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Bernanke’s ‘stimulus’ remarks send stocks to 6-week high
Mumbai, July 11
The key S&P BSE Sensex surged 2 per cent today to close at a six-week high of 19,676.06, tracking global stock markets that were boosted by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's comments on continuing monetary stimulus.

Moily rules out review of gas price hike decision
New Delhi, July 11
Government's controversial decision to double natural gas price will remain unchanged, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said despite Finance Ministry pushing for maintaining old rates for some of the gas of Reliance Industries.

Cabinet clears stake sale in STC and ITDC
New Delhi, July 11
The government has decided to go for further disinvestment in State Trading Corporation (STC) and ITDC which would fetch the national exchequer around Rs 30 crore.

M&A norms for telecom sector by month-end
New Delhi, July 11
Telecom industry having reached a saturation point with a number of operators facing heavy debts, the government yesterday said it plans to announce the long-awaited mergers and acquisitions (M&A) guidelines for the sector by this month-end.

BRIEFLY

EARLIER STORIES

	Rupee depreciation to hit India Inc July 11, 2013
	To boost manufacturing, PM’s panel for hiking steel output July 10, 2013
	Rupee’s free fall continues July 9, 2013
	Rupee outlook not positive, may weaken further: CII July 8, 2013
	US economy adds 195k jobs, unemployment rate 7.6% July 7, 2013
	Slow economy takes toll on corporate earning estimates July 6, 2013
	Cobrapost expose: Action against more banks likely, says RBI July 5, 2013
	FM asks public sector banks to cut lending rates July 4, 2013
	India’s economy getting stabilised: Chidambaram July 3, 2013
	Core industries’ growth slows to 2.3% in May July 2, 2013

	Bernanke’s ‘stimulus’ remarks send stocks to 6-week high BSE benchmark soars 382 points to close at 19,676 Mumbai, July 11 The key S&P BSE Sensex surged 2 per cent today to close at a six-week high of 19,676.06, tracking global stock markets that were boosted by US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's comments on continuing monetary stimulus. The 30-share gauge opened higher, following firm Asian cues, and rallied to 19,723.51. At the close, it added 381.94 points to 19,676.06, the highest level since 19,760.30 reached on May 31. It dropped 0.75 per cent yesterday. Trading sentiment was bolstered after Bernanke last night signalled that the monetary stimulus would continue for some time, boosting the prospects of fund flows to the emerging markets, brokers said. The Fed's bond-buying programme, which has flooded global markets with liquidity, has helped support an array of assets, including equities. Cautious investors picked fundamentally strong stocks ahead of the earnings season, starting tomorrow with first-quarter results from Infosys. The broader Nifty index on the National Stock Exchange gained 118.40 points, or 2.04 per cent, to close at 5,935.10. The SX40 index of the MCX-SX closed 211.03 points, or 1.83 per cent, higher at 11,744.81. Investors were richer by nearly Rs 1 lakh crore as overall 1,358 stocks rose while 974 declined on the BSE platform. "Indian markets rallied strongly, propelled by comments from Bernanke," said Sanjeev Zarbade, vice-president, Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities. "Going ahead, we have the Infosys numbers. While the recovery in markets is comforting, crude oil has again firmed up...We remain concerned on this front.” The rupee, which rose to a one-month high in early trade, erased those gains to close marginally weaker at 59.67 against the dollar. Overall, 12 of the 13 sectoral indices gained, adding between 0.55 per cent and 3 per cent, with metals, banking, realty, capital goods, refinery and PSU segments taking the lead. — PTI
	Moily rules out review of gas price hike decision New Delhi, July 11 Government's controversial decision to double natural gas price will remain unchanged, Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily said despite Finance Ministry pushing for maintaining old rates for some of the gas of Reliance Industries. "There is no thinking on part of the government for any review or reconsideration of the decision of the CCEA. Let me make it very clear. There is no confusion, there is no vagueness. And I don't think there is scope for any interpretation whatsoever," Moily told a news conference here. Ever since the government decision was announced on June 27, there has been criticism that it was made to benefit Mukesh Ambani-led RIL. The Finance Ministry on July 4 wrote to Oil Ministry asking it to take appropriate action on suggestions made in two media reports for putting a cap up to which rates can be raised, and RIL being forced to sell the quantity it had committed but failed to deliver in past three years at old rate of $4.2. "The Office Memorandum dated July 4 from the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance... has enclosed two editorials of the newspapers and illustrated some of the issues in these editorials. That can’t be taken as objective opinion of Ministry of Finance. It can’t (also) be considered as query raised by Ministry of Finance," Moily said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had on June 27 approved pricing of domestic gas at an average of cost of imported LNG into India and international hub rates. The price of gas when this formula comes into effect on April 1 could come to about $8.4 per million British thermal unit. Moily said his ministry had taken opinion of Finance Ministry twice and it was incorporated in the CCEA note. Finance Ministry in its comments did not raise any issue of capping price or RIL being asked to sell gas at old rate. "I don't think there is another interpretation open to it. It (the CCEA decision) has been done after due deliberation and I think it has taken lot of time and deliberations and once considered view has been taken, we will stick to that," Moily said. Ruling out capping increase in rates, the minister said: "The CCEA decision stands. There is no change. And government, not just Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is not contemplating any changes in it." — PTI
	Cabinet clears stake sale in STC and ITDC Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 11 The government has decided to go for further disinvestment in State Trading Corporation (STC) and ITDC which would fetch the national exchequer around Rs 30 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), at its meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved 5 per cent disinvestment of its shares in ITDC and 1.02 per cent of its holding in STC. The CCEA also approved the Modified Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme with an outlay of Rs 1,030 crore during the 12th Five-Year Plan period. Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said of the total outlay, Rs 450 crore will be used for committed liability and the remainder for taking up 14 to 16 new infrastructure upgrade projects in existing or greenfield industrial clusters. At least 10 per cent of the outlay will be set aside for a minimum of two projects in the North-East. The disinvesment in ITDC will fetch Rs 23.58 crore and STC the remaining amount. The disivestments are being made essentially to make these Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) compliant to the public shareholding norms under the Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules (SCRR). Under these rules, every listed public sector company has to maintain a public shareholding of at least 10 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital.
	M&A norms for telecom sector by month-end Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 11 Telecom industry having reached a saturation point with a number of operators facing heavy debts, the government yesterday said it plans to announce the long-awaited mergers and acquisitions (M&A) guidelines for the sector by this month-end. In a move that could pave way for consolidation in the telecom sector, especially after the industry to be opened up to 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI), the government said the M&A policy could be in place before July 31. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of Assocham's roundtable on Legal System, Telecom and Law Minister Kapil Sibal said, "I am sure that before July 31 that policy will be in place and the guidelines for mergers and acquisitions". Inaugurating the conference, Sibal said the increase of FDI limit in the telecom sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent could attract close to $10 billion worth of investments in the long term. Sibal also highlighted spectrum reserve price issue and said telecom regulator TRAI has been asked to give recommendations for spectrum reserve price within 90 days. Broad guidelines for mergers and acquisition had been announced by the Telecom Ministry in February last year, but detailed guidelines are yet to be unveiled. The government has de-linked spectrum from new licences and both have to be procured by companies separately.
	Smartphone sales leapfrog in Q1 Samsung retains leadership with 40% market share Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 11 The first quarter of the calendar year has seen a major jump in the sales of smartphones mainly aided by a series of launches by Samsung, besides cheaper devices flooding the market. India has recorded a jump in the sales of smartphones despite a slowdown around the world, including in China and Europe. As per data released by market research firm CyberMedia, 9.4 million smartphones were imported in January-April 2013, registering a growth of 167.3% and taking the overall contribution of smartphones to 12.8% for the period. Samsung sold around 4 million smartphones during this period and retained market leadership with 40% market share. According to research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), the Western European mobile phone market shrank in the first quarter of 2013 due to a lower-than-expected slowdown in the smartphone shipments. Total shipments dropped by 4.2 per cent year-on-year to 43.6 million units for Q1 of 2013. While feature phone shipments continued to fall, the smartphone segment saw only a 12 per cent increase year-on-year in shipments to 31.6 million units in the quarter. According to IDC, most western European countries experienced a slowdown in smartphone sales as economies deteriorated, with a consequent decline in disposable income for consumers. In comparison, India registered 73.5 million mobile handset shipments in January-April 2013, representing a growth of 11% year-on-year. While Samsung retained its top position in the smartphone segment, Micromax and Karbonn emerged as the number two and three players displacing other international players like Nokia and Sony.
	Hewlett-Packard unveils advanced servers for small industries Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 11 Hewlett-Packard today launched ProLiant servers that would help small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) accelerate by simplifying the deployment, management and maintenance of their IT infrastructure. Unveiling the new range of servers for SMBs, HP officials said these would be available in the price range upward of Rs 35,000. The new HP ProLiant MicroServer Generation 8 (Gen8) is an ideal first server that provides simplified set-up, management and maintenance with innovative smart technologies. The microserver offers centralised, anywhere, anytime data access to employees to boost productivity and collaboration through data sharing and it is small and quiet enough to sit on a desk. HP also announced cost-optimised solutions for micro and SMB clients that provide the reliability, flexibility and scalability needed to accommodate current and future business needs. “These servers are easy to use, highly reliable and cost-effective to maintain, enabling our SMB customers to boost business performance, save time and cut costs,” said Vikram K, Director, HP India.
	Aviation body to replace DGCA Tribune News Service New Delhi, July 11 A Bill to replace DGCA by a new aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority, with full operational and financial autonomy is likely to be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament. The Cabinet today accorded in-principle approval to this decision, I&B Minister Manish Tewari said. The CAA will replace the DGCA and administer and regulate civil aviation safety, manage safety oversight over air transport operators, air service navigation operators and operators of other civil aviation facilities.