THE ECONOMIC TIMES - 13 OCT

Submitted By
Gaurav Sharma
Harsh Atirek
Durgesh Pandey
Sec E (Grp 7)


Sensex ends 485 points up strong global cues

Indian equities ended with huge gains Wednesday as FIIs returned back as buyers across the board after US Federal Reserve hinted of fresh stimuli to boost the economy. National Stock Exchange’s Nifty ended at 6233.90, up 143 points or 2.35 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 6240.25 and low of 6089.75.
Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex closed at 20687.88, up 484.54 points or 2.40 per cent. The index touched a high of 20703.97 and low of 20211.66.
BSE Midcap Index was up 0.99 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 1.06 per cent higher.
Amongst sectoral indices, BSE IT Index was up 3.15 per cent, BSE Capital Goods Index gained 2.68 per cent and BSE Realty Index moved 2.51 per cent higher.

FDI inflows down by about 60 pc in Aug

Reflecting fragile recovery in world's major economies, foreign direct investment into India dipped for the third consecutive month, by about 60 per cent to USD 1.33 billion in August. The FDI inflows in August 2009 were USD 3.26 billion. Contrary to smart recovery in the domestic economy and a rebound in exports, overseas investment show a slackening trend in the current fiscal. For the April-August period of 2010-11, FDI inflows declined by 35 per cent to USD 8.92 billion compared to USD 13.8 billion in the same period last year. Foreign investment in July 2010 was at USD 1.78 billion, a dip of 49 per cent and in June international inflows were at USD 1.38, a dip of 46 per cent over the year ago period.
PMK founder meets Karunanidhi; first meeting in two years : TN
In their first meeting since 2008, Pattali Makkal Katchi Founder S Ramadoss today met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi here to discuss the demand for caste enumeration in the state. The meeting, held at the state Secretariat, lasted more than 30 minutes during which the PMK leader submitted a resolution adopted at a meeting of 27 leaders belonging to various communities here on September 18, in support of their demand for caste-wise enumeration in the state.

Punjab finance minister, Manpreet Singh Badal sacked

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal was on Wednesday dismissed from the ministry by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
He was dropped from the ministry owing to his recent statements regarding the Rs.700 billion (Rs.70,000 crore) debt on the state.
He had demanded that the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal do away with subsidies and freebies like free power to farmers to wriggle the state out of a debt trap.

India a strong contender for permanent UN membership: Krishna

With India set to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council with strong endorsement from 187 countries, the country has now become a "strong contender" for the coveted permanent membership of the world body. At an interaction with editors of TOI, the external affair minister Mr. S.M Krishna said it was gratifying to see that a "large number of nations" supported India - 187 countries out of 192 when it needed only 128 or two-third votes - and wanted to see it occupy the "high table" of the comity of nations.

Govt to provide equity support of Rs 8,700 cr to PSU banks

The Finance Ministry today said it will provide equity support of about Rs 8,700 crore to the public sector banks, a move that will enable lenders to raise funds from the capital market without diluting the government holding to below 51 per cent.

RBI refuses to give optionally convertible papers FDI status

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rejected a proposal of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) to allow optionally convertible debentures or preference share as part of foreign direct investment (FDI). Optionally convertible instruments, where pricing is decided on a future date (based on certain milestones), protect investors from upward or downward risk and, therefore, should be treated as debt rather than pure equity

Power finance cos plan to team up for banking foray

STATE-RUN power finance companies are mulling a consortium along with other private sector peers to seek a licence for a bank, which will allow them access to cheaper retail funds.

Rural Electrification Corporation and Power Finance Corporation or PFC, the two state-run power financiers, could come together to float a special purpose vehicle for a foray into commercial banking.

Qatar Telecom eyes higher stake in Philippine telco

Chairman of Qatar Telecom QSC is interested in raising its stake in the Philippines' Liberty Telecoms and is in talks with partner San Miguel Corp to expand the venture. Qtel was committed to its investments in the Southeast Asian country and was seeking to expand its presence in Asia. Qtel holds 32.7 percent of Liberty and San Miguel, one of the Philippines' oldest conglomerates, holds 33 percent. Qtel controls PT Indosat, Indonesia's No 2 mobile provider, and earlier this year said it was looking for acquisitions in Asia and the Middle East.

Africa to play big role in copper market: Rio Tinto

CEO Rio Tinto said Africa has the potential to play a significant part in satisfying what is expected to be strong medium-term growth in global copper demand. "African copper will play a pretty significant part in the global future for the industry," African copper deposits tend to be high grade -- around one-fifth of all global resources with a grade of over 1.0 percent copper are in the region. Rio Tinto owns a 57 percent stake in the Palabora operations in South Africa, which produce around 80,000 tonnes per year of copper.

IIMs to export CAT to foreign business schools

The brutally competitive Common Admission Test is all set for a cross-over. The Indian Institutes of Management , which conduct the entrance exam, have been approached by business schools in Sri Lanka to do a CAT for their candidates as well, a plan that will take off next year. "We refused to conduct the CAT for them this year, but will do so in 2011," confirmed Himanshu Rai, convener of CAT-2010. Apart from Lanka, B-schools in several countries in South-East Asia have shown interest in admitting students through the exam,”

KBC-4 trumps Bigg Boss in first round of TRP wars

In the race of the TRPs, the first episode of KBC-4 has beaten the first Bigg Boss episode hands down. KBC-4 , which opened on Amitabh Bachchan's birthday, garnered an a Map rating of 5, beating the Salman Khan-hosted Bigg Boss that got a rating of 3.6 on its first day of telecast. Bachchan has been able to beat Salman Khan's Bigg Boss in his first episode of KBC-4, but failed to cross any of the phenomenal ratings of his own KBC-1 and KBC-2 or the SRK-hosted KBC.

Mukesh Ambani ready to move into mansion in the sky
Antilia, the luxe 27-storey home of India's richest person Mukesh Ambani in south Mumbai, is ready for housewarming during the ongoing festive season. The building, which stands taller than most buildings in the vicinity and is visible from a distance in every direction, bears the name of a legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean. The palatial building, completed after seven years of labour, has three helipads on the top floor and has been billed as the most opulent home of an individual anywhere in the world.


Indian medal tally boosts Doordarshan income

India's glowing medal tally in the Commonwealth Games is boosting public broadcaster Doordarshan's earnings , "With India's medal tally increasing by the day, viewership has definitely increased. That's why corporates are now keen to book slots for advertisements during the matches.

Nokia launches N8 Smartphone
Mobile handset manufacturer Nokia on Tuesday launched the Nokia N8 smartphone with Ovi services which will enable its users to create content, connect to their favourite social networks and enjoy on-demand web TV programmes. The smartphone, equipped with a 12-megapixel camera, will also enable the customers to make and edit high definition videos. Priced at Rs.26,259, the phone will be available across the country from Oct 13 at Nokia priory stores .
Tech giants Samsung and Apple more friends than rivals
Apple has the iPhone and the iPad, Samsung has several smartphones and its new Galaxy Tab computer. But, analysts say, the tech heavyweight rivals are not so much heading into battle as strolling hand in hand into an ever more profitable future. Samsung is both a provider and a competitor to Apple. But they have very different strategies. Apple is aiming for the high-end market, whereas Samsung is geared more towards the mass market. Apple is dependent upon Samsung to a certain extent for their components but Samsung is clearly benefiting from Apple's innovation.