Athens, May 1
Thousands of workers across southern Europe protested against spending cuts in May Day rallies on Tuesday, before weekend elections in Greece and France where voters are expected to punish leaders for austerity.

Unions in Greece, Spain, Portugal, Italy and France are using the traditional marches to express anger over a savings drive across the euro zone, aimed at shoring up public finances but criticised for forcing countries deeper into recession. Italian demonstrators briefly clashed with the police in riot gear in Turin and thousands marched in the central city of Rieti to listen to the leaders of the country's three main unions denounce Prime Minister Mario Monti's reforms.

In Madrid, tens of thousands headed in the rain to the main square waving signs opposing government cuts while in Athens around 5,000 workers, pensioners and students marched with banners reading "Revolt now" and "Tax the rich".

Greece will vote on Sunday in a parliamentary election that risks derailing the international bailout keeping the country afloat by punishing the parties that backed the package.

"Our message will be stronger on Sunday," said Maria Drakaki, 45, a public sector worker whose salary has been cut.

"There's no way I'm voting for one of the two main parties." In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy will compete with trade unions to draw the biggest crowd, hoping to steal the limelight from their annual street march before the second round of a presidential election on Sunday.

French voters seem poised to choose policies favouring economic growth over austerity with Socialist Francois Hollande leading Sarkozy in the polls.

Unemployment up

The marches come against a backdrop of growing frustration towards austerity that more fiscally conservative northern euro zone members say is necessary to bring deficits down to meet EU limits and end the debt crisis. Unemployment has soared and loan defaults are on the rise.

In Italy there are frequent reports of suicides as people lose their jobs or their businesses fail.

The 700,000-strong CGTP union, which refused to sign a pact on labour market reforms required under a 78-billion euro EU/IMF bailout earlier this year, will demonstrate under the slogan "Against exploitation and impoverishment, for a policy change".

Portugal is implementing tough austerity measures, which have deepened its recession and pushed unemployment to all-time highs of around 15 percent.

Spain's jobless rate rose to near 25 percent in the first quarter, more than double the EU average, as the economy sank into recession.

Poor getting poorer

In Greece, repeated rounds of cuts have slashed wages and pensions and deepened a recession that is now in its fifth year. Private sector wages shrunk by a quarter last year alone and one Greek youth in two is out of work.

"These politicians cannot help us. They have nothing new to tell us. They approved the austerity package and the bailout. We are turning our backs on them," said Dina Bitsi, 58, a pensioner with two unemployed sons.

The two biggest Greek parties, the Socialist PASOK and the conservative New Democracy, are expected to struggle to win enough support to renew their pro-bailout coalition.

Much of the support that the two parties, which have ruled Greece for decades, once enjoyed has now shifted to an array of smaller anti-bailout parties riding high on voter discontent over the austerity measures.

Greece's lenders have said that if the country fails to stick to the reforms pledged in return for 130 billion euros in aid, the country might be forced to abandon the euro.

Most Greeks want to keep the single currency, despite opposing the austerity measures they have been forced to endure since the country's first EU/IMF bailout in 2010.

"We want to stay in the European Union and the euro. We realise there is a crisis but it's unacceptable that even now the rich have become richer and the poor poorer," said Bitsi. — Reuters

New Delhi, May 1
India's exports surpassed the target of $300 billion for 2011-12 despite problems in Europe and the US that led to decline in shipments by 5.71 per cent in March and spurt in trade deficit to all-time high of $185 billion in the last fiscal.

Exports touched $303.7 billion for the previous fiscal, registering 21 per cent expansion. Exports in March declined to $28.68 billion from $30.41 in March 2011.

Imports for the month aggregated $42.6 billion leaving a trade gap of $13.9 billion, according to the data released by the Commerce Ministry today.

Import bill in 2011-12 touched $488.6 billion on account of rise in imports of crude oil and gold. Both items alone accounted for over 44 per cent of total import bill.

Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar had said the trade deficit situation can worsen in the current fiscal.

"If balance of trade (BoT) is to stay exactly where it was, my exports need to grow by 28 per cent and that is impossible,we cannot do that...where are we going to drum up 25-30 per cent growth?” he had asked.

The highest ever BoT remains an area of concern for the Reserve Bank and the exporters community - FIEO.

While gold and silver imports grew by 44.4 per cent year - on-year to $61.5 billion, crude oil imports went up by 46.9 per cent to $155.6 billion in 2011-12.

Oil and non-oil imports during the month increased by 32.45 per cent and 19.91 per cent to $15.83 billion and $26.75 billion, respectively.

FIEO said the deficit could be bridged with increasing exports as market and product diversification strategy has started yielding results.

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President M Rafeeque Ahmed said the growing trade deficit, which is highest in the history of India's trade, is a cause for concern.

"...but looking at the profile of imports, very little manoeuvring is possible since increasing trade deficit is on account of large imports of petroleum, gold, silver, and coal," he said.

During 2011-12, coal, fertiliser and edible oil imports grew by 80.3 per cent, 59 per cent and 47.5 per cent to $17.6 billion, $11 billion and $9.7 billion, respectively.

From a peak of 82 per cent in July, export growth slipped to 44.25 per cent in August, 36.36 per cent in September, 10.8 per cent in October and 3.8 per cent in November 2011.

However, exports grew 6.7 per cent in December, over 10 per cent in January and 4.3 per cent in February.

Exporting sectors which registered healthy growth in 2011-12 include engineering, petroleum and its products besides gems and jewellery.

Importing sectors which registered growth in 2011-12 include electronics, chemicals and iron and steel. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
Due to high inflation, middle and lower-income groups have been forced to slash 65% of spending on entertainment, shopping, vacations, electronics, automobiles, real estate and eating out to manage their monthly household budgets, according to a survey by industry body Assocham.

People in the middle-income group (MIG) have curtailed their spending on such heads by nearly 65% during the past six months due to rise in inflation, interest rates and fuel costs. With food and education of children eating up most of their incomes, the savings is likely to come down heavily.

The survey was conducted in a period of two months beginning March to April 2012 in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Pune, Chandigarh, Dehradun among others.

A little over 200 employees were selected from each city on an average. Delhi ranks first in curtailing their expenses followed by Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

The Assocham survey reveals that food inflation impacted the most consumers in metros and other major cities vis-à-vis tier-III and semi-urban areas due to sudden hike in fruits, vegetables and milk prices. It also adds that the rise in inflation and per capita income was utterly disproportionate.

The survey was able to target employees from 18 broad sectors, including IT/ITes, financial services, engineering and telecom, management, education, FMCG and infrastructure.

Consumers' growing unease is reflected in their savings rate and spending habits, with many people in the middle income and lower-income group indicating that they are finding ways to cut back spending now or indicating they will do so in the future. Around 69% of the respondents have cut down in their savings rate.

Nearly half of the middle-income group either avoids shopping altogether or shop only for those things that are absolutely needed. Moreover, 76% said their shopping has been restricted to only necessities and splurge in their spending is only occasional.

About 88% of respondents said they have cut back on everyday expenses. They save money by cutting everyday expenses, by avoiding outside food, car-pooling, cutting down on gas and use of electricity.

The chamber also estimates that inflation has also impacted the urban male and females’ personal expenses. Over 87% of the respondents said monthly grocery bills have jumped to about Rs 7,000/8,000 compared to Rs 3,000 in the past two years.

New Delhi, May 1
Country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) today added another milestone in its history as it crossed 1 million unit mark in its cumulative exports over the years.

The company said the one millionth vehicle, a red-coloured A-star, left the Mundra coast line and is headed for Denmark along with 2,200 other vehicles for various international destinations.

The destinations include Switzerland, Malta, Sweden in Europe and Algeria, Egypt and Morocco in the non-European destinations.

"A million cars in overseas markets is a significant milestone for us," MSIL Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi said.

He said the company's ability to explore markets other than Europe has helped in keeping its exports volumes up.

Nakanishi pointed out, "Two years ago, Europe was a strong destination for us. We have aligned our exports strategy in line with the changed scenario in exports market. The market for us has shifted significantly from Europe to non-European countries."

He said while the A-star, marketed under 'Suzuki Alto' and 'Suzuki Celerio' badge in international markets was doing well, MSIL also worked on identifying alternate non-European markets.

Incidentally, today's shipment also gave Algeria the landmark of being the only country to import over 1,00,000 units from MSIL, the company said.

In 2009-10, MSIL’s total exports were over 1.47 lakh units of which over 75 per cent were to Europe. By 2011-12 the share of non-EU export sales shot up sharply from 23 per cent to 66 per cent.

New Delhi, May 1
India has once again emerged as the most optimistic market in terms of consumer confidence, but there is still some amount of cautiousness when it comes to spending spare cash, says a Nielsen survey.

This is the ninth consecutive quarter wherein India has retained the tag of the world's most optimistic market with an increase of one point in consumer confidence to 123.

"India once again topped the global index indicating a high level of confidence amongst consumers, who are optimistic yet cautious," Nielsen India Managing Director Justin Sargent said.

"This optimism is reflected in Indian consumers' increased confidence in job prospects, which is a good sign for the economy. However, job security is still a cause for concern and consumers are still cautious when it comes to spending spare cash," he added.

India is followed by Saudi Arabia at 119. Indonesia and the Philippines shared the third most optimistic nation tag with an index point of 118.

Meanwhile, Hungary was the most pessimistic market with 32 index points, followed by Greece (37) and Portugal (39).

According to the latest global consumer confidence findings from Nielsen, a provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, confidence in the first quarter of this calender year increased in 38 out of 56 markets, fell in 16 markets and remained flat in two.

"Households around the globe experienced brighter personal situations in terms of jobs and personal finances last quarter, especially in the US and Asia, which was reflected with improved consumer confidence and higher discretionary spending," Venkatesh Bala, chief economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen, said.

While global economic conditions are more stable than the last quarter of 2011, underlying economic conditions are still "fragile and fluid" in many parts of the world, and could affect consumer confidence for the coming quarter, Nielsen added.

The survey suggests that while consumers are neither as confident nor comfortable with the economy as they would like to be, they are expressing a pent-up demand to spend as they did prior to the recession, Bala added.

"Such a desire for psychological release through the various forms of discretionary consumption reported in the Nielsen survey-all of which act as stress-relievers-is understandable after three years of relentless belt-tightening and uncertainty," he said.

The survey tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among more than 28,000 Internet consumers in 56 countries. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 1
The effect of rate cut announced by RBI was visible on the automobile sector as almost all manufacturers reported a rise in sales in April with the world’s largest two-wheeler manufacturer Hero Motocorp reporting its best-ever monthly sales at 5,51,557 units.

Country’a largest car-maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) said its sales increased by 3.4 per cent last month and stood at 100,415 units from 97,155 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Domestic sales grew by 3.6 per cent in the month under review at 90,255 units from 87,144 units sold in April 2011. Exports rose by 1.5 per cent at 10,160 units as against 10,011 units shipped out in the corresponding period of 2011.

However, the total passenger car sales in April declined by 1.3 per cent at 72,939 units from 73,905 units sold in the corresponding month of last year.

Honda Siel Cars posted a growth of 252 per cent last month with sales of 7,075 units as against 2,012 units in the corresponding month of 2011.

Another Indo-Japanese joint venture, Toyota Kirloskar Motor also began the fiscal 2012-13 on a positive note reporting a 49 per cent increase in sales last month over the same period in 2011.

The company sold 14,378 units in April 2012 as against 9,681 units sold in April 2011.

Mahindra & Mahindra reported 27 per cent jump in sales at 40,719 units for April, 2012. The company had sold 32,090 units in the same month last year. In the domestic market, the company registered 29 per cent rise in sales to 39,299 units, compared to 30,349 units in the year-ago period, M&M said.

As has been the pattern over the past few months, Tata Motors' sales again declined last month with the company reporting a decline of 7 per cent in its total sales, including exports, which stood at 60,086 units in April from 64,383 units sold in the corresponding period of last year.

There was also decline in sales for General Motors India as it said that its April sales this year were not on expected lines and declined 20.34 per cent at 8,005 units. The company had sold 10,050 units in the same month of 2011.

Hero MotoCorp reported its best-ever monthly sales for last month at 5,51,557 units from 5,17,099 units sold in April 2011. The company's previous highest monthly sales figure stood at 5,49,625 units in September, 2011.

The other two-wheeler maker, TVS Motor Company, closed April with a four percent growth in its total sales, including exports, at 174,455 units against 167,744 units sold in April 2011.

Suzuki Motorcycle reported a 4.34 percent rise in sales for last month which stood at 30,635 units from 29,362 units in April, 2011.

Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI) reported a sales growth of 46 percent at 198,831 units.

Mumbai, May 1
FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) today said its net profit rose 20.63 per cent to Rs 686.61 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2012.

It had posted a net profit of Rs 569.18 crore in the same period of 2010-11, HUL said in a filing to the BSE.

Net sales of the company stood at Rs 5,660.48 crore in Q4, 2011-12, as against 4,893.67 crore in the same period of 2010-11.

For the entire 2011-12 fiscal, HUL posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,800.14 crore, as against Rs 2,306.63 crore in 2010-11.

The company's net sales for the fiscal were Rs 22,987.73 crore, up from Rs 19,647.69 crore in 2010-11.

New Delhi, May 1
Kishore Biyani-led Future Group yesterday said Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd will infuse Rs 1,600 crore into its flagship 'Pantaloon' and will acquire a majority stake in the store chain, which will later be demerged to be listed as a separate entity.

The group's flagship firm, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd (PRIL) currently operates the 'Pantaloon' chain of fashion apparel and accessories stores.

As a part of the deal between the two companies, the Pantaloon format will be demerged from PRIL, a listed entity on the BSE and National Stock Exchange.

"The demerged entity, subject to necessary and statutory approvals, will invite an investment from Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd (ABNL)," PRIL said in a statement.

ABNL will subscribe to debentures amounting to Rs 800 crore issued by PRIL and on completion of the demerger process, the debentures will convert into equity in the demerged entity of the Pantaloon format.

Besides, ABNL will also take care of Rs 800 crore debt of Pantaloon, the statement said.

"The existing shareholders of PRIL, including its promoters will continue to own shares in the demerged entity.

Post demerger, the total debt of Pantaloon Retail will reduce by Rs 1,600 crore," the statement said.

In a separate statement, ABNL said it will make an open offer of a minimum 26 per cent to the shareholders of the resulting entity.

"After the listing of the resulting entity and on conversion of debentures into equity, ABNL's holding in the resulting entity post open offer shall be a minimum of 50.01 per cent. The resulting entity will become a subsidiary of ABNL," it added.

Commenting on the development, ABNL Chairman, Kumar Mangalam Birla said: "The proposed acquisition is in line with our strategic intent to be on the top of the league and to create the largest integrated branded fashion player in the country through an extension into the value segment." The proposed transaction is likely to be completed within eight to 10 months, subject to the finalisation of the Scheme of Arrangement, due diligence and statutory and other requisite approvals, the statement added. Launched in 1997, the Pantaloon format is spread in 35 cities with 65 stores and 21 factory outlets covering total retail space of over 2 million square feet. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 1
Come Thursday and Indian investors will be able to hedge and gain exposure to the London Stock Exchange, through derivative contracts of UK’s FTSE 100 index on the National Stock Exchange.

The FTSE 100 index, informally called the 'footsie' is a share index of the stocks of the 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange having the highest market value.

For the Indian investors, the rupee-denominated contracts will be traded during normal Indian market hours. In order to promote participation in the contracts, NSE has decided not to levy any transaction fee for the first six months.

Futures contracts, forward contracts and options are the most common types of derivatives generally used as an instrument to hedge risk from an underlying asset.

The NSE has also announced cash incentives to brokers and clients to develop the market for the foreign index in India.

NSE has said all the member brokers of its equity derivatives segment will be able to trade in these derivatives through existing infrastructure.

Besides, NSE has been conducting investor awareness sessions in small groups with member brokers to create awareness on derivative contracts of FTSE 100. These sessions are being conducted in all the metros and in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

The FTSE 100 derivative launch, spearheaded by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), FTSE and NSE, is part of FTSE's global reach and NSE's commitment to further develop the Indian securities market.

"The FTSE 100 Index, will help Indian investors to diversify their portfolios further and have access to one of the world's widely tracked equity indices, whilst minimising currency risk," NSE Managing Director and CEO Ravi Narain had said. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
Gold prices set yet another record high of Rs 29,690 per 10 gm in the national capital today on rising wedding season demand amid a firming global trend. Gold which had gained Rs 700 in the past nine days, rose further by Rs 100 to Rs 29,690 per 10 gm, a level never seen before.

However, silver met with resistance at prevailing higher level and declined by Rs 100 to Rs 56,800 per kg.

Marketmen said rising wedding season demand and weakening rupee mainly supported the upswing in the dollar-priced gold.

They said firming trend in global markets and investment shifting from melting equities to bullion further fuelled the uptrend.

Gold in overseas markets, which normally set price trend on the domestic front, added 0.2 per cent to $1,667.95 an ounce in Singapore, the highest level since April 13.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee declined to nearly four months low against the US currency at 52.73 last evening.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity advanced further by Rs 100 each to Rs 29,690 and Rs 29,550 per 10 gm, respectively. Sovereign followed suit and traded higher by the same margin to Rs 23,750 per piece of eight gram.

On the other hand, silver ready snapped three-day rising streak, lost Rs 100 to Rs 56,800 per kg, after gaining Rs 900 in last three sessions. Silver weekly-based delivery also declined by Rs 65 to Rs 55,900 per kg. — PTI

New Delhi, May 1
Chinese equipment maker Huawei today said it has been selected by country's largest private telecom operator Bharti Airtel for deploying TD-LTE (4G) network in Karnataka. Under the contract, Huawei will plan, design, supply and deploy TD LTE (4G) network in Karnataka for Bharti Airtel, Huawei said.

This will help Airtel customers in the circle enjoy high-speed wireless internet access with bandwidth support for intensive applications, video streaming and high-definition video-conferencing. Financial details of the contract were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Huawei will deliver the LTE solution comprising network infrastructure and devices.

"High-speed wireless broadband has the potential to transform India, providing a robust platform for building the country's digital economy. With the launch of 4G LTE, Airtel has paved the way for data revolution in the country," Bharti Airtel CEO Sanjay Kapoor said.

Huawei has already deployed its solutions for Bharti Airtel in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It also provides support for 3G in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to the operator. Bharti Airtel has already launched its broadband wireless access (BWA) services in Kolkata last month using TD-LTE technology and had roped in ZTE for the rollout. — PTI