London, April 25
Britain's economy is in its second recession since the financial crisis, data showed on Wednesday, heaping pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government as it battles a series of political embarrassments.

The unexpected contraction in the first three months of 2012 - a 0.2 per cent dip in gross domestic product - confounded forecasts for 0.1 per cent growth.

It came as Britain's Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition has seen its support slide in opinion polls following weeks of fierce criticism for unpopular tax measures in last month's budget. Local elections, a big test, are 
on May 3.

The government is also under fire over revelations about its close relationship with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.

The Office for National Statistics said Britain's gross domestic product fell 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2012 after contracting by 0.3 per cent at the end of 2011.

New Delhi, April 25
India Inc today said S&P's lowering of India's rating outlook to negative is a "wake-up call" and asked the government give a thrust to reforms, especially on FDI and tax fronts. "Government (should) take measures to push for reforms especially in the areas of FDI, GST and DTC," Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said in a statement. Also, further opening up of sectors like aviation and insurance to FDI would help in improving foreign capital inflows and also improve investors' sentiment, it added.

S&P has lowered India's rating outlook from stable (BBB+) to negative (BBB-). The agency has warned of a downgrade if there is no improvement in the fiscal situation and political climate. Another industry body Assocham said the government should keep its political compulsions away and demonstrate that the reforms process is well on track. "Clarity must emerge soon on policy frameworks and key legislations like the DTC and GST besides norms for FDI in key sectors like multi-brand retail and pensions," it said.

Assocham also said fiscal consolidation is "must" to reverse economic indicators. "This will include removing subsidies for fuel, fertilisers and social schemes," it added.

Research firm Edelweiss said the lowering of outlook is a warning of increasing vulnerabilities and it could impact rupee and may raise external borrowing cost for some of the corporates. Chief economist with Bank of Baroda Rupa Rege-Nisture said the lowering of outlook "is a wake up call, but not very alarming. Government should focus on fiscal consolidation programme and bring down the subsidy bill." — PTI

Bangalore, April 25
India’s third largest IT company, Wipro, just met expectations with a 7.7 per cent rise in Q4 net profit and forecast muted revenue growth for its key IT services unit.

The soap to software major said it expects June quarter revenue generated by its IT services unit to be in the region of $1.52 billion to $1.55 billion (assuming that exchange rates of the dollar will be at Rs 50.07), a rise of 0.6 per cent from the March quarter. The muted growth guidance sent the stock down 7.2 per cent to Rs 410.

Wipro CEO TK Kurien attributed the company’s under-performance during the quarter to delays in deal closures and a decline in business provided by one of its largest customers. Regarding the disappointing forecast for the first quarter of FY13, Kurien said besides further delays in deal closures, Wipro’s India business, which had grown well in the fourth quarter, was expected to slow down and impact the results.

The company reported a net profit of Rs 1,481 crore for the fourth quarter ending March 31, registering a 8 per cent increase year-on-year (YoY) in rupee terms. Total revenue generated during the quarter was Rs 9,869 crore, which is 19 per cent up YoY.

Net profit for the entire fiscal (FY 2011-12) increased 5 per cent YoY to Rs 5,573 crore and total revenue (Rs 37,525 crore) was up 21 per cent YoY.

IT services revenue for FY 2012 increased 21 per cent YoY to Rs 28,431 crore in rupee terms and to $5.6 billion in dollar terms. Operating margin, however, declined marginally to 20.7 per cent in Q4 from 20.8 per cent in Q3.

IT services business, which accounts for 76 per cent of the company’s revenues and 93 per cent of its operating income, added 41 clients during quarter under review (Q4) and 173 in the entire fiscal, taking the total number to 943 for FY 2012 from 904 in FY 2011.

The company declared a final dividend of Rs 4 per share of Rs 2 par value and a total dividend of Rs 6 per share, including Rs 2 as interim dividend in October 2011.

New Delhi, April 25
Gold today surged to over four-month high today by adding Rs 140 per 10 grams on stockists and jewellers buying to meet the rising seasonal demand amid a firming global trend.

The precious metal has gained Rs 210 in the last four trading sessions, advanced further by Rs 140 to Rs 29,240 per 10 grams, a level last seen on December 10, on sustained buying for the ongoing marriage season. — PTI

New Delhi, April 25
The Finance Ministry today hit back at Vodafone's claim that it was not told of the tax liability on the Hutchison deal, saying that the British telecom giant was provided a copy of the notice.

"We have provided copies of the letter (about tax liability) to the parties concerned," Hutchison Essar, which was later taken over by Vodafone, had said in its communication to the tax department on April 5, 2007, a Finance Ministry official pointed out.

Vodafone in a statement yesterday had claimed that it had never received any communication from authorities to withhold tax while making payment to the Hutchison and described the comments of Finance Secretary R S Gujral in this connection as "untrue".

The Income Tax Department had in March 2007 advised the Vodafone to withhold tax while making payments to Hutchison to acquire its stake in Hutchison Essar Ltd in the $11.2- billion deal. The deal happened in May 2007, well after the tax demand was raised in March 2007, the official said. "The payer (Vodafone group) as well as payee (Hutchison Telegroup) can make application to the Assessing Officer under Section 195(2) and 197 of the Income Tax Act 1961 for dealing the exact tax liability resulting from above mentioned (acquisition) transaction," said the letter sent by I-T Department on March 23, 2007. It's a matter of record, the official said, adding that "since Vodafone was UK-based company, we sent letter/notice to Hutchison Essar Ltd for dealing the exact tax liability and Hutchison Essar Ltd provided the letter to parties concerned. Hutchison Essar had acknowledged this." — PTI 

London, April 25
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, is set to cut about 2,000 jobs in Britain on Thursday as part of its drive to slash costs and boost profitability in the face of a changing banking landscape, a person familiar with the matter said.

The cuts are part of Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver's global revamp to cut 30,000 jobs by the end of 2013, and to streamline the bank for changes in UK regulation, people familiar with the matter said. HSBC declined to comment.

Banks across the world are shedding thousands of staff as they try to improve profitability and cope with tougher global regulations. In Britain, banks have been told they must separate their retail banking operations, and also need to shake-up how they sell products under a Retail Distribution Review (RDR). — Reuters