Business News – Newsletter for January 13, 2011

Read, sketch, buy, sell at India’s first Comic Con

NEW DELHI – Remember pacing through your favourite comic book with a torch tucked inside a blanket? Indian comic book aficionados can now relive those moments at the country’s First Annual Indian Comic Convention here next month.

An excellent combination of fun and serious business, the event will be a landmark for the industry in … Original article on : Read, sketch, buy, sell at India’s first Comic Con.

L&T delivers first nuclear equipment lot to US firm

MUMBAI – Engineering and construction major Larsen and Toubro (L&T) Thursday said that it has delivered its first four dry shielded canisters for Transnuclear Inc as part of orders for three American nuclear power plant operators.

“Larsen and Toubro delivered the first four dry shielded canisters for Transnuclear Inc, US,” the company said in …. Original article  : L&T delivers first nuclear equipment lot to US firm.

Northeast hopes to draw much business from Mumbai summit

AGARTALA – With the sixth ‘North East Business Summit’ set to begin in Mumbai next week, the industry starved and resource crammed northeastern region is making all-out efforts to attract investment.

The union ministry of development of north eastern region (DoNER) in association with the Indian Chamber of Commerce is organising the two-day summit Jan …. Original article  : Northeast hopes to draw much business from Mumbai summit.

In severe winter, Jharkhand imposes VAT on blankets

RANCHI – Jharkhand’s people may be shivering away in the severe cold wave, but the state government has chosen to cash in on their winter blues by imposing a value added tax (VAT) on blankets.

The Jharkhand cabinet late Wednesday decided to impose a VAT of four percent on blankets, towels, napkins and [..] Read the original article: here.

Indo-Israel vegetable centre set up in Haryana

NEW DELHI – Continuing the cooperation between India and Israel in the field of agriculture, the first Indo-Israel Centre of Excellence for vegetables will be inaugurated in Haryana’s Gharaunda town next week.

The vegetables centre project, under which both the countries will share technology and undertake protected cultivation of various vegetables, including tomatoes, cucumbers and …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Indo-Israel vegetable centre set up in Haryana.

Ghana wants duty free access to Indian market

ACCRA – The west African nation of Ghana is concerned about the imbalance in its trade with India and is hoping to gain duty-free access to the Indian market to improve the situation, say trade officials here.

“We are aware that the two countries have similar climatic conditions and apart from cocoa, almost all we … Read more »».

Infosys loses more techies than it hired in Q3

BANGALORE – The attrition rate at India’s IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd shot up during the October-December third quarter of fiscal 2010-11 on annualised basis, with more employees leaving than it hired.

Though the global software major hired 11,067 employees during the quarter, the net addition was 5,311 techies, as 5,756 left the company for … Read more : Infosys loses more techies than it hired in Q3.

Government may announce measures to bring down prices

NEW DELHI – The government may announce some measures that could bring down food inflation further, official sources indicated Thursday, a day after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and other senior government officials to finalise action on the issue.

Wednesday’s discussions were a follow-up to the meeting chaired by Prime … Read : Government may announce measures to bring down prices.

RBI Reference Rate for US $ and Euro

The Reserve Bank of India’s Reference Rate for the US dollar is ` 45.13 and the Reference Rate for Euro is ` 59.10 on January 13, 2011. The corresponding rates for the previous day (January 12, 2011) were ` 45.16 and ` 58.68 respectively. Based on the Reference Rate for …. Read the original article  : RBI Reference Rate for US $ and Euro.

Onions at Rs.5 per kg soon? Traders say so

NEW DELHI – Onions may sell for as low as Rs.5 per kg fom next week with the market set to be flooded with a new harvest, the Azadpur wholesale vegetable traders association here said Thursday.

“The new harvest begins after Lohri, so the wholesale market will be flooded with a huge amount of onions, …. Source  : Onions at Rs.5 per kg soon? Traders say so.

Infosys again ups fiscal guidance on double digit growth (Second Lead)

BANGALORE – Infosys Technologies Ltd Thursday once again revised its revenue guidance upwards for fiscal 2010-11 on strong double-digit growth of 24 percent year-on-year during the October-December third quarter.

Consolidated revenue for the fiscal is expected to be Rs.27,445 crore (Rs.274.45 billion/$6.05 billion), projecting 21 percent year-on-year growth, according to the Indian accounting system.
The … Read more >>.

India’s food inflation slips, breather for government

NEW DELHI – India’s annual food inflation for the week ended Jan 1 fell to 16.91 percent, compared to 18.32 percent in the previous week. The will come as a breather to the government, whose senior ministers have been conducting hectic meetings to curb the rise in food prices.

After five straight weeks of …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : India’s food inflation slips, breather for government.

Liquidity Adjustment Facility : Auction Results

The results of the RBI Repo/Reverse Repo auctions held on January 13, 2011 are:

Amount  (face value in ` crore)                          

Item

1 day Reverse Repo Auction
(Sale of securities by RBI)

1 day Repo Auction 
…. Original source  : Liquidity Adjustment Facility : Auction Results.

Amid rising prices, cheerless harvest festival in Karnataka (Letter from Bangalore)

BANGALORE – The lowest priced vegetable, sweet pumpkin, costs Rs.12 a kg, the humble drumstick a whopping Rs.134 a kg, watermelon at Rs.15 a piece is the cheapest fruit while the exotic kiwi fruit comes at a cool Rs.225 a kg.

The prices may go up by another 25 percent in the next two … Original article on : Amid rising prices, cheerless harvest festival in Karnataka (Letter from Bangalore).

Bullet train rides in China pinch travellers

BEIJING – As China rolls out its prized 350-plus/kmph bullet trains for the public, many travellers have complained that the expensive service has burnt a hole in their pocket.

China has the world’s longest high-speed rail network with over 8,350 km., according to the railways ministry. But the opening of more fast train services has …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Bullet train rides in China pinch travellers.

South Korean central bank announces surprise rate hike

SEOUL – South Korea’s central bank Thursday unexpectedly hiked its key interest rate to 2.75 percent to counter inflationary pressure driven by strong growth and rising commodity prices.

The Bank of Korea’s increase of the seven-day repurchase rate by 0.25 percentage points came as a surprise because most analysts had expected rates to remain …. Read the original article  : South Korean central bank announces surprise rate hike.

Argentina facing scarcity of paper money

Buenos Aires, Jan 13 (IANS/EFE) Argentina is facing a huge scarcity of paper money as a result of which the country has outsourced a printing order for five billion pesos ($1.25 billion) worth of currency to neighbouring Brazil.

The central bank set up a special operation to distribute 100-peso bills on a priority basis to … Read more >>>.

Infosys annual guidance up again on double digit growth (Lead, Reissuing correcting figure in para one)

BANGALORE – Infosys Technologies Ltd has revised its revenue guidance upwards for the fiscal 2010-11 for the third consecutive time on a healthy double digit growth of 24 percent year-on-year during the third quarter (Oct-Dec).

In a regulatory filing Thursday, the IT bellwether said its consolidated revenue for the fiscal under review would be Rs.27,445 … Read : Infosys annual guidance up again on double digit growth (Lead, Reissuing correcting figure in para one).

Infosys ups annual guidance again on double digit growth

BANGALORE – Infosys Technologies Ltd has revised its revenue guidance upwards for this fiscal (2010-11) for the second consecutive time on a healthy double digit growth of 24 percent year-on-year during the third quarter (Oct-Dec).

In a regulatory filing Thursday, the IT bellwether said its consolidated revenue for the fiscal under review would be Rs.27,445 …. Source article  : Infosys ups annual guidance again on double digit growth.

India, developing nations driving global growth, but risks remain

WASHINGTON – Led by India and other developing countries, the world economy is moving on from a post-crisis bounce-back phase of recovery to slower but still solid growth this year and the next, according to the World Bank.

Global GDP, which expanded by 3.9 percent in 2010, is expected to slow to 3.3 percent in … Original article on : India, developing nations driving global growth, but risks remain.