Punjab with its entire luxury segment, including sports cars." He said Punjab and Chandigarh were among the Indian markets which offer enormous potential for super-premium cars. "The dealership though located in Ludhiana will reach out to the consumers in the entire Punjab covering cities like Chandigarh, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar”, he added. Punjab is an important market for us and we hope to sell around 100 cars in this region in a year after opening dealership”, he said. Porsche sold over 101 luxury cars across India in the past one year. This year, the company had planned to sell around 200 Porsche models in India, besides increasing dealership network. Almost 165 have been sold off till date, said Wallace. Disclosing the company’s plan, Wallace said the company planned to launch the luxurious four-door Panamera by 2009, and the hybrid version of its luxury Cayenne in 2010. The company has two dealers at present — one each in Mumbai and Delhi. The plan is to take it to 11 dealers. In this list are Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Jaipur and Kochi, among others.
|
|
Govt to review export target
New Delhi, November 17 “There is a slowdown in the economies in the western world; so there is bound to be slowdown in exports, the Prime Minister's committee set up for the purpose of reviewing the economy, has indicated. We are looking at various measures that can help sustain exports,” commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit. Concerned at the spill-over from the turmoil in India's two biggest markets — the US and Europe — the commerce minister said, “I am reviewing it to see whether our target will be met. Till now, we are on track but the next five months will determine whether targets will be met,” he said. While the commerce ministry is pitching for a total tax waiver for exporters, both at the central and state levels, a decision on this will be taken by the committee chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. “We are working on the package, there are many areas that need to be addressed,” Nath said. He said there was a case for refunding taxes and levies to exporters so that they could compete in the world market. “We are going to see how the level-playing field can be provided to our exporters, which means totally waiving duties and taxes,” Nath explained.
|
|
Tokyo, November 17 GM plans to sell 16,413,000 Suzuki shares, which is equal to 3 per cent of Suzuki’s total issued common stock on the open market on November 18. Suzuki will purchase the equivalent number of shares to be sold by GM for 22.37 billion yen (about $231 million). The two companies reached an agreement on the issue after Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO, General Motors Corporation, and Osamu Suzuki, chairman and CEO, Suzuki Motor Corporation discussed the matter, Suzuki said in a press statement. The decision has been supported and already approved by both GM and Suzuki boards, it said, adding that they also confirmed to give positive consideration on a possibility for GM to repurchase Suzuki shares in the future. "There will be no impact on Suzukis current business plan," Suzuki was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency. — PTI
|
|
SBI hikes interest rates on NRE deposits
Mumbai, November 17 For NRE (rupee) deposits for a duration of one year to less than two years, the rate has been increased to 4.92 per cent from 4.17 per cent. For two years to less than three years and three years to five years, the rate has been raised to 4.41 per cent from 3.66 per cent and 4.89 per cent from the earlier 4.14 per cent, respectively. For FCNR (B) dollar-denominated deposits, the interest rate has been hiked to 4.17 per cent from 3.42 per cent and for two years and above but less than three years, the new rate is 3.66 per cent from the earlier 2.91 per cent. For three years and above but less than four years and four years and above but less than five years, the rates have been increased to 4.14 per cent and 4.49 per cent each. For five years duration, the new rate is 4.76 per cent, against the earlier 4.01 per cent. |
|
SBoP to increase credit flow to farm sector
Chandigarh, November 17 The bank’s exposure in agriculture advances is to the tune of Rs 6,107 crore. This is nearly 60 per cent of the total advances of the bank. “Agriculture sector is now becoming the mainstay of economy, especially when the global financial downturn has adversely affected industrial growth. Thus, we have decided to increase the cash flow in agriculture advances,” said A.C. Varma, managing director, State Bank of Patiala. Talking to TNS here today, he said they were bullish on agriculture as this sector would continue to be strong. “We will be increasing the credit flow in allied activities like dairying and horticulture. For spreading our micro finance business in the rural areas, we have introduced smart cards (biometric cards), which will help in financial inclusion of farmers. The project has been initiated at two places — Chanarthan Kalan near Patiala and Solan. This will help us reach out to areas where we do not have bank branches,” he said. Varma said the bank was in talks with leading consultancy firm, Ernst & Young, to see how the bank could expand the viability of the smart card. “We want to give value addition to the card and expand its scope so that it can give crop insurance and also help the user invest in mutual funds,” he added. The managing director said the bank would launch a special campaign for SMEs this week, wherein they would offer loans to the industry at card rate (11-12 per cent). “Depending on the industry, its balance sheet and relationship with the bank, we will offer relaxation in interest, up to 50 basis points. We are strong in SME sector with Rs 5,530 crore in advances, and are all set to increase credit flow in this sector,” said Varma. He said the bank had already met its annual target of Rs 100,000 crore in deposits last month. “We are targeting a 20 per cent growth this year and are trying to get more NRE deposits. We are targeting NRIs to get these deposits, by creating awareness through NRI Sabhas,” said Varma. He added that all 820 branches of the bank were on CBS (core banking), and they had already started sending SMS alerts for banking transactions by customers. “We hope to introduce mobile banking by next year,” he said.
|
|
|
Mallya: Allow foreign carriers to have stake in Indian Cos
New Delhi, November 17 "Kingfisher can't sell 25 per cent to any airline until the government permits it. That does not stop people from expressing interest," he told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit here. Allowing foreign airlines and strategic investors to hold up to 25 per cent stake in Indian airline companies is among the many demands submitted to the government by the Federation of Indian Airlines, a lobby group of the civil aviation industry, Mallya said. "This is because they (carriers) will value much better and in a more fair manner than a pure equity investor." He, however, refused to share details on which airline has approached him. "I have received several Expressions of Interest from foreign airlines as the Kingfisher network is unparallelled. However, I cannot give details." "I have requested the government to allow foreign airlines to acquire up to 25 per cent... as I believe aviation should be treated as per international norms," he said. The current policy allows FDI up to 100 per cent in other areas of aviation like developing of greenfield airports or in cargo and maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities. Kingfisher last month joined hands with Jet Airways to drastically reduce operational costs by sharing engineering, ticketing, ground handling and other services and both are trying to raise about $400 million to come out of the red. — PTI
|
|
|
India, Malaysia to up weekly flights
New Delhi, November 17 At a meeting between high-level officials from both countries, it was decided to increase the number of seats to 20,410 to and fro in a week. The dialogue also decided to permit Malaysian carriers to operate via
Kolkata. The two sides decided that the designated airlines would be entitled to fly any number of times on agreed routes and with any type of aircraft with a capacity of not exceeding that of a B747-400 aircraft. The revision in the existing air services agreement between the two countries come in the wake of developments in the aviation industry during the past few years and the realisation that the agreement needed to be updated and
modernised, civil aviation ministry officials said here. They said the designated airlines of Malaysia would be entitled to operate — within the overall entitlements — 5,620 seats from Delhi, 3,770 from
Mumbai, 4,740 from Chennai, 1,000 from Kolkata, 2,730 from Bangalore and 2,550 seats from Hyderabad each week in each direction. On the request of the Malaysians, India agreed that the designated airlines of Malaysia would be permitted to use the
"unutilised" entitlements at Kolkata for operations to and from
Mumbai. — PTI |
|
|
Pak-IMF accord on $7.6-b bailout
Pakistan has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) for a $7.6-billion bailout package, adviser finance Shaukat Tareen said on Saturday.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, the adviser said the IMF will provide this loan under stand by credit limit at interest rate ranging between 3.51 and 4.51 per cent and its repayment will be made in five years beginning from 2011. The credit is five times Pakistan's quota and falls short of its expectation of at least a $9 billion package. It will be used only to bolster central banks reserves in order to avoid possible default on
payments. Shaukat Tareen said the IMF has not attached any new condition to the loan facility because Pakistan has already enforced a stringent stabilisation programme based on withdrawal of subsidies, raise oil and power tariffs and enhanced interest rate to 15 per cent normally envisaged by the IMF conditionality. The IMF will release $4 billion as the first tranche of the loan this year while the rest will be provided in the coming year. Pakistan will send its letter of intent next week after which the IMF board will meet for approval. He ruled out the reduction of SBP's discount rate until the easing of the current high inflation rate. |
|
|
Mumbai, November 17 National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which is the holding compnay of Air India, has floated global tenders for sale and lease-back of six of its aircraft for a period of seven years. The aircraft are one Boeing 747-400 and five Airbus A320-200. The reserve price is set at $65 million for the B747-400 aircraft and $20 million per aircraft for the A320-200 aircraft, the state-run airline said in its bid document. Air India had last year posted loss of Rs 2,100 crore and this year its losses are likely to be in the range of Rs 4,000 crore. Amidst these losses, the airlines has sought a bailout package from the government in the form of both soft loans and equity infusion. — PTI
|
|
|
PM reviews economy New Delhi, November 17 The meeting assumes significance since the Prime Minister has just returned from the G-20 Summit, where it is understood that most world leaders have discussed measures on what will be the next course of action to arrest the slide of economy, say sources. The proposals, including fiscal and monetary support to exporters facing demand crunch in the developed world, were considered by a committee chaired by the Prime Minister. Finance minister P Chidambaram, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and RBI Governor D Subbarao attended the meeting of the committee, constituted recently to find a way out of the global turmoil for the Indian economy.
|
New York Singapore Mumbai New
Delhi Jubilant Organosys’ buyout: Drugs and chemicals maker Jubilant Organosys Ltd’s unit, Clinsys Clinical Research Inc, New Jersey, has bought TrialStat ClinicalAnalytics for $750,000 (Canadian). TrialStat is a web-based electronic solution company, used for data analysis and research.— UNI Biocon’s R&D plan: Biotechnology major Biocon will be investing Rs 100 crore in the next fiscal in enhancing its research and development (R&D) to keep pace with increased orders from multi-national firms as leading global firms have cut down on their expenditure of R&D. This was disclosed by Biocon CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw on the sidelines of India Economic Summit here. The company has earmarked an investment of Rs 60 crore for the current fiscal, she added.— PTI JSW Building in JV pact: JSW Building Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of JSW Steel, on Monday announced the formalisation of a joint venture company with UK-based Severfield Reeve Structures to create a new steelworks business in Karnataka. The joint venture (JV) will be called JSW Severfield Structures Ltd, in which the two partners will have 50 per cent equity participation each, a statement from JSW Steel said.— PTI Cisco freezes hiring: Networking giant Cisco Systems on Monday said it has frozen the hiring process and is adopting a wait and watch policy due to the global slowdown besides cutting costs up to $2 billion through various means. "As we have earlier said, we have a hiring freeze...Looking at the present scenario, we will not be laying off people," Cisco Systems executive vice-president Wim Elfrink told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India episode.— PTI Kochi Chandigarh
|
|||||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Japan became the latest major economy to fall into recession on Monday with France close behind, and the IMF said it needed at least $100 billion to fight an economic crisis enveloping the world.
Meanwhile, the battered auto industry came into focus.
New York, November 17
