DLF, Bharti, ONGC, Cairn India enter DJ BRIC 50 index

DLF, Bharti, ONGC, Cairn India enter DJ BRIC 50 index

Real estate giant DLF, telecom major Bharti Airtel and energy firms ONGC and Cairn India have made their way to the Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index, a blue-chip index measuring performance of 50 largest and most liquid companies in Brazil, Russia, India and China. The new entrants would replace four other Indian firms -- realty firm Unitech, Tata Motors, TCS and Satyam Computer -- on the investible index, global index major Dow Jones Indexes said in a statement.

The changes are part of the regular annual review of the index and would be effective as of the open of trading on September 22. Other Indian companies on the index include RIL, L&T, ICICI Bank, Infosys, SBI, RCOM, Tata Steel, HDFC, BHEL, Suzlon and ITC. Besides four Indian companies, other new components of the index would include three from Brazil -- BM&F Bovespa S/A Bolsa de Valores Mercadorias e Futuros, Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais-CEMIG, Metalurgica Gerdau S/A Pref, two Chinese entities -- China COSCO Holdings Company Limited and China Communications Construction Co Ltd -- and Russia's Surgutneftegaz JSC.

The 10 companies exiting the index include Brazil's Banco Santander S/A Pref, Companhia de Gas de Sao Paulo Ord and Light S/A Ord, China's Jiangxi Copper Company and Trina Solar Limited ADS and Russia's Mobile Telesystems. The float-adjusted market capitalisation of the reconstituted Dow Jones BRIC 50 Index has increased to $920 billion from $852 billion as of September 2. The number of components in the index is fixed at 15 each for Brazil, India and China and five components for Russia to reflect the size of each market in the index.

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ArcelorMittal, RIL in WSJ's respected companies list
Infy, Wipro, Satyam among Buffett-fit stocks: S&P
N-deal: US-based ACA says India has not got 'clean waiver'
3G auction to begin on Monday
Inflation data on monthly basis?
Time short for N-deal approval: Rice
Industry hails NSG waiver, seeks opening up nuke energy
For bulls to remain in focus, 4265-4300 should be maintained

Source:ET

Stock,Mkt Reports from BusinessLine

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/index.htm

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Index OutlookSentiment on Indian bourses seesawed between hope and despair last week. The strong mid-week surge caused by crude oil’s decline below $110 was thwarted by the global wave of selling in equities that seeped into the Indian stock markets, ...

AUTOMOBILES: Automobiles: Working on a better product mixThe pause in demand due to high interest rates coupled with rising input costs have battered the auto sector in recent times. Raw material costs for five majors — Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki and ...


ENGINEERING: Capital goods: New moves on procurementCapital goods companies have begun to feel the heat from spiralling commodity prices. The average operating profit margins of companies in this space have fallen a good two percentage points, to about 16 per cent, in the June quarter. Raw ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Infrastructure: The escalation clauses start kicking inEfforts by infrastructure and construction companies to protect margins have revolved around attempts to pass on raw material price hikes to clients. Steel, cement, bitumen and diesel can account for as much as 60-65 per cent of the total ...

STOCKS: SAIL: BuyInvestors can consider buying the SAIL India stock, now trading at a price-earnings multiple of about 8.2 times its 2007-08 earnings. The valuation is at a discount compared to Tata Steel (9.4 times) and global steel majors. SAIL’s ...

MUTUAL FUNDS: Tata Equity P/E Fund: InvestInvestments can be considered in Tata Equity P/E Fund based on its improved performance over the past two years. The fund underperformed the benchmark Sensex by a significant margin in 2006, thus impacting its last three-year performance. ...

MUTUAL FUNDS: Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Midcap Fund: HoldInvestors can continue to hold the units of Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Midcap Fund (Sundaram Midcap), considering its long-term track record in generating returns. The fund has delivered an annual return of 42.1 per cent over a five-year ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Query Corner: What the charts sayPlease let me have your views on Ashok Leyland bought at Rs 56 and Jayaswal Neco purchased at Rs 81. Chandra ...

STOCKS: PSL: BuyInvestments with a long-term perspective can be considered in the stock of PSL, which is the country’s largest manufacturer of high grade helical pipes. ...

STOCK MARKETS: Bull's EyeE-mail your response by Tuesday to STOCK MARKETS: Baskets of XE-mail your guess before Tuesday to: TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Tata SteelTata Steel moved listlessly between Rs 580 and Rs 600 in the early part of the week before recording a new closing low for 2008 on Friday. ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS:
Reliance Infra (September 07, 2008)
Unitech (September 07, 2008)
Infosys (September 07, 2008)
Tata Steel (September 07, 2008)
SBI (September 07, 2008)
Reliance (September 07, 2008)
Tech School: Descending triangles (September 07, 2008)
Index Outlook (September 07, 2008)
Query Corner: What the charts say (September 07, 2008

STOCKS: Everest Kanto Cylinders: BuyFresh investments can be considered in the stock of Everest Kanto Cylinders, a leading manufacturer of high-pressure CNG (compressed natural gas) and industrial cylinders. At the current market price of Rs 288, the stock trades at about 14 ...

STOCKS: Bank of Baroda: HoldBank of Baroda (BoB) shareholders can consider staying invested in the stock at the current price of Rs 294.65. The stock trades at 1.13 times the company’s 2007-08 book value and 7.5 times the earnings, translating into 0.93 times ...

DERIVATIVES MARKETS: Nifty future may drift lowerMarkets seem to have lost their momentum midway. After witnessing wild swings intra-week, the Nifty September future finished marginally lower at 4352.2 points against the previous week’s close of 4370.55, shedding little over 0.4 per ...

STOCK MARKETS: Beta exposure: Is direct investment better than index funds?Readers may be aware of the core-satellite approach to portfolio management. This involves constructing a core portfolio for the beta (market) exposure and a satellite portfolio for the alpha (excess) returns. There were couple of interesting ...

Source:BL

Indo-US N-Deal: India gets NSG waiver

India powers its way into nuke biz

India on Saturday powered its way into the global nuclear fold after the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) rewrote its guidelines for resuming nuclear trade with New Delhi. The decision to admit India came after three days of intense diplomacy by the US in the nuclear cartel that controls the global flow of nuclear fuel and technologies. ( Watch ) The NSG’s acceptance of the US proposal to drop the ban on nuclear trade will now put the Indo-US nuclear deal on the fast track. The deal will now go to the US Congress for up-down approval before it adjourns in end September for elections. Having failed to use its proxies effectively, China had come out in the open with its opposition to the deal. In a bid to prevent China hijacking the proceedings, US President George Bush wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao asking Beijing to support the India waiver. But the real opposition came from the non-proliferation ideologues — the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria and New Zealand — who were persuaded one by one until Austria remained the last country standing against the waiver. The last minute changes to the draft combined with the softening of position of others finally wore down Austria’s resistance. Austria had been asking for auxiliary measures to be added in the draft. “There is a sense of relief. I am particularly happy that the waiver (for India) meets with international nuclear non-proliferation architecture,” reports from Vienna quoting Peter Launsky, Austrian foreign ministry spokesman said.

Domestically, the development is a major shot in the arm for the UPA government and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the nuclear deal will give it a constructive issue to run on between now and 2009 election. While the BJP has been engaged in fierce finger-pointing and blame-casting over the agreement, the hypersensitive people with overactive imagination in the Left have been concocting nightmares. A setback on the waiver would have complicated matters for both the ruling side and the prime minister. Calling the waiver “a forward-looking and momentous decision,’’ the Prime Minister thanked the US and members of the NSG for granting the waiver “It is a recognition of India’s impeccable non-proliferation credentials and its status as a state with advanced nuclear technology,’’ Mr Singh said. US President George Bush praised the leadership of the PM and appreciated the way he handled the negotiations. President Bush placed a call to Mr Singh soon after the waiver was announced in Vienna. The two leaders also discussed the next step of getting congressional approval for the 123 agreement. External affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee, who has played pivotal role in the domestic battle on the deal, said that the waiver was consistent with the commitments given by the government to Parliament. ( Watch )
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Other Related stories:
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Scientists hail waiver in Vienna
India to thank New Zealand for NSG support next week
India Inc sees $40 bn foreign investment
NSG waiver to India will boost power industry: NPCIL
Industry hails NSG waiver, seeks opening up nuke energy

NSG passes India waiver by consensus
Indo-US N-Deal: India gets NSG waiver
The nuclear effect: PM hails NSG waiver
Indian Americans satisfied with NSG waiver, hopeful of
Former NSA Brajesh Mishra welcomes NSG waiver

Chronology of key developments in Indo-US nuclear deal
Rice presses US Congress to OK India nuclear deal
After NSG waiver, nuke deal goes to US Congress
NSG waiver, a big deal for Manmohan
Do you think the nuclear deal will take care of India's energy security problem?

What does it mean for pvt sector?
India crosses a nuclear hurdle with NSG waiver
FIIs turning positive on Indian markets
Nuclear deal through with NSG waiver
Indian engineering firms see big opportunity in NSG waiver

Markets likely to bounce back
Nifty upside cap likely at 4,500
NSG waiver important for global energy security: Pranab Mukherjee
Wkly Tech Analysis: Markets likely to bounce back

Soirce:ET, BL, BS

Headlines today

Weekly Gainers: Group A, Group B, NSE
Weekly Losers: Group A, Group B, NSE
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Singur talks to resume today
Fresh round of NSG talks to take place today
SEBI to let select investors hold up to 15% in bourses
RBI Termed Pay Increase As Burden On Economy
LIC has to cut >10% stakes prospectively: Irda
Coal shortage to continue

Tata Steel to pay 20% annual bonus
Sebi can't cut Sasken's 12-mnth buyback space: SAT
Re below the 45-mark vs US dollar
Cooking oil prices to slip globally
Talks on US-India N-deal in disarray

Google reigns as the most powerful
Rel Money eyes stake in HK Mercantile Exchange
Sony, Nokia, HP, ICICI most popular brands
ICICI, Kingfisher, Taj top brands in Asia-Pacific: Survey
‘India committed to non-proliferation, disarmament’

Text book independence for RBI is dangerous: Reddy
India stock investors should buy on dips: Lehman
Markets to stay under pressure, 4200 crucial for Nifty
NIIT Tech eyes travel, insurance sectors for growth
Chrome bags 1% share of global mkt in 4 days


Top 10 quirky places to dance
Top 10 places to visit in 2008
Top 10 green hotels
Top 10 hotels to drop in and tune out
Top 10 eco-friendly destinations

Markets this week(Latest Audio:English)
‘More work needs to be done to reach NSG consensus’
NSG decision put off to Saturday afternoon
India's most and least corrupt states
Indian American whizkid behind Google Chrome

Information You Can Use• All-India school quiz• TISS PG programmes• Astrophysics scholarships• Voice and accent workshop• Yoga and dance workshops• MTech Energy Studies• MBA in Agribusiness Mgmt• PGP in Rural Management• Scholarship test for GATE 09• Swiss hospitality seminar • PGD in International Biz mgt• Want a career in advertising?

Source:Rediff, ET, SIfy, BS,BL etc

10 things we'd like to see in Chrome

10 things we'd like to see in Chrome
http://www.download.com/8301-2007_4-10033296-12.html

So far we're pretty smitten with Google's Chrome. It's certainly not without its faults, but for version 1.0 of a browser it's pretty sharp. We've compiled a list of 10 things we'd really like to see added or tweaked. Some come from other browsers, and some are just improvements on some of the existing features. Google, we hope you're listening.
1. Profile roaming between multiple browsers. This may be a pipe dream, but if Foxmarks for Firefox has proved anything, syncing up your bookmarks between multiple machines is awesome. Doing the same with passwords, settings, and history would be even better. Considering Google already has a way for your browser to send data back to the mothership, and a hosted Web history service of its own, a little sync using my Google account doesn't seem that hard does it?

2. Better bookmark management. Speaking of bookmarks, the bookmarking system in Chrome is about as basic as it gets. "Stripped-down" might be a better way to describe it. On the outset, it seems as robust as Firefox 3's with a really simple one-click way to save links. Where the system falls apart is the lack of tools for organization, and a complete lack of a back-up tool to save your short (or long) list of favorite sites. Of course, a bookmarks plug-in like Delicious would help sort this out, which brings us to the next yearning...

3. Plug-ins. Google has acknowledged that plug-ins are on the road map, which is a good thing. Here's how the search giant can totally one-up Mozilla, though: let me install and make changes to extensions without having to restart the browser. Nothing is worse than having 30 tabs open and having to restart, even if it remembers what I had open before. This reminds me...

4. Saved sessions/Warning messages when closing multiple tabs. Firefox's little warning for when you're closing a group of tabs was a huge lifesaver in version two. Firefox 3 brought with it a way to save that grouping of open tabs for later. Chrome has neither of these features. Accidentally closing your browser with a slew of tabs open means they're gone for good--that is unless you set it from the default option of clearing what you were looking at. Chrome is also nice enough to tell you some of the most recently closed tabs back on its special start page, but that's it.

5. A full-screen mode. I love the minimalism of Chrome, but sometimes I just want those extra 60-90 vertical pixels back. Give me a keyboard shortcut for this too, and I'll be in screen hog heaven.
6. A more customizable interface. The blue is neat, but getting that great deep purple found in incognito mode is enough of a tease to make me want to change the way it looks based on how I'm feeling. Plus, you've taken away the nice special Windows-theme coloring I had when you got rid of the top of the application, so let me choose how I want it to look. Bonus points for a tie-dye mode or something that changes depending on what time of day it is--like your personalized homepage service iGoogle

. A way to drag "applications" back into the main browser. The option to turn a certain site into a self-contained browser window with a stripped-down interface is great. However, the inability to drag it back into an open Chrome browser window is maddening when you're trying to re-open some real estate on the task bar. You can do this with existing tabs and windows, and it works great.
8. A Mac/Linux version. The lack of a Mac client has left the growing percentage of Mac users in a bit of a tizzy. Worse yet, based on Google's track record with some of its other cross-platform software offerings like Google Earth and Google Desktop search, the Mac has fared a little worse with slower release schedules and less features than its PC siblings. Hopefully new features will be rolled out to all the platforms at about the same time.

9. A pop-up blocker that blocks. Clearly Google is trying to shake things up with a pop-up blocker that really should be called a "pop-up relocator," since it not only lets them open but also load. Frankly, this drives me nuts since I have to close them down to get them off the screen. Also if it's really important and something I meant to click, I have to go drag it off from the bottom of the screen.
10. A regular old search box. Yes progress is good and the "omnibar" does a pretty slam-dunk job of getting new searches going, but let's get some of the ambiguity away from that thing and have an option to leave it for URLs only. Also, a separate search box would let me pick from the other multitude of search providers in addition to Google without compromising my screen real estate.

Source:download.com

Sensex ends 415 pts down as bank, IT stocks decline

Sensex ends 415 pts down as bank, IT stocks decline

Weak global markets and uncertainties on the Indo - US nuclear deal front prompted a negative start on the major Indian bourses this morning. And equities, especially stocks from bank, realty, information technology and metal sectors remained in the red right through the session as the bears remained relentless till the very end.

Stockometer Top gainers Worst losers

Thanks to the fall in crude oil prices, PSU oil stocks had a good run in the positive territory today. Aviation stocks Jet Airways and Deccan Aviation too enjoyed a bright spell. Power and FMCG stocks rebounded from their lower levels thanks to renewed buying in afternoon trade. Auto and capital goods stocks posted sharp losses.

The Sensex, which opened with a negative gap of around 330 points at 14,569.01 and tumbled to a low of 14,438.59 in intra-day trades, ended at 14,483.83 with a huge loss of 415.27 points or 2.79%. The Nifty settled at 4352.30 with a loss of 95.45 points or 2.15% at 4352.30. The NSE barometer which opened at 4444.70 this morning, touched a low of 4328.90.

Besides several large cap stocks, a number of stocks from midcap and smallcap segments too declined sharply on selling pressure today. The market breadth was weak. Out of 2728 stocks traded on BSE, 1619 stocks closed with losses. 1017 stocks ended on a positive note and 92 stocks ended flat.

Among Sensex stocks, only Hindustan Unilever (1.8%), ITC (0.2%) and ONGC (0.2%) ended in the positive territory. Nifty stock BPCL posted a handsome gain of 7.8%.
Ranbaxy Laboratories plunged 8.75% to Rs 450.25. HDFC lost around 5.75%. DLF and Jaiprakash Associates closed lower by 5.4% and 5.2% respectively.

Wipro eased by 4.85%. ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Infosys Technologies and Sterlite Industries lost 4% - 4.5%. Satyam Computer Services, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Grasim Industries, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Motors lost 2% - 4%. State Bank of India slipped by over a per cent and Reliance Communications ended 0.85% down.

Unitech, Cairn India, Punjab National Bank, SAIL, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Nalco, Power Grid Corporation, Ambuja Cements, Tata Communications, Siemens, Zee Entertainment and Hero Honda were among the prominent losers in the Nifty index.

Axis Bank, Essar Oil, Akruti City, Gujarat Minerals, Bharat Forge, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Kotak Bank, Gujarat NRE Coke, Jindal Steel, REI Agro, Essar Shipping, NMDC and Crompton Greaves were some of the major losers from BSE 'A' Group today.

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Aban Offshore, Bajaj Holdings, Indian Oil Corporation, Reliance Power, Jet Airways, Phoenix Mills, Bharat Earth Movers, Mphasis, Areva, IDBI Bank, RECL and OnMobile Global ended with impressive gains.

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Other Stories:
Forex reserves at $295.309 b on Aug. 29
NSG: Govt expects positive decision
'India abides by voluntary moratorium'
Officials meet representatives of sceptic NSG countries
Vienna: India walks NSG tightrope
Govt seeks to allay apprehensions of NSG members'

Committed to voluntary moratorium on N-test
'Indian officials meet reps of sceptic NSG nations'Only minor progress at NSG meet
' US denies N-document cover up
NSG waiver: Indian officials work overtime
NSG inches closer to ending India's N-isolation

Direct tax collections up 4% in August
ONGC eyeing Canadian oil co for $1.5 b
Azim Premji invests Rs 230 crore in Subhiksha
Dr Duvvuri Subbarao takes charge as RBI governer
FIIs net sell Rs 1,857cr, DIIs net buy Rs 485cr

Oil prices slide below $105
Ratan Tata calls on Prime Minister
51 pc Govt stake condition to hit growth of PSU banks: RBI
Tata Power buys 11.4% in Oz geothermal firm
Reliance to drill Columbia offshore blocks in 2010

Stocks to watch: Tech Mahindra, Tata Power, GTL Infrastructure
Prabhudas puts outperformer on Axis Bank; target Rs 921
Buy Sterlite for target Rs 765: STCI Capital Market
Essel Propack acquires US co
Prabhudas assigns market performer to Sun TV; target Rs 276


Source:ET, Sify, BS.

Corporate Headlines

Corporate Headlines

Oil to weaken until OPEC gives policy signal: Barclays
Six Indians in Forbes' under-40 Asian billionaire list
Chrome reinventing PC usage
Reliance MF SIPs cross 1 mn mark
HDFC MF overtakes ICICI Pru

IBN18 Broadcast to raise Rs 400 cr
Foreign debt jumps 30 pc in last FY
Vienna meet: NSG mulls revised draft
Rs 4.11 bn investment in Moser Baer

Austral Coke ends 15% higher on Day 1
Tata Power to buy 10% in Australian co
GAIL shares rise 3% on bonus approval
Reliance may house Archies
Direct tax collections up 38.3 pc in first 5 months of FY'09

GoM for 49% insurance FDI
Discuss: Google's Chrome vs IE
Asia's youngest billionaires / Fabulous 50
Rajesh Exports eyes Rs 400-cr acquisiton

Source:ET,BS,BL

Mkt down 151 pts; Inflation cools further to 12.34 per cent

Sensex sheds 151 pts as nuclear deal
Global jitters weigh on sentiment; Sensex ends 150 points lower
Sensex ends 151 pts down in volatile trade

Index Value: 14,899.10
Trade Time: 3:58PM IST
Change: - 150.76 (1.00%)
Prev Close: 15,049.86
Open: 14,895.85
Day's Range: 14,766.01 - 14,994.15
52wk Range: 12,515.00 - 21,206.80


Tracking weak Asian markets, equities opened on a negative note on the major Indian bourses this morning. A few front line stocks managed to buck the trend but the premier indices Sensex and Nifty traded in the red right through the session as every small rally was followed by a strong round of selling.
Stockometer Top gainers Worst losers
Market participants appeared wary of building up positions ahead of release of inflation data and the outcome of the crucial Nuclear Suppliers Group meet today.

Realty and bank stocks bore the brunt of the onslaught this morning. Though bank stocks bounced back well and ended well off their morning lows, realty stocks found the going pretty tough today. Metal, FMCG, capital goods and power stocks also had a weak outing.

Select IT, pharma and oil stocks edged higher on stock specific support. As the mood remained quite lacklustre, there was not much action in midcap and smallcap segments today.

The Sensex, which opened with a negative gap of over 150 points at 14,895.85 and slipped to a low of 14,766.01, ended the day at 14,899.10 with a loss of 150.76 points or 1%. The barometer hit a high of 14,994.15 in early afternoon trade. The Nifty settled at 4447.75 with a loss of 56.25 points or 1.25%. In intra-day trades, the Nifty touched a high of 4514.60 and a low of 4419.45.

Maruti Suzuki (2.95%) topped the list of gainers from the Sensex. Hindalco moved up by 2.4%. Jaiprakash Associates and Tata Power advanced by around 1.75%. Grasim Industries, State Bank of India, Infosys Technologies, ICICI Bank and Ranbaxy Laboratories ended with modest gains.

BPCL, GAIL India, Cairn India, Tata Communications, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Hero Honda, Ambuja Cements, HCL Technologies and Punjab National Bank closed with notable gains. Nalco, ABB, Unitech, SAIL, Siemens, Power Grid Corporation, Idea Cellular, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Suzlon Energy ended with sharp losses.

KSK Energy, Akruti City, Aban Offshore, UCO Bank, Piramal Healthcare, Essar Shipping, Bank of India, Petronet LNG, Federal Bank, Century Textiles, Bombay Dyeing, Yes Bank, India Cements, EIH, Biocon, Financial Technologies and Oriental Bank of Commerce were among the prominent gainers from BSE 'A' Group.

Midcap stock Moser Baer shot up by nearly 9.5% to Rs 116.20 following global investors injecting Rs 411 crore in the company's solar photovoltaic business. Himadri Chemicals, Zee News, Mercator Lines, JM Financial Services, Dish TV, Karnataka Bank, MIC Electronics, Ballarpur Industries, Sun Pharma Advanced Research, Wockhardt, KEC International, Jagran Prakashan and Jindal Drilling were among the other major gainers in the midcap index.

The market breadth was marginally positive when traded ended today. Out of 2685 stocks traded on BSE, 1332 stocks closed with gains. 1259 stocks declined and 94 stocks ended flat.
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Inflation cools further to 12.34 per cent

Continuing its southward journey, inflation further slipped to 12.34 per cent for the week ended August 23 from 12.4 per cent recorded a week earlier. The nation’s annual inflation rate, however, was expected to have inched up in the third week of August to 12.44 per cent, driven by higher prices of some commodities and demand pressures in economy, a Reuters poll showed earlier. The decline in inflation last week was largely on account of the drop in the global crude prices and marginal easing of prices of essentials such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, meat and fish. Economists, however, cautioned that it may be too early to assume that the declining trend had set in. “While there has been some stability in the index since June, it may be too early to say that inflation has started declining,” said leading economist Saumitra Chaudhury.

DK Joshi, principal economist, Crisil, said, “It is essentially the impact of the global oil prices.” Lehman Brothers has already said in a report that they expect the final WPI inflation to peak in Oct/Nov at around 13.5-14.0 per cent, “but to stay in double-digit territory until February 2009. Based on our forecast of slower GDP growth of 7.3 per cent in FY09, our energy team’s forecast of the price of oil falling sharply to $90/bbl in Q1 2009, plus favorable base effects, our forecast is that WPI inflation will start turning down decisively in January 2009.”

Source: ET, SIfy

Bharti, RIL among 10 Indian cos in Forbes Asia's Fabulous 50

Bharti, RIL among 10 Indian cos in Forbes Asia's Fabulous 50

Ten Indian companies led by the likes of state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals, telecom major Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries have made their way into the Forbes' list of 50 best listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region. The 'Asian Fabulous 50' ranking is topped by Taiwan-based computer maker Acer, while BHEL and Bharti Airtel are the top ranked Indian companies at the overall fifth and sixth spots. Acer is followed by Chinese steel maker Angang Steel, Taiwan's Asustek Computer and Indonesia's Bank Rakyat Indonesia at the second, third and fourth spots, respectively. Among Indian firms, BHEL and Bharti Airtel are followed by private sector lender HDFC Bank (22), IT bellwether Infosys (25), diversified conglomerate ITC (27), engineering and infrastructure firm Larsen & Toubro (30), auto maker Mahindra & Mahindra (34), Reliance Industries (39), world's sixth largest steel maker Tata Steel (44) and software exporter Wipro (46).

Among countries, China has the maximum representation with 13 firms, while India comes second with its 10 companies. "Indian companies once again had a strong showing, with 10 making our cut. Infosys and Wipro, perennial top performers, are back for the fourth year. Reliance Industries, Bharat Heavy and Larsen & Toubro are back for the third year. "Consumer-oriented companies such as Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and ITC are growing with India's middle class," the magazine said in an accompanying report. The list is based on long-term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation and projected earnings for every company in the region with revenues or market capitalisation of at least five billion dollars.

BHEL which is country's largest energy equipment provider holds about 60-65 per cent market share of India's power capacity additions. However, the magazine said rising prices of commodities could put the company's margins under pressure in the next several years. On Bharti Airtel, the report said, as many as 10 million new subscribers sign up every month for wireless access in India. "One in 4 sign up with Bharti Airtel, not only to make calls but also to access the web, download cricket scores and send billions of text messages." The report added that the firm is maxing out its allotted airwaves and that more spectrum should help Bharti Airtel "steal more wireless Web customers." The magazine said RIL is India's largest private sector company, accounting for 3 per cent of the nation's GDP and 13 per cent of its exports. Forbes added that the firm is also entering into joint- venture with US office property developer Vornado. Each would shell out $250 million to open shopping centers throughout India. On Tata Steel, the magazine said that Ratan Tata transformed his steel company from a south Asian foundry into an enterprise also spanning the rest of Asia, Europe and the US with the USD 13-billion takeover of Anglo-Dutch Corus Group last year. There are 23 rookies making their first appearance in the list and most of them are from China. Japan and South Korea are represented by three and two companies, respectively. Chiyoda, Nintendo and Yahoo! Japan have made it to the league of 50 from Japan, while Doosan and LG are from South Korea, the magazine said.

Mukesh, Anil Ambani among world's most powerful people


Source:ET