New Delhi, June 29
There is renewed optimism in the air with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking charge of the finance portfolio as stock markets responded today with the biggest single-day gain of 439 points in 2012 due to draft norms for General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) and positive news flow from the EU summit.

The BSE Sensex, which rose for the fourth straight day, closed at 17429 points, a 2-month high with the finance ministry announcing the draft GAAR guidelines late last night. It has been clarified the GAAR norms will be finalized only after consultations with the PMO.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes on Friday issued timelines for receiving feedback on the norms.

The market has been bullish with Singh as finance minister and the BSE Sensex has gained nearly 550 points in the last four days with expectations of renewal of reforms. Apart from the markets, the rupee also strengthened in a big way by 91 paise to trade at 55.89 against the US dollar.

Chief economic advisor, Kaushik Basu expressed hope that the growth in the economy which has dipped is likely to pick up from October.

Dipen Shah, head of fundamental research at Kotak Securities, said with EU leaders intent on not allowing major defaults or bankruptcies, focus will likely shift to inflation and government reforms. “We remain optimistic on the reforms front with the PM now handling the Finance portfolio also. Reforms might also allow RBI more flexibility in determining its fiscal policy”, he said.

Along with the markets, industry also is cheering the return of Singh as finance minister. A survey by industry body Assocham shows that India Inc’s business confidence is witnessing a definite turnaround.

The survey, among the country’s top 150 CEOs found that the industry and investors see a renewed energy being infused into the economy, which has witnessed some tumultuous times in the last three to four months.

Over 80% of the CEOs polled felt Singh, in his role as finance minister, will now act without further loss of time, as he realizes that the economy cannot afford any more indecisiveness.

Reuters adds: The Nifty also added 2.52 per cent to be at 5,278.90 points adding 9.6 per cent this month.

Banks, infrastructure shares were leading the gains while some auto shares gained after announcement of reduction in petrol prices by Rs 2.46 per litre.

It rose 2.7 %on the week, its biggest weekly gain in over two and half years, marking a turnaround after it tumbled to a record low a week ago.

New Delhi, June 29
The country’s fiscal deficit during April and May was Rs 1.42 trillion ( about US $25.3 billion), or 27.6 per cent of the full fiscal year 2012/13 target, government data showed on Friday.

During the same period in the last fiscal year, the deficit was 31.7% of the budgeted target.

Net tax receipts were Rs 409.3 billion and the total expenditure was Rs 1.91 trillion during the April-May period.

In March, the government had budgeted a fiscal deficit of Rs 5.14 trillion or 5.1%of gross domestic product for the current fiscal year.

Reflecting slowdown in the economy, the growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors slowed to 4.6% in May due to poor performance of crude oil, natural gas and fertilizers.

The infrastructure industries that also include coal, electricity, cement, petroleum refinery products and finished steel, and carry 37.9% weight in the Index of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), had grown by 5.8% in May last year.

The cumulative growth rate of infrastructure industries during April-May 2012 also slowed down to 4.2%, from 5% in the same period last year, according to the data released today by the commerce & industry ministry on Friday.

Natural gas and fertilizer output contracted by 10.8%t and 15.1%, respectively, in May.

Petroleum refinery products and crude oil production slowed down to 2.9% and 0.5%, from 4.5% and 9.8%, respectively, during May 2011.

Steel and electricity production too declined to 4.9% and 5.2% in May, from 8% and 10.3% in May 2011, respectively. — Agencies

New Delhi, June 29
The UK’s independent oil & gas exploration and production firm Cairn Energy, which had last year sold majority stake in its Indian unit to mining group Vedanta, today sold 3.5% for over Rs 2,000 crore in an open market deal. It had 21.8% stake in Cairn India before Friday's deal.

Cairn Energy sold 6.67 crore shares, or 3.5% of the Indian company's equity, for about $360 million (over Rs 2,000 crore), the company said in a press statement here.

The Edinburgh-based firm had in the run up to seeking government approvals for selling 40% of its stake in Cairn India to Vedanta claimed that it will retain about 22% interest in the company to give it "the strength and flexibility to explore new opportunities for delivering transformational growth".

But in less than a year from receiving all approvals, the company has decided to sell off all its shareholding in Cairn India and exit the country.

"At the general meeting of the company held on May 17 2012, shareholders authorized the board to dispose of all or part of Cairn's residual interest in Cairn India," the statement said.

Cairn Energy said it "has reached an agreement with Citi to complete an onmarket sale of a total of 66,758,864 shares in Cairn India, representing approximately a 3.5% shareholding in Cairn India".

Following the sale, Cairn Energy retains an about 18.3 per cent shareholding in Cairn India. — PTI

New York/Toronto, June 29
Research In Motion Ltd could run out of cash and ultimately fail, even with the launch of its now-delayed BlackBerry 10 device early next year, Wall Street analysts said.

At least 10 brokerages cut their price targets on the stock, some by as much as 50 percent, a day after the company reported worse-than expected quarterly results and said it would delay the launch of its next-generation device to early 2013 from late this year.

RIM shares were down 16 per cent in premarket trading on the Nasdaq. "If RIM continues to be run as it is, we believe that the company will eventually fail," Nomura Equity Research said.

"We don’t expect RIM to successfully drive a turnaround of its financials, even with the launch of BB10 next year," the brokerage said in a note to clients, adding that its model assumes that RIM disappears by 2020 in a gradual decline.

BlackBerry 10, considered to be RIM's make-or-break product, was originally slated to be launched in the first quarter and the delay has already contributed to a 40 percent drop in the company's stock price so far this year.

"Given RIM's cash burn, BB10 can't come soon enough," Barclays said in a note to clients.

Analysts at Citi Investment Research and Jefferies slashed their price targets on the stock to $5.00 for RIM's US-listed shares, a fall of 45% from Thursday's close.

"We believe fundamentals continue to get worse and RIM could run out of cash and need to raise capital within two years implying that as time rolls forward, if we are correct, the value of RIM continues to go lower," the Citi analysts said.

"We expect more write-offs and impairments to RIM assets and we question if RIM's new BB10 products will even matter as it may be too little too late," the analysts said, adding that they expected the company's smartphone sales growth to be less than half of the industry average in 2012.

MARCHING OFF THE CLIFF: RIM said it would lay off 5,000 workers, about 30 percent of its workforce, as it tries to save cash, although some analysts noted that this would come at a short-term cost.

Citi said it believed the company should be hiring instead of firing to get its products out on time. "With the distraction of this large layoff, it will be difficult to retain and motivate employees to develop new products."

With a weak product portfolio and the BlackBerry 10 delay, RIM faces continued volume pressure as well declining average selling prices, said Credit Suisse, which cut its price target on the company's US-listed shares to $7 from $11. — Reuters

Gurgaon, June 29
Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and DLF Ltd, India’s largest commercial real estate developer, have commenced work on a Rs 550 crore joint project of constructing a 16-lane 8.3 km road network in Gurgaon. This public-private-partnership exercise aims at creating sustainable infrastructure facility extending from NH8 toll plaza to Sectors 55-56 in Gurgaon.

International consultant AECOM has developed the concept to upgrade this spinal road to global standards. The contract for project execution has been awarded to IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company Ltd, while international consultant Parson Brinckeroff is the project management consultant.

A DLF spokesperson said Friday that by reducing the travel time drastically, this initiative would provide a hassle-free commute to nearly 1.5 million people, including residents and commuters.

“The road will be built using the latest technologies and will be smooth and free from potholes and traffic signals,” the spokesperson said, adding that this road would make travelling within Gurgaon much easier as it was fully integrated with the Rapid Metro network.