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Tuesday,
December 31, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Oil hits
2-yr high on war threat
Ethanol-mixed
petrol launch put off Chandigarh
firm denies refund
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Polaris to
sue Indonesian bank BSNL
mobiles in J&K from April 13 J&K
to revive sick units YEARENDER A
computer for Rs 5,000! Awards
for Palio, Ikon, Octavia
Airtel may cut mobile
tariff
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Oil hits 2-yr high on war threat
London, December 30 Stepping up pressure on Baghdad, the USA dispatched more troops, aircraft and ships to the Gulf as United Nations weapons inspectors searched for signs of banned Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Oil prices rose across the globe on fears of supply disruption from war in the Middle East and as Venezuelan production remained choked by a strike. “We’re seeing a continuation of the bull run from the past two weeks. The Venezuelan strike is still on, Saudi Arabia looks like it will let the USA use its airbases for an attack on Iraq and the market appears to be pricing any attack into March,” said a broker in New York. Brent crude for February delivery was last at $30.57 a barrel, up 41 cents. US crude hit $33.17 a barrel, up 45 cents from Friday’s close and its highest since December 1, 2000. March futures prices were also higher. The killing of three American doctors in Yemen and the arrest of a baggage handler at Paris’s main airport after guns, explosives and detonators were found in his car, also helped keep the price of gold within sight of six-year highs. Gold, a safe haven in troubled times, was fixed in the London session at $348.50 an ounce, down from Friday’s $349.30, which was the highest since April, 1997. Dollar falls
The dollar fell to a three-year low against the euro and a six-week low against the yen, with anxieties over North Korea’s nuclear plans also weighing on the market. “The market is still focused on the possibility of a strike against Iraq in the early part of next year and also tension with North Korea over its nuclear programme,” said Ryan Shea, senior international economist at Bank One in London. The dollar was last at 119.32 yen, down nearly half a yen in early European trade and at $1.0424 to the euro, off an earlier three-year high of $1.0445. The tension over North Korea has hit stocks in neighbouring South Korea. Tokyo stocks, which do not trade on Tuesday, finished 2002 at their lowest year-end level in 20 years. However, European shares rose slightly, helped by gains for German automaker DaimlerChrysler and oil stocks. DaimlerChrysler was supported by a news over the weekend that its Mercedes unit expected 2002 sales at least to have matched those of last year. The FTSE Eurotop 300 index of pan-European blue chips was up just 0.4 per cent while the narrower DJ Euro STOXX 50 was down 0.19 per cent. “You could argue that there can’t be any more negative surprises but if you go through the list of worries such as economic growth, Iraq, oil prices and the dollar-euro issue there is nothing to get enthused or bullish about in that list,” said Chris Johns, global strategist at ABN AMRO. Euopean stocks opened lower after US stocks fell on Friday but US stock index futures were higher on Monday, indicating that Wall Street would open firmer. The two-year German Schatz note yield, which moves in the opposite direction to the price, was up 2.1 basis points at 2.741 per cent after hitting 2.704 percent on Friday.
Reuters
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Ethanol-mixed petrol
launch put off Chandigarh, December 30 Mr Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum, has reportedly instructed oil companies to supply ethanol-mixed petrol only at selected depots in these states as the cartel of sugar lobby is asking for a price, much higher than the market price, for the supply of 5 per cent ethanol-mixed petrol. According to Petroleum Ministry officials, since ethanol manufacturers have marked up the price of the additive by over 40 per cent, the government has decided to postpone the decision by June 30. Interestingly, the IndianOil and other companies have already started the supply of ethanol-mixed petrol at selected stations in four states, including Bathinda and Pathankot in Punjab. According to Mr P.C. Mehta, DGM (MO), Indian Oil,‘‘The company is supplying 5 per cent mixed ethanol in Bathinda and Pathankot dealers by purchasing ethanol from UP manufacturers.’’ Interestingly, officials say, the sugar mills, which were ready to supply ethanol at Rs 14 per litre, are now asking for Rs 18-20 per litre. After paying the excise duty and transport costs, this price works out to be even higher than price of imported crude oil or ethanol.
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Chandigarh firm denies refund Dharamsala, December 30 According to sources in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat, these investors and marketing members have provided the Chief Minister with documents which confirm that they have invested huge amounts in the company which had promised attractive returns and assurance that a piece of land will be developed in the name of each investor. According to their complaint, the company, accepting the deposits, had assured the investors that the company was approved by the RBI, a fact which has been proved wrong. They allege that the company is not refunding their money and is also threatening them with dire consequences in case they approach the police or authorities for action against its directors. The investors and marketing members, most of them retired employees, had invested their life savings with Goldenland, with a hope that the returns will be regular and higher than those given by banks.
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Polaris to sue Indonesian bank
Chennai, December 30 Polaris will also seek quashing of any criminal charges against the firm and its executives, a company release here said. It stated that Mr Jain and Senior Vice-President Rajiv Malhotra, who visited the bank following a commercial dispute, were illegally held within the bank premises and then handed over to the police on December 13. The two spent eight days in a police detention centre. The Polaris Board also decided to pursue arbitration proceedings in Singapore as provided for in the agreement with the bank, the release added. The Board held that the dispute was purely commercial and did not qualify to be treated as a criminal one. It further constituted a Legal Committee, headed by Mr Arvind Kumar, Director on the Board and a Supreme Court lawyer, to oversee the above decisions.
UNI
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BSNL mobiles in J&K from April 13 Srinagar, December 30 “We are sure to start mobile phone service in Jammu and Vaishno Devi on April 13, but the situation in Srinagar is a bit difficult due to winter months,” Chief General Manager, BSNL, Arun Kumar, said here today. Kumar, who earlier inaugurated a 2000-line digital exchange at Rajbagh and made the first call to Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, said BSNL was finding it very difficult to erect communication towers for mobile phone service in Srinagar due to harsh weather conditions. “But we are trying and let us hope we can finish the ground work in Srinagar by the end of March and be in time for the launch of the mobile service here also,” he added. The other 12 district headquarters of the state will be covered under the mobile service progressively. In the first phase, 10 towers each will be erected in Jammu and Srinagar and two in Katra for the Vaishno Devi shrine area, he said, adding that the global system of mobile (GSM) communication will cover the entire length of the Srinagar-Pathankot national highway. Besides the GSM system, the wireless in local loop (WLL), will also be introduced across the state.
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J&K to revive sick units
Jammu: Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed said today that a core group would be constituted for the revival of sick industrial units in the state. Talking to a joint delegation of the Federation Chamber of Industries, Kashmir, Association of Small-scale Industries, Gangyal and Bari Brahamna Industrial Association here today, the Chief Minister said he was in favour of reviving only those sick units that had some potential. “There is no question of providing subsidies for the revival of all units,” he said.
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YEARENDER New Delhi, December 30 For Finance Minister Jaswant Singh this is a good news as he and his team in North Block get engaged in serious brainstorming to prepare the general Budget for the next fiscal year and growth projections for the current year continue to be between 5 and 5.5 per cent. Macro-economic data released so far this year has been fairly positive. GDP grew at a year-on-year rate of 6 per cent during the first quarter. All three components of GDP — agriculture, industry and services — grew at a higher rate than in the same period last year. Economists, however, cautioned that it was imperative not to oversee the fact that the strong growth in GDP in the first quarter is partly due to the low base of the previous year. Apart from the growth in GDP, several other leading indicators also support the recovery story. Exports have picked up, growing 13.4 per cent in current dollar terms during April to August compared to a marginal decline in the previous year. Imports, however, have decelerated despite the recent rise in oil prices. There are clear indications of a recovery in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) data. For April to August, 2002, IIP grew by 4.9 per cent, up from 2.4 per cent in the same period last year. “More importantly, the IIP series is on a rising trend after having stagnated through all of last year. Among sectors, basic goods, capital goods and consumer non-durables are driving the recovery and their growth rates have accelerated significantly and this is a positive sign”, an expert said. Other indicators such as total bank credit and the Central Government’s tax revenue also show a positive trend.
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A computer for Rs 5,000!
Bangalore, December 30 “Mostly, technology has been priced in dollars, putting it beyond the reach of a large number of businesses and consumers in the emerging markets like India. The computer, which is the lynch-pin of an economy, is still seen as a luxury by many,” he argues. But Jain believes his innovative solutions could battle the stumbling blocks. “We’re working on something that could really make a difference,” Jain said here. He believes India needs computers for Rs 5,000 so that there can be one in every home and office. This, he says, would create a mass market for the adoption of technology in the country. These are not distant dreams for the managing director of Netcore Solutions, who earlier founded IndiaWorld Communications that grew into one of the largest collection of India-centric websites. “Fulfilling the list (of what India needs) may seem like a tall order, but the interesting thing is that the building blocks to put the solutions together already exist,” he asserts. Netcore, his current firm, is working to lower the cost to make computers affordable. New software is driving hardware upgrades every three-four years, he says. While the Indian market is pushing out slightly older models of computers, Jain suggests the large-scale use of recycled computers from developed markets. The US disposes computers at a rate of more than 25 million each year. Netcore is working on a thin client-thick server solution. This means older, lower-configuration PCs would work off more powerful new computers. “The Rs 5,000 computer can provide all the functions that users are accustomed to seeing on a computer in the corporate environment... The next 500 million users across the digital divide are just as hungry as we (in universities) were a decade ago,” he observes. Interestingly, Jain is suggesting a switchover to the Free/Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS) solutions based on GNU/Linux. “At a conservative estimate, the hardware-software savings with an Open Source-based thin client can be 75 per cent or more as compared to a Microsoft Windows-Office fat desktop,” he maintains.
IANS
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Awards for Palio, Ikon, Octavia
New Delhi, December 30 The awards will be presented for best cars in six different categories and the best motor cycles in seven categories by “Wheels”— the automobile show on BBC World. In the 800-1200cc car category, the 1200cc Fiat Palio was selected as the best small car ahead of the Maruti 800, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Zen and Maruti Alto. The 1600cc Ford Ikon topped the mid-size car category over the Hyundai Accent, Maruti Esteem, Fiat Siena and Honda City while the Octavia became the best luxury car (1600-2000cc segment) against Ford Mondeo, Honda Accord and Hyundai Sonata, a BBC World release said today. In the 2200cc and above category, the 2700cc Hyundai Sonata was adjudged the best car over the Mercedes S Class, New Mercedes E Class and Toyota Camry.
PTI
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