09 August 2008

Garuda, the car that runs 180 km per litre: Rediff

Garuda, the car that runs 180 km per litre!

A car that offers a mileage of 180 kilometers to a litre of petrol? Yes!

It's neither a pipedream nor a gadget out of a science fiction flick. Garuda, is a car that has been developed by a group of mechanical engineering students from the Rashtriya Vidyalaya College of Engineering, Bangalore.
The super fuel-efficient, aerodynamic car, say the brains behind the project, will address raging issues like oil crisis, rising fuel costs, environmental pollution, and the desperate need for green technologies.
The car is the result of 'Project Garuda-RVCE Supermileage Car,' which was conceptualised by Nishant Sarawagi, the team leader, and seven of his mates: Bharat, Kayaan, Darshan, Jacob, Gautham, Krishna, and Rakshit.

So what are the distinctive features of this fantastic car?

Read on. . .

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Indian CEOs heading Fortune cos

Indian-origin CEOs are establishing their prowess across the globe. It may be raining gold for these globe trotting executives as they head more Fortune-listed American firms but, weak dollar, sub-prime crisis and the looming US recession have taken their toll, as total profit of such entities has more than halved in a year's time.


But they are not the only ones. According to the latest Fortune 500 list of America's biggest corporations, which has been topped by retailer Wal-Mart Stores (six times in the past seven years), cumulative net profit of all these firms fell about 18 per cent to $645.2 billion in 2007.
However, the total turnover of America's Fortune 500 firms rose by about seven per cent to $10.6 trillion.


In the main list, Wal-Mart (revenue of $378.8 billion) is followed by energy giant ExxonMobil (372.8 billion dollars). Others in the top 10 include Chevron, General Motors, ConocoPhillips, GE, Ford, Citigroup, Bank of America and AT&T.


The US business magazine Fortune ranks America's biggest firms based on their full-year revenues in this annual list. Compared to six last year, as many as 10 Fortune firms are now headed by CEOs of Indian origin.

More @ http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/aug/08slid1.htm

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Other Rediff stories:

Murthy’s advice to youngstersLearn English, FM tells techies

RBI Policy: It's just pain, no gainProblems are far from over for BSE

Tatas to invest $2 bn in GSMBig TV bags IPL rights for Rs 137 cr

BSE calls off NMCE dealIndian CEOs heading Fortune cos

Images: The Jaguar XK is 60! A 'clothes bank' that helps millions

Images: The PC mouse's history Book bus tickets on rediff.com

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Source: Rediff

RBI panel suggests interest rate futures :UTVi

RBI panel suggests interest rate futures

To enable banks, FIIs and other players manage interest rate risks, an RBI-appointed technical panel today recommended introduction of futures contracts, initially based on 10-years government bond yield, which should be settled by physical delivery.

RBI's Technical Advisory Committee suggested that as market evolves, exchanges may consider introducing contracts on various other government securities.The group also recommended that these products be exempted from securities transactions tax to ensure symmetry between cash market in government and other securities and interest rate futures.

These proposals are put on RBI's website and the central bank would view feedback on these suggestions from the public before coming out with finale guidelines on IRF.
The RBI had recently issued guidelines on currency futures, which is to be put in place by the month end.
The need for interest rate futures arose because of failure of exchange traded interest rate futures contracts introduced by NSE in 2003.
Earlier, in 1999, the RBI also took initiative to introduce over-the-counter interest rate futures. Taking lessons from experiences of these products, the RBI panel recommended that futures contract initially be based on the 10-year government security yield.
It observed that banks, insurance companies, primary dealer and provident funds who among them carry almost 88% of interest rate risk on account of exposure to government securities need a credible institutional hedging mechanism.

The group also recommended that banks be allowed to be able to trade in interest rate futures against the current practices of permitting them only to hedge their interest rate risks inherent in the balance sheet.

The group also recommended participation by FIIs and NRIs in the interest rate futures. However, FIIs may be allowed to take long position in the IRF market, which should not exceed maximum permissible cash market limit, currently pegged at $4.7 billion.

FIIs may also be allowed to take short positions in the market but only to hedge actual exposure in the cash market.

On the accounting treatment of IRF, the committee has suggested that till accounting standard prescribed by the institute of chartered accountants becomes mandatory, which is to be done by 2011, RBI should excercise its powers and mandate uniform accounting treatment for Interest rate swaps and interest rate futures.
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Dreamworks-ADAG deal nearly complete
We may scrap sugar levy system: Pawar
Wkly Mkt Review: Sensex gains 511 pts
Oil falls to $115 on economic worries
Gold ends near three-month low

Source:UTVi

US mkts end higher (303 pts up) on strong Dollar, Oil drop

Stocks jump as oil prices fall sharply
Oil sinks on stronger dollar to $115 a barrel
Fannie Mae loses $2.3B in quarter as defaults rise
UBS settles $18.6B auction-rate securities case
Insurance weighs on Berkshire Hathaway's 2Q

DJIA 11,734.32 +302.89 +2.65%
S&P500 1,296.32 +30.25 +2.39%
Oil Hits intraday low of $114.61 and settled at $115.15


The precipitous slide, fueled in part by a recovery in the U.S. dollar, has now taken oil prices to around $115 a barrel -- or more than 20 percent below a record set July 11.
A slide in energy prices is a welcome boost in an economy hamstrung by the housing slump and mounting mortgage losses in the financial services sector.

In the near term, consumers and business should feel some respite as energy costs recede, boosting prospects for a range of market constituents, including airlines, retail, industrial and technology sectors.

Financials are also a major beneficiary as investors shift money out of energy stocks in search for bargains elsewhere.

"I think the trend in stocks is up. I do feel that July 15 represented the bottom for stocks and we are going to move higher," said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Advisors in Boston.

"I really feel that what investors are looking for right here is signs that the economy is starting to pick up right now."

And as the latest earnings reporting season is fast winding down, investors will have plenty of economic reports to watch next week. Continued...

Source: Reuters, Yahoo Finance.

ET Top stories

ET Top stories

Indices off lows; Sensex regains 15k
Sebi board meet on August 13 /Markets to post moderate gains, players eye SEBI meet
Banks cut rates to pump up car loans
India all set to rule software testing market
Airtel, Vodafone have 3G edge over other players


China strides onto Olympic stage 10 Olympics '08 mega stars
Top 10 Beijing Olympics Sponsors Olympic Protest

IRDA plays peacemaker in LIC stir
Max New York Life gets on track
LIC cap base may swell to Rs 100 cr
HSBC goes slow on retail loans
Bharti AXA plans infusing Rs 645 cr

Forex reserves decline by $1.2 bn
Wall Street ends sharply higher
Gold below Rs 12k, may lose more
India’s tea exports jump 13.5%
Suzlon's Belgian unit eyeing Indian firm: Report
BHEL bags Rs 400 cr contract to set up hydro project in Africa

India world's second-largest wireless market: Study
Raja pulls up BSNL on slow growth of value added service biz
GSM cos hampering entry of Rcom, Tatas in GSM telephony: AUSPI
Top 20 cities hold keys to urban growth
Oil falls below $116 on stronger dollar

Buy UTV for target Rs 1,068: Religare
Subscribe to Austral Coke IPO: Keynote
Emkay assigns buy to Jindal Saw; target Rs 941
Macquarie maintains boutperformb on Bank of India
Edelweiss Capital's bbuyb rating on Mahindra & Mahindra
Religare puts buy on EMCO; target Rs 215
Citigroup downgrades Reliance Communications to bholdb
KR Choksey Shares & Securities assigns bbuyb on Aegis Logistics
IDBI Capital maintains bbuyb rating on YES Bank
Ranbaxy offer open to conspiracy theories


Source:ET