Todays NEws

[Alagar M]

Dear All,

 

GOOD MORNING                                     Date: 18 March 2008   
 

 

 

Thought for the day
 

 

 

"The uncommon man is merely the common man thinking and
 dreaming of success and in more fruitful areas."

                                                --Melvin Powers

 

 
 

                           GENERAL
 
 

 

1)Apparently not in a mood to confront each other, Government and
  the Left parties on Monday decided to hold discussions next month
  on the draft India-specific safeguards agreement with the IAEA after
  the allies were briefed on the outcome of the negotiations.  External
  Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee 'presented' the 'outcome' of the
  talks to Left leaders.
                                                         Indian Express

                      CORPORATE / INDUSTRY

 

2)Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd(BHEL) has bagged a Rs 2,030-crore
  contract from Bhartiya Rail Bijlee Company(BRBCL) - a joint venture
  company of NTPC Ltd and Indian Railways - for the supply and instal-
  lation of the main plant package for the upcoming 1,000 MW Nabinagar
  thermal power project in Bihar.
                                                                     BL

                        MONEY & BANKING

 

3)The rupee depreciated by around 30 paise against the dollar on Mon-
  day following the meltdown in the domestic stock market.  The currency
  opened at 40.70/72 and touched an intra day low of 40.83.  It, how-
  ever, recovered during the day to end at 40.72/73, against the pre-
  vious close at 40.44/45.
                                                                     BL
4)Responding to the plea of the finance minister P Chidambaram to
  moderate home loan rates, public sector lender UCO Bank on Mon-
  day reduced the rates by 0.25%.  "It will give relief to new home loan
  borrowers as well as make our rates more attractive," UCO Bank
  Chairman and managing director SK Goel said.
                                                                     FE
5)KERALA-based South Indian Bank(SIB) opened its 100th branch in
  Tamil Nadu on Monday. It will add two more branches by the end of
  this month to touch the 500 mark.  The bank has also set itself a
  business target of Rs 75,000 crore over the next five years.  It is
  currently generating Rs 24,500 crore, of which Rs 4,844 crore is
  from its operations in Tamil Nadu.
                                                                     ET

 

                          MARKETS

 

6)Deteriorating conditions in the US financial system and the antici-
  pation of further write-offs by US banks linked to the subprime crisis
  once again took a toll on market across the globe on Monday. Indian
  markets were no different, with key indices taking one of their worst
  falls.  The 30-share Sensex of the BSE posted its second-steepest
  intra-day fall, losing 951.03 points, or 6.03%, to close below the
  psychological 15,000-level at 14,809.49 points, while the broader
  S&P CNX Nifty of the NSE posted its eighth-worst drop, plunging
  242.70 points, or 5.11% to end the day at 4,503.10 points.  Indian
  markets were the worst hit among Asian peers, with the banking sec-
  tor continuing to reel. ICICI Bank stock plunged Rs 120.20, or 14%,
  to  Rs 757.40-its biggest drop since September 17,2001.
                                                                     FE
7)THE fallout of the acute financial crisis in the US has resulted in a
  massive 6,000-point blow to the Sensex in the past two months, the
  biggest absolute short-term loss recorded by the Indian stock market
  so far.  While there have been many occasions of stock market crash
  since the days of Harshad Mehta, the current one has been the hardest-
  hitting as it wiped off investor wealth of several billion dollars in
  just 48 days.  The latest blow came in the form of the collapse of
  Bear Stearns, which apparently caused a major unwinding of the US
  investment bank's P-note positions in Indian equities in the past few
  days.  Since its peak of 20,873 scaled on January 8, '08 the Sensex
  has been on a downward spiral, ending below the psychological 15k
  level at 14,809.5 on Monday.  During this period, the index nose-
  dived 6,064 points, or 29%, resulting in erosion of investor wealth
  of staggering Rs 24.6 lakh crore, or $608 billion, to Rs 48.9 lakh
  crore.
                                                                     ET
8)The move by the securities market regulator Securities and Exchange
  Board of India(Sebi) to moderate capital flows by the foreign insti-
  tutional investors(FIIs) has begun to show results.  The Sebi move
  to ban FIIs investment in the derivatives segment through participa-
  tory notes(PNs) has resulted in average daily turnover in this segment
  gradually coming down since October 2007.  According to the figures
  released by NSE, the total average turnover value has dipped from
  Rs 83,348 crore in October, 2007 to Rs 53,632 crore in January 2008.
  This has further come down sharply to Rs 10,705 crore in february
  and to Rs 9,997 crore in March till date.
                                                                     FE
9)Brokerages have turned more cautious on Monday in terms of the
  advisories to their clients in the backdrop of a gloomier picture.  The
  broad suggestion to the retail investors appeared to be one of staying
  out in the short-term even though broad valuations seem luring.
                                                                     BL

 

                         MUTUAL FUNDS

 

10)Reliance Mutual Fund on Monday launched Reliance Fixed Horizon
  Fund-VII-Series 4.  Subscription to the 386-day income plan closes
  on Tuesday. The close-ended income scheme will invest at least 70
  per cent of its corpus in money market instruments and up to 30 per
  cent in government securities having a maturity profile similar to
  its own.
                                                                     BS
11)Optimix will revise exit load in Optimix Active Short Term Fund
  from Tuesday, the fund house said on Monday.  Post the change, the
  open-ended fund of funds scheme will levy 0.10 per cent on redemption
  within 15 days from the date of investment.
                                                                     BS

                         COMMODITIES

 

12)Gold prices shot up more than 3 per cent to fresh record highs as
  investors stepped up buying of the yellow metal, whose luster has in-
  creased due to the dollar's weakness and deepening US financial woes.
  The most active gold contract for April delivery on the COMEX divi-
  sion of the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as high as $1,033.90
  per ounce, up more than 3 per cent from its New York close of $999.50,
  when it climbed $5.70. It later trimmed gains and inched down to
  $1,022.30. 
                                                                     BS
13)The National Multi-Commodity Exchange(NMCE), Ahmedabad, has
  launched new series for futures contract in 11 commodities, and six
 'spread series' in two commodities on Monday.  The new series for the
  June-2008 contracts in eight commodities - cardamom, coconut oil,
  copra, cumin seed, guar gum, isabgul seed, gold and silver - will ex-
  pire on June 14,2008.  The new series in rape/mustard seed and rubber
  will expire on July 15 and that in pepper on September 15 this year.
  The six new 'spread series' include three each in pepper and rubber,
  which will be available for futures trading, spread over from March
  17 to April 15, May 15 and June 14,2008 respectively, an exchange
  release said.
                                                                     FE
14)Both the precious metals reached a new high on the Delhi bullion
  market amid firm global cues.  Spot Silver(.999) surged by Rs 800
  to Rs 25800 per kg, while Silver coin shot up to Rs 273 per coin.
  Gold Standard(.999) also jumped from Rs 13210 to Rs 13560 per 10 gm,
  gaining Rs 350 amid hectic buying by stockists and investors.  Gold
  Sovereign also moved up from Rs 10560 to Rs 13560 per 8 gm.
                                                                     BS
15)Jeera futures today hit their lowest so far in 2008, slipping below
  Rs 9,000 a quintal.  Marketmen and commodity experts said that as
  fresh crop arrival was at its peak, accompanied by low offtake from
  the physical markets, the next couple of days could see a further
  drop.
                                                                     BS

                         REAL ESTATE

 

16)ANIL Dhirubhai Ambani(ADA) group company Reliance Energy(REL)
  may be close to inking an agreement with Indiabulls Real Estate(IBREL)
  to jointly develop a 6,000-acre multi-product special economic zone
  (SEZ) in Raigarh district of Maharastra.  The project may be developed
  as a 50:50 joint venture, sources familiar with the development told
  ET.
                                                                     ET
17)SUNIL Mantri-promoted real estate firm Mantri Realty is set to
  enter Karnataka.  The company has chalked out an aggressive growth
  plan for the state, one that will see it develop a host of projects
  in two cities, Bangalore and Belgaum, to start with.  Brother Sushil
  Mantri, who owns Mantri Developers, already has a significant presence
  in the state.  Mumbai-based Mantri Realty is to invest approximately
  Rs 1,700 crore in the state over the next seven years.
                                                                     ET             

                       COMMUNICATIONS

 

18)INDIA, the world's fastest-growing telecom market, is also moving
  at a fast clip in telecom manufacturing.  The Indian telecom manufac- 
  turing industry, which was non-existent a couple of years ago, is now
  a multi-billion dollar industry.  Latest DoT figures reveal that revenue
  from the telecom manufacturing sector is set to cross the $6.5 bil-
  lion(Rs 23,656 crore) in '07-08.  At current growth rates, the tele-
  com equipment manufacturing sector can become one of the world's lar-
  gest by 2010.
                                                                     ET
19)Taking a tough stand against the menace of unwanted calls on phones,
  Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(Trai) today said it will impose
  a fine of up to Rs 20,000 on service providers for non-compliance of
  its directive regarding unsolicated tele-marketing calls and messages.
                                                                     BS

                     INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

 

20)INDIAN IT services companies may be ready to do an IBM or an
  Accenture in painting billboards red.  Heritage service providers, who
  were hitherto shy of high-decibel marketing, are now talking of multi-
  million dollar spends, grabbing mind share of top CEOs and even
  celebrity endorsements to get a larger slice of the global IT out-
  sourcing pie.
                                                                     ET
21)Telecom IT solutions and service provider Tech Mahindra has signed
  a five-year deal with British Telecom(BT) valued in excess of $350
  million(around Rs 1,400 crore).  Tech Mahindra will provide maintenance
  and support services to BT for business critical BSS(business support
  system) and OSS(operating support system) applications and platforms.
                                                                     BS

 

                       INTERNATIONAL

 

22)The Federal Reserve on Sunday cut the discount rate for banks by
  25 basis points to 3.25 per cent and created a new leding facility
  for other financial institutions in an attempt to boost market liqui-
  dity.  In announcing the surprise move, Ben Bernanke, chairman of
  the US central bank, said the Fed and Treasury were "working to pro-
  mote liquid, well-functioning financial markets, which are essential
  for economic growth".
                                                                     BS
23)JP Morgan Chase & Co agreed to buy Bear Stearns for $240 million,
  about 90% less than its value last week, after a run on the company
  ended 85 years of independence for Wall Street's fifth-largest secu-
  rities firm.  Shareholders of Bear Stearns will get stock in JP Mor-
  gan equivalent to about $2 a share, compared with $30 at the close
  on March 14, the New York-based companies said in a statement late
  Sunday.  The Federal Reserve is providing financial backing to JP
  Morgan, the second-biggest US bank, and also cut the rate on direct
  loans to banks in its first emergency weekend action in almost three
  decades to stave off a broader market panic.
                                                                     ET
24)THE impending end of Bear Stearns & Co as an independent company
  could be a double whammy for Indian outsourcing firm Satyam Computer
  Services.  The Wall Street giant's software development and maintenance
  contract to Satyam, pegged at nearly $10 million a year, faces an un-
  certain future, but India's fourth largest software exporter may also
  be losing a trusted friend who helped it network with global business.
  Market sources said Satyam may take only a marginal financial hit if
  the contract were to go away, as it accounts for less than 0.5% the
  company's revenues. However, the development shows that Indian out-
  sourcing companies may be more vulnerable to the spreading menance
  of mortagage crisis than thought initially, they said.
                                                                     ET
25)Oil rose to a record near $112 today as a surprise weekend cut in
  the Federal Reserve discount rate and the sale of stricken US invest-
  ment bank Bear Stearns sent the dollar to all-time lows.  US crude
  for April hit a fresh high of $111.80 a barrel. It was trading $1.15 up
  at $111.36 a barrel by 0915 GMT.  May London Brent crude was
  $1.28 higher at $107.48.
                                                                     BS

 

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE BROWSE THROUGH THE FOLLOWING
SITES.

Karvy Consultants Ltd       www.karvy.com
                            www.khojhyderabad.com
                            www.indiacorporateadvisor.com
                            www.karvycomtrade.com (Commodities)
KARVY Global Services Ltd   www.KARVYGlobal.com
KARVY Realty & Services (India) Limited : www.karvyrealty.com
Economic Times              www.economictimes.com
The Financial Express       www.financialexpress.com
Business Line               www.businessline.in
Business Standard           www.business-standard.com
The Times of India          www.timesofindia.com
The Hindu                   www.hindu.com
Deccan Chronicle            www.deccan.com
The New Indian Express      www.newindpress.com
 
 

 

Thanks & Regards

--
Alagar
Investment Banking
Karvy Investor Services Limited
Chennai
Tel: 044-28151034/3445/3658
Moble: 919884731993/ 919790906827
e-mail: alagar...@karvy.com
website: karvy.com
http://groups.google.com/group/cschennai/files