Business

Rupee weakens by four paise against US dollar

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:02:47 +0530

Extending its loss for the second day on Thursday, the Indian rupee dropped four paise to close at 43.78/79 against the greenback on continuing demand for the US dollar from oil refiners amid a fresh surge in crude prices.

In lacklustre activity at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency moved in a range of 43.70 and 43.80 during the day. It had closed at 43.74/75 a dollar on Wednesday.

Forex dealers said the Reserve Bank, which is suspected to have bought dollars heavily on Tuesday when the rupee fell to 44.16 level, kept a low profile today. But fears of its intervention in favour of the Indian unit kept traders away from the market, they added.

Traders said the activity was dull throughout but oil refiners bought the greenback in small batches for the month-end import payments even as global crude oil prices surged to $ 119.70 a barrel in Asian trade today.

India imports 70 per cent of its oil requirements and rising oil prices increase the import bills and in turn, push up dollar demand from oil companies.

Sustained capital outflows from equity market, which fell by another 248 points, or 1.74 per cent, also weighed on the rupee sentiment, dealers said.

Exports push up US GDP to 3.3% pace

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:55:27 +0530

The US economy defied predictions of a downturn in the the second quarter as exports helped growth accelerate to a 3.3-percent annualized pace, the government said on Thursday.

The Commerce Department revised up last month's estimate of a 1.9-percent pace of growth in gross domestic product (GDP).

The figure was better than the average Wall Street estimate of 2.7 percent and showed a strong acceleration from the 0.9-percent rate of the first three months of the year.

The latest figures, helped somewhat by a massive economic stimulus, suggest the world's biggest economy had more momentum than previously thought by analysts, many of whom anticipated recession.

"For a recession the economy is certainly growing very quickly," said Avery Shenfeld, senior economist at CIBC World Markets.

"A lot of that growth is driven off exports and pessimists might say that can't continue during slowing growth overseas, but I would say this happened precisely during the period of slowing growth overseas ... this is still an economy that faces slow times but not a recession."

Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James & Associates, said he sees conflicting signals in recent economic data.

"A lot of the monthly indicators are suggesting recession but things like new orders and GDP suggest the economy is improving."

The revised report showed trade alone accounted for 3.10 percentage points in the overall growth rate. It showed exports surged 13.2 percent (up from an earlier estimate of 9.2 percent) while exports fell 7.6 percent instead of 6.6 percent.

Consumer spending, the largest component of economic activity, was up a modest 1.7 percent, just 0.2 points more than previously estimated, despite a massive 168-billion-dollar government stimulus package that sent out tax rebates to tens of millions of people.

The main drag on growth remained the housing sector, with investment in residential property slumping 15.7 percent, not as bad as the 25.1 percent slide in the first quarter.

Business spending grew 2.2 percent and government expenditures by 6.8 percent.

A key inflation index linked to GDP rose 4.2 percent while core prices excluding food and energy were up 2.1 percent.

Still, few analysts expect the current growth pace to continue since consumer spending is sluggish and a rebound in the dollar may curb growth in exports.

The US Federal Reserve has held its base rate at a low 2.0 percent as part of an effort to fire up a lagging economy hurt by tight credit and weak housing. But in the past few months the central bank has indicated the next move will likely be an increase to keep inflation pressures in check.

The central bank called for 2008 growth in a range of 1.0 to 1.6 percent, up from an April projection of 0.3 to 1.2 percent.

India, Asean conclude deal for FTA in goods

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:17:35 +0530

India and southeast Asian trading bloc Asean on Thursday concluded talks for freeing trade in goods that will create an European Union-style open market with a combined population of about 1.7 billion people.

A "key regional milestone" is how Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath described the Trade in Goods (TIG) agreement with the 10-member Asean.

The ministers have agreed to target implementation of tariff reduction commitments from January 1, 2009, said a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the Sixth Asean-India Consultations.

The deal would be formally signed during the India-Asean summit in Bangkok in December, by when officials from the two sides would finalise the text of the TIG agreement together with one on Dispute Settlement Mechanism.

"The countries of East Asia are important drivers of growth... with large consumption to drive global economies," Nath told a joint press conference of India-ASEAN economic ministers.

India and Asean currently enjoy a total trade of $ 38 billion and expect it to touch $ 50 billion by 2010.

The pact was supposed to have been reached last year, but talks were held up over differences on products that India wanted to exclude from tariff cuts. New Delhi had submitted a list of 1,414 products, while Asean's target number was 400.

Under the pact, India and Asean will eliminate import duties on 71 per cent of products by December 31, 2012 and another 9 per cent by 2015.

Duties on 8 to 10 per cent of the products that have been kept in the sensitive list will also be brought down to 5 per cent.

3G CDMA spectrum to be auctioned: Govt

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:59:36 +0530

Government will auction the spectrum required to provide 3G services on CDMA-based networks, Telecom Minister A Raja said on Thursday.

"We consider TRAI recommendations on CDMA spectrum can be given on pro-rata basis as GSM operators. Earlier, there was not much competition. There were only two slots (two companies) for competition,” Raja said on the sidelines of a function in New Delhi.

"Now with the coming of another player and more spectrum available, we feel 3G CDMA spectrum too can be auctioned," Raja said.

Telecom Commission is also in favour of this process and Department of Telecom (DoT) has now opted for auctioning system for the CDMA players.

The government, in its 3G policy announced earlier this month, had decided to allot 3G spectrum in the 800 MHz to the CDMA player with the highest subscriber base.

Reliance Communications has the highest subscriber base in CDMA segment.

However, now auction would imply other CDMA players such as Tata Teleservices, Shyam, BSNL and MTNL as well as new players who want to enter India on the CDMA platform now stand a chance to get radio frequencies in the coveted 800 MHz band.

Inflation declines to 12.40 per cent

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 18:28:13 +0530

Inflation declined marginally to 12.40 per cent for the week ended August 16 following a dip in prices of vegetables, meat and cement, which the Finance Ministry described as "early signs of moderation" in prices.

The 0.23 per cent dip from 12.63 per cent in the previous week is the first time that inflation has fallen in a month.

It was 3.99 per cent during the corresponding week a year ago.

"There are some early signs of moderation of inflation," the Finance Ministry said in a statement, adding that in the primary articles group 21 out of total 98 articles have shown decline in prices and there was no increase in prices of another 48 articles.

The last time inflation fell was when it dipped from 11.91 per cent to 11.89 per cent in the week ended July 12.

In addition to vegetables, meat, egg and fish, the index of fuel and power items too declined by one per cent.

Prices of certain essential commodities like pulses, fruits, spices and iron and steel, however, continued to move up during the week. The increase was due to higher prices of sugar, pulses (moon, massor, urad and gram and dry chillis), the Finance Ministry statement said.

The annual rate of inflation for the week ended June 21, a fortnight after the government increased the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, was revised from 11.89 per cent to 11.91 per cent.

China hails $3bn oil deal with Iraq

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:45:23 +0530

China hailed on Thursday a three-billion-dollar oil agreement with Iraq as a win for both nations, as it sought to reassure the rest of the world that it should not be concerned by the deal.

Becoming the first foreign firm to enter such an agreement since the end of Saddam Hussein's regime, state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC) this week won the right to develop the Al-Ahdab oil field south of Baghdad.

"The cooperation between the relevant oil companies from China and Iraq is mutually beneficial," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters after the Iraqi embassy in Beijing said the deal had been reached.

"It will be conducive to the economic development of Iraq, and will meet China's demands in the oil field as well, and is also conducted according to market rules and will not harm any interests of any third parties," Qin said.

The agreement, reached during a visit to China by Iraqi Oil Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, revives a 1997 contract that granted China exploration rights to the Al-Ahdab oil field in the province of Wassit.

After China won the rights to the al-Ahdab field in a deal then valued at 700 million dollars over 23 years, activities were suspended due to UN sanctions and security issues following the US-led war in 2003 that toppled Saddam.

Planned oil production was then 90,000 barrels per day (bpd), and CNPC had been expected to win the new exploration rights.

The Iraqi embassy statement said the new deal would be worth three billion dollars, but other details were sketchy.

The oil field will become operational in three year's time and is likely to produce oil for 20 years after that, an Iraqi oil ministry official who took part in al-Shahristani's delegation told AFP.

Maya joins Sonia Gandhi in Forbes elite list

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:35:11 +0530

Making her debut in the club of 100 most powerful women in the world, India's Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati has joined Congress President Sonia Gandhi in a list compiled by US magazine Forbes.

While Gandhi, also chairperson of the country's ruling UPA alliance, has slipped from her previous year's sixth rank to 21st this year, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has made her debut at 59th.

The list also includes Indra Nooyi, the Indian-origin chief of global soft drink major PepsiCo, at third position, up from fifth last year, and Indian biotechnology firm Biocon's Chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw at 99th.

The list has been topped by German chancellor Angela Merkel.

On Gandhi, the magazine said the Italian-born leader of India's most powerful political party has by now assumed the role of elder stateswoman. "Although she remains firmly at the head of the country's ruling party, a rising star, known by the single name Mayawati, is challenging Gandhi's position as the country's most powerful woman."

Mayawati-led BSP recently withdrew its outside support to Gandhi-led ruling combine in the country.

The magazine said that Mayawati has aligned herself with the nationalist Hindu BJP party and joined its members in vociferously opposing Gandhi's party's historic agreement with the US on nuclear cooperation.

Shrewd politician

The magazine described Mayawati as the one "in the running to be prime minister, from her perch as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, India's most populous state."

"In 1995, at 39, she was the youngest politician elected to the post and was also the first Dalit to head a state government," it said.

The report further said that Mayawati commands a large following and goes simply by her first name.

"In 2007, she shrewdly built an alliance with Brahmins, and the Bahujan Samaj Party, which she heads, has started to increase its national presence. Some say she could trail-blaze again as India's first Dalit prime minister," it said.

According to Forbes, its annual ranking of the most powerful women in the world measures "power" as a composite of public profile and financial heft. The economic component considers job title and past career accomplishments, as well as the amount of money the woman controls.

Merkel is followed by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila C Bair of the US at the second position.

Others in the top ten include WellPoint CEO Angela Braly, Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll, Kraft Foods chief Irene B Rosenfeld, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Temasek Holdings CEO Ho Ching, Areva CEO Anne Lauvergeon and Xerox Corp CEO Anne Mulcahy.

Six of the ten most powerful women are from the US, while one each are from the UK, Germany, France and Singapore.

Gandhi, Mayawati and Shaw are the only three Indians on list, while Nooyi is the only other person of Indian-origin.

About Nooyi, the third most powerful in the world, the magazine said that she "continues to grow PepsiCo, the 39 billion dollar food and beverage giant, through new product offerings and acquisitions."

Despite her fall from sixth position last year, Gandhi has outranked people like Hillary Clinton (28th), Oprah Winfrey (36th), Melinda Gates (40th), Laura Bush (44th) and Queen Elizabeth II (58th).

Besides, at her 59th position, Mayawati is also ranked higher than MTV Networks CEO Judy McGrath (60th), Finland President Tarja Halonen, US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Hyundai Group Chairman Hyun Jeong-Eun and Ireland President Mary McAleese.

Gandhi and Mayawati have also outranked Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust, The New York Times Co President and CEO Janet L Robinson, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, London Stock Exchange CEO Clara Furse, Western Union CEO Christina Gold, Time Inc CEO Ann Moore and Deloitte Chairperson Sharon Allen.

Last year's list also included Vidya Chhabria of UAE, but a person of Indian-origin, at 98th place, but she has dropped out of the list this year.

Sensex closes in red on weak global cues

wali — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:19:42 +0530

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by over 248 points to close the day at nearly one-month low level on selling sparked by concerns over inflation rising further amid rising oil prices.

The 30-share barometer, which lost 185 points in the previous day's trading, declined further by 248.45 points to 14,048.34, a level last seen on July 30.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange's Nifty also lost 78.10 points to end the day at 4,214.00.

Marketmen said selling pressure picked up ahead of the release of inflation data this evening amid reports that the crude oil prices gained fresh ground.

Investors squaring up their pending long positions on expiry of August contract in the derivative segment also aided the weak trend.

Oil and gas segment stocks suffered the most on surging crude prices. The sector's index fell sharply by 247.81 points at 9,407.79, after sector major Reliance Industries dropped by Rs 74.15 at Rs 2,073.70 and its subsidiary Reliance Petro by Rs 3.45 at Rs 154.50.

Capital goods index fell by 262.37 points at 11,492.50 followed by metal index by 224.79 at 11,925.15 as heavy-weight stocks of Tata Steel, Sesa Goa, Jindal Steel and SAIL lost substantial ground.

PSU index fell by 125.11 points at 6508.16 , bank index by 119.04 points at 6596.41, realty index by 83.97 points at 4753.07, Information Technology index by 38.78 points at 3853.39, power index by 33.90 points at 2516.41, Teck index by 33.89 points at 2980.28, healthcare index by 20.92 points at 4273.57, consumer durables by 17.77 points at 3748.84 and FMCG index by 12.18 points at 2169.98.

As the selling pressure extended in all the sectors, small-cap index fell by 77.61 points at 6782.30 and mid-cap index by 77.58 points at 5608.85.

RBI phasing out old Rs 1,000, Rs 500 notes

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:08:57 +0530

The Reserve Bank is phasing out old currency notes in the denomination of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 of 1996 series and replacing them with new ones with added security features.

RBI spokesperson Alpana Killawala from Mumbai told PTI that the public will not be put to inconvenience by the phasing out of these notes, which merely means that these currency notes would not be reissued after they are deposited with banks.

These notes will be replaced with 2006 Mahatma Gandhi series notes, which have more security features, she said.

Initially, only Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 are being phased out, which may be extended to other currency notes of old series as well.

When asked whether these notes are being phased out because of the problem of counterfeiting, she said replacement of old currency notes with new ones is an exercise followed by central banks all over the world.

The spokesperson made it clear that these notes are not being withdrawn, as is being speculated in some circles.

Withdrawal of notes basically means that a currency note will no longer be a legal tender after a stipulated date.

She said no target date has been put for phasing out of these notes, as it all depends on when they are deposited with banks.

As such, notes which are not deposited with banks will continue to be legal tenders in the hands of the public.

Areva faces 50% cost rise in nuclear reactor: Report

sitansu — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:06:05 +0530

French nuclear group Areva is facing a 50 per cent rise to the cost of building the world's first next-generation pressurised water reactor in Finland, the business daily Les Echos reported on Thursday.

The cost of constructing the plant at Olkiluoto has risen from three billion to 4.5 billion euros ($6.7 billion), the paper reported citing an unidentified source.

The increase was due not only to the global rise in prices, but Areva's having to send in additional workers to "ensure work proceeds better," the report said.

Finnish nuclear safety agency STUK launched a probe earlier this month into whether safety procedures were respected at the site after Greenpeace disclosed confidential documents indicating there were no qualified personnel supervising the welding and that the quality of the welding had not been verified.

Areva has been forced to set aside one billion euro in provisions to absorb the rise in costs, the newspaper said, but the company will still announce Friday record profits of nearly 750 million euros.

Construction delays have already forced Areva to push back the target date for the reactor to enter service to 2011 from 2009.

Crude oil imports rise by over 8 pc in July

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:04:13 +0530

India's crude oil imports soared over eight percent in July to match rise in fuel consumption that continued to be propelled by double-digit growth in diesel demand.

The country imported 11.84 million tons of crude oil last month, up from 10.89 million tons in the same month a year ago, according to the latest data available from the Petroleum Ministry in the capital.

Fuel consumption rose 7.8 percent to 9.92 million tons with diesel demand at 4.07 million tons - showing a growth of 10.3 percent.

The hike in retail prices of domestic LPG seemed to have had a sobering affect on its consumption that saw a modest 2.5 percent rise to 978,600 tons. Petrol consumption grew 6.3 percent to 913,100 tons.

Petroleum product imports dipped 21.6 percent to 1.51 million tons with LPG being the most imported commodity.

Exports continued to record negative growth due to domestic requirement of products. Shipments dropped 11.2 percent in July to 3.17 million tons, of which diesel was the single largest commodity exported at 1.15 million tons.

Crude oil imports in April-July was up 3.8 percent at 43.4 million tons while fuel consumption grew 4.9 percent to 44.3 million tons. Diesel demand soared 11 percent to 17.44 million tons. LPG consumption was up 6.2 percent to 3.89 million tons and petrol by 7.4 percent at 3.711 million tons.

Oil product imports were almost unchanged at 7.24 million tons in the period that saw a 12.6 per cent drop in outward shipments at 11.73 million tons.

Diesel exports were down almost six per cent at 4.27 million tons.

Oil rises in Asia on worries Gustav may strengthen

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 13:29:34 +0530

Oil prices rose to near $119 a barrel on Thureday in Asia on fears that Tropical Storm Gustav could strengthen on its way toward crude and natural gas rigs and refineries in the Gulf of Mexico.

Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it's evacuating some 300 workers from offshore Gulf rigs, while BP PLC was also removing personnel from the region that's home to about a quarter of US crude production and much of its natural gas.

Though it was too soon to know where the storm would hit, some models showed Gustav taking a path toward Louisiana and other Gulf states devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita three years ago.

One weather research firm predicted as much as 80 percent of the Gulf's oil and gas production could be shut down as a precaution if Gustav enters the region as a major storm.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up 80 cents at $118.95 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by mid-day in Singapore. The contract rose $1.88 overnight to settle at $118.15 a barrel.

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard in advance of storm Gustav. Jindal said on Wednesday that 3,000 National Guard troops will be activated and deployed a day in advance of the storm's expected landfall. An additional 2,000 troops could be called up to duty.

Gustav formed Monday and roared ashore Haiti on Tuesday as a Category 1 hurricane. The storm triggered flooding and landslides that killed 23 people in the Caribbean. It weakened into a tropical storm and appeared headed for Cuba, though it is likely to grow stronger in the coming days by drawing energy from warm open water.

India, ASEAN conclude deal for FTA in goods

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 11:21:43 +0530

India and the 10-member ASEAN grouping on Thursday announced concluding a deal for a free trade agreement that will break duty barriers for goods in the 1.5 billion people strong market.

"The countries of East Asia are important drivers of growth, with large consumption to drive global economies," Commerce and Trade Minister Kamal Nath said.

"It took six years for India to understand the sensitivities of ASEAN, and for the ASEAN to understand the sensitivities of India," Nath said at a joint press conference of India-ASEAN economic ministers.

The FTA in goods will be signed at the ASEAN-India summit in Bangkok in December.

Economic ministers of ASEAN countries welcomed the conclusion of the Trade in Goods (TIG) agreement which took six years to conclude.

Negotiations for trade in services and investment as a single undertaking will begin as soon as possible, a joint statement issued by the leaders after the consultations said.

"India is ready. The onus is on ASEAN to gather its team and start negotiations on services and investment," Singapore's Trade Minister Lin Hng Kiang said.

The talks on services and investment are scheduled to wind up by next year-end. Nath said Singapore will coordinate for the services aspect while Malaysia will take care of the investment part.

Indonesian Trade Minister Marie Pangestu said ASEAN and India had come to "a level of understanding never been experienced before."

She said the FTA in goods paved the way for more economic cooperation between the two sides. "This will lead to a greater integration between ASEAN and its dialogue partner," she added.

Huge opportunities

ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan described the conclusion of ASEAN-India FTA in goods as an "important milestone." He said the move will give impetus to the stalled Doha round of WTO talks which ASEAN ministers say should be revisited.

Malaysia's Trade Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said the FTA will open up huge opportunities with reduced or no import duties beginning next year.

ASEAN and India will eliminate import duties on 71 percent of products by December 31, 2012 and another nine percent by 2015. The deal will also include duties on products placed in the sensitive track covering about 8 to 10 percent to be reduced to 5 percent by 2015.

A limited number of products will be excluded from tariff concessions based on the domestic sensitivities of respective countries.

The TIG has provisions for a special track for tariff reduction for five products which are key to exports of some ASEAN members. These are for crude and refined palm oil, coffee, pepper and tea.

Crude and refined palm oil are key exports of Malaysia and Indonesia while coffee, pepper and tea are the major exports of Vietnam to India.

The TIG agreement provides for the Rules of Origin at 35 per cent value add plus Change in Tariff Sub-heading (CTSH).

The region with about 1.5 billion people had a combined GDP of $2,381 billion last year.

The trade between India and the ASEAN totalled $38 billion in 2007-08 and could hit the $50 billion mark by 2010.

Equity markets flat in early Thursdsay trade

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:31:45 +0530

Equity markets, which opened lower Thursday, were flat in extremely choppy trade early in the day. Realty and PSU stocks were under selling pressure in initial trade.

The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened with a loss of 6.82 points at 14,289.97. Ten minutes into trading, it was at 14,292.57 points, 4.22 points or 0.03 percent below its closing figure Wednesday.

However, at the same time the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was trading at 4,293.90 with a gain of 1.80 points or 0.04 percent from its previous close.

The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 406 shares advanced, 258 declined and 37 remained unchanged.

Mahindra and Mahindra, HDFC Bank and Satyam computers were among the gainers while Hindalco, DLF and ITC were among the losers in initial trade.

Other Asian markets were also trading mixed.

Aston Martin planning world's most expensive car

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:16:59 +0530

Aston Martin has released scant details and sketches of its new super car codenamed One-77 that will sell for at least 1.3 million euros excluding tax ($1.95 million), making it the most expensive car on the market.

Each of the 77 limited edition Aston Martins will be tailored to the individual buyer and the engineers and designers will work out the exact specifications with the future owner.

The car's aluminium body will be handcrafted and the owner will even be able to choose their own exhaust note. The V12 engine has a top speed of 354 km/h accelerating from zero to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds, producing around 700 hp.

Aston Martin has identified around 500 potential customers, offering to bring a demonstration model to wherever the customer wishes to see it - either at a reclusive villa, luxury hotel or yacht club.

The first cars are expected to be delivered to customers at the end of 2009.

Microsoft unveils Internet Explorer 8

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 10:10:27 +0530

Microsoft has unveiled a trial version of a new Internet Explorer designed to fight the growing challenge from Firefox.

But the new browser from the giant software company won't have it easy. Developers for the open-sourced Firefox released a trial version of a new application for the Internet, Ubiquity, which makes it easier to access and share information that combines intuitive commands with browser functionality.

Microsoft's new Internet Explorer unveiled Wednesday showed off improved privacy and security features that give users greater control over their browsing history, "cookies" and other data.

The browser boasts "InPrivateBrowsing", which allows users to surf the visit being logged in the browser history, and "InPrivateBlocking" that prevents sites gathering information about their visit.

It also includes a browsing tool called an "accelerator", which allows users to highlight text on a website and access a variety of functions, including different search engines, language translation or map displays.

Ubiquity offers a similar service but with a much wider range of commands.

Initial reviews found that IE8 also loaded web pages significantly faster than its predecessor, IE7, and that it matched Firefox for speed.

Microsoft is anxious to boost use of its browsers, which have 73 percent of the browser market compared to Firefox's 19 percent share.

Prior to the launch of Firefox four years ago, Internet Explorer had over 90 percent of the market, and Microsoft's fading power on the Internet is a chief strategic concern.

Firefox made its biggest gain in June when more than eight million people downloaded a new version in the first 24 hours of release.

Download Internet Explorer 8.1 Beta from here...

Air Canada to provide in-flight internet service

tejas — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:21:02 +0530

Air Canada may soon follow American Airlines in providing in-flight internet service for its passengers.

WestJet, Canada's biggest private airline, is also likely to follow suit.

American Airlines, which is the world's largest airline, offers in-flight internet service on its long-haul flights - New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco and New York to Miami - within the country.

The service, which was introduced on August 20, costs a passenger about $13 for the duration of the flight.

Air Canada, which faces an extra burden of $1 billion this year because of high fuel costs, expects that user-pay internet service may generate some revenue for the airline.

Reports quoted an Air Canada spokesperson Wednesday as saying that the national carrier was in talks with some in-flight internet service providers.

"We are actively engaged in discussions with in-flight internet providers and are expected to make further announcements later this autumn," Air Canada spokesperson Isabelle Arthur told a news channel.

But a high-level official with US-based AirCell, which provides broadband in-flight internet service for American Airlines, confirmed that the company had held talks with Air Canada and WestJet.

The official said Internet was "one of those things that travellers are going to expect and airlines will feel the need to provide."

However, the American internet service provider will have to first secure a licence from the Canadian government to operate here.

America's Delta Air Lines has also announced to soon provide in-flight internet access on all its 330 planes.

Venezuela nets $4.3 bn in windfall oil profit tax

sitansu — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:06:08 +0530

Venezuela has raked in $4.3 billion from a tax on windfall oil profits it started collecting from state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela in mid-April, President Hugo Chavez said.

“Up to now we have obtained $4.3 billion,” President Hugo Chavez told his ministers during a publicly broadcast cabinet meeting.

Of that, $800 million has already been used by the Chavez administration, while $3.56 billion have been placed in a fund, Chavez said, without elaborating further

Venezuela's legislature im mid-April approved a "mandatory contribution" on windfall oil profits, as oil prices surged to record levels worldwide.

The measure is levied on profits when oil prices rise above $70 per barrel, officials said, beginning at 50 per cent and increasing to 60 per cent when prices top $100 per barrel, using the barrel of Brent crude as a reference price.

Venezuelan crude closed on Friday at $108.63 per barrel. Its average price so far in 2008 has been 103.74.

Venezuela's oil exports totalled $48.47 billion in the first half of 2008, a figure 78 per cent higher than for the same period in 2007, central bank figures released on Wednesday showed.

Venezuela said that it pumped 3.3 million barrels of oil per day, of which 2.7 million are sold as exports.

The International Energy Agency disputes those figures, estimating that overall output is a lower 2.5 million barrels per day.

India's GDP to dip to 7.9% in 2008-09: Moody's

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:44:05 +0530

Moody's has projected that India's economic growth would decelerate to 7.9 per cent in the current fiscal from 9 per cent in 2007-08, on the backdrop of rising interest rates and slow credit growth.

The forecast by Moody's on the growth of Indian economy has come just two days ahead of quarterly release of GDP data for fiscal 2008-09 by the government.

"India's annual GDP growth is expected to decelerate sharply to 7.9 per cent in 2008. Amid slowing credit growth and higher interest rates," research arm of the Moody's Group, said

Led by an easing domestic demand, the private consumption growth is also likely to decline to around 5 per cent, Moody's economist Sherman Chan, who had compiled the report, said.

"Strong inflation will also squeeze household budgets, hurting consumption growth in real terms," he said.

However, in 2009 the situation is likely to improve with the economy rebounding mildly, the rating agency said.

Earlier in August, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council had made a similar forecast and said the GDP growth rate for the year is expected to slide to 7.7 per cent, think-tank NCAER that had said economic growth of the country would be at 7.8 per cent.

Meanwhile the research arm of the leading economic magazine Economist, Economist Intelligence Unit, has estimated India's economic growth even lesser at 7.5 per cent this fiscal.

"This revision is in continuation with the earlier forecasts made by the business intelligence arm of The Economist Group, which clearly indicated the slowdown trend", the research arm said in a release issued in New Delhi.

However, CII President K V Kamath had quoted Finance Minister P Chidambaram as saying at a meeting on Tuesday that 8 to 9 per cent economic growth is here to stay.

Mukesh Ambani backs Tata's Singur project

wali — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:30:14 +0530

India's most powerful businessman Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday condemned protests against a plant building the world's cheapest car, saying they hurt the country's ability to attract needed investment.

Ambani, chairman of giant Reliance Industries Ltd, extended support to fellow industrialist Ratan Tata, who last week warned he would move the factory building the "Nano" car out of West Bengal state if the protests continued.

"The Nano project is an unique and innovative initiative which will establish India's position as a small car hub," Ambani, whose Reliance Industries is India's largest private sector company, said in a statement.

"This (unrest) will be counter-productive for the country's economic growth, its global image as well as our ability to attract investments from across the world."

Ambani's statement came as protesters blocked a key highway in West Bengal for a fourth day, stranding thousands of trucks loaded with perishable goods, and pushing up food prices in Kolkata.

Protesters have staged months of violent demonstrations against the acquisition of farmland for the project by the state government, which has been energetically wooing industry to set up shop in the impoverished state.

The walls of the plant are plastered with warnings to workers to leave or "face the fatal consequences."

Head of the regional opposition Trinamool Congress Mamata Banerjee, who is leading the demonstrations, has said the protests will continue until the government agrees to hand back hundreds of acres of factory land to farmers.

Indian media reports say Tata Motors, part of the sprawling Tata Group, has given the state's Marxist government two weeks to control the situation at the Singur plant on the outskirts of Kolkata.

Tata Motors has already invested 350 million dollars in the project to make the 2,500-dollar four-door car, billed as the world's cheapest.

"Indian industry must be encouraged to make such large investments in order to build the country's competitiveness as well as support job creation," Ambani said.

India's crude oil production down by 3% in July

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 21:17:10 +0530

India's crude oil production fell 3 per cent in July on lower output from fields operated by state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) and private firms.

Crude production in July was 2.8 million tons against 2.88 million tons a year ago as ONGC's output was almost one per cent down, while private firms saw 26.6 per cent dip, according to the latest data released by the Petroleum Ministry in New Delhi.
.
During April-July, output was down almost 1 per cent at 11.17 million tons.

Seventeen public sector and two private refineries produced 11.8 per cent more petroleum products at 14.3 million tons in July. Reliance output was almost unchanged 3.24 million tons, while Essar Oil saw 202 per cent jump to 1.13 million tons on its Vadinar refinery operating at full capacity.

During April-July, refinery production was up 5.4 per cent to 54.35 million tons with Reliance output rising 2 per cent (12.66 million tons) and Essar more than doubling (4.15 million tons).

Refineries operated at 113.1 per cent of their installed capacity in July and at 109.2 per cent in April-July quarter. Natural gas production was up 2 per cent at 2,772 million cubic meters in July and by 5.6 per cent at 11,084 mcm in April-July.

Key to WTO talks with developed nations: Nath

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:21:07 +0530

India and ASEAN are concerned over the stalemate in WTO talks but the solution lies with developed countries, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said in Singapore.

"Key to the lock of the (WTO) deadlock is not in our hands. The key is with the developed countries," Nath said.

Nath, who is here to attend the ASEAN Economic Community and Dialogue partners meeting, held discussions with ministers from Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam.

He said the countries have expressed concern over the fate of the WTO talks and agreed that officials from member countries should engage in taking the talks forward.

Saying that it will be difficult to say when the next WTO Ministerial Meeting will be held, Nath said India wants to see the talks resume next week. The minister is expected to meet EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson on September 12.

The mini-ministerial meeting of 30 trade ministers in Geneva collapsed last month over differences between the rich and developing countries - primarily the US and India and China - on the issue of protection for poor farmers from import surges.

He said the Special Safeguard Mechanism (SSM) is an issue of livelihood security, and not to serve the commercial interests of rich countries.

Emphasising that there can be no trade-off between livelihood security and commercial interests, he said, "I cannot negotiate how many farmers can commit suicide."

Other key issues like cotton subsidies, geographical indications, flexibility in industrial products, fisheries subsidies and tariff simplification still need to be addressed.

"We cannot minimise any of those issues and make a wrong headline. The headline issue is subsidies, headline issue is the product-specific caps," he said.

Nath said the breakdown of the Geneva talks should be treated as a pause, and not a collapse. "Let us make sure that this pause is a useful pause," he said adding that multilateral talks "never fail, they only pause. That is how I perceive it."

He expressed optimism that there will be some forward movement "from Geneva in every area."

India's attitude is not defensive, Nath said. "I am not looking at it as a game, and I am not looking at it as planned. Everybody says there is so much on the table. But I feel that what is on the table should also be on my plate," he said.

ADB sets new poverty line benchmark for Asia

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:32:15 +0530

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday said it has adopted a new benchmark for poverty line that is more accurate and more relevant to the Asia-Pacific region.

The new benchmark, called the Asian Poverty Line, has been fixed at an income of $1.35 per day, the Manila-based regional lender said in a press release while releasing its annual statistical publication -- Key Indicators 2008.

ADB said according to the new evaluation system, there were probably 843 million people in Asia who lived under the poverty line in 2005.

Ifzal Ali, ADB's chief economist, called it a landmark study, saying that it is the first time a thorough sensitivity analysis of internationally comparable poverty estimates has been carried out.

He said while the World Bank's $1-a-day poverty line remains an appropriate benchmark for counting the extent of extreme poverty in Asia, in a region that has witnessed rapid economic growth it might also be time to evaluate poverty incidence using a benchmark that reflects the region's dynamism.

Cricket: BCCI to utilise break to tune up team for Oz challenge

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 18:59:08 +0530

The Cricket Board is not thinking of taking part in any international tournament in September following the postponement of the ICC Champions Trophy but is keen to utilise the break in fine tuning the squad for the tough challenge ahead by holding a preparatory camp.

"No, we are not thinking of taking part in any event. We want to hold a preparatory camp for the players ahead of the important (four-Test) series against Australia. The details will be worked out soon in consultation with the concerned people," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told PTI from Rajkot.

The persons expected to be consulted by the BCCI are coach Gary Kirsten and selection panel chief Dilip Vengsarkar who has gone to Sri Lanka to witness the remainder of the India's ongoing one-day rubber against the hosts.

Kirsten is scheduled to be in Mumbai on Sunday to attend the Coaches Review Committee meeting, according to other BCCI sources.

The BCCI has announced that the September 24-28 Irani Cup tie between Ranji Trophy Champions Delhi and the Rest of India at Vadodara would feature all the probables for the series against Australia commencing at Bangalore on October 9.

"We will decide on the date for choosing these probables in a few days' time", Shah said, while responding to a query on the subject.

Oil rises above $ 117 on concerns about Gustav

monika — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:35:32 +0530

Oil prices rose to above $ 117 a barrel in Asia on Wednesday on concerns that Tropical Storm Gustav may disrupt operations in the Gulf of Mexico, home to a quarter of US crude production.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery was up 90 cents at $ 117.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by mid afternoon in Singapore. The contract rose $1.16 overnight to settle at $ 116.27 a barrel.

"It's obviously been a factor playing on the minds of oil markets at the moment," David Moore, commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

"There's a potential impact on production in the Gulf of Mexico area,” he added.

Gustav roared ashore on Haiti Wednesday near the city of Jacmel as a hurricane with top sustained winds near 145 kph. The National Hurricane Centre said the storm's winds dropped from hurricane-strength to 95 kph today. But the storm's expected to get stronger later this week.

The storm was centred about 125 kilometres west of Port-au-Prince and moving toward the west-northwest near 7 kph. The centre says the storm could become a Category 2 hurricane on Thursday, with higher winds, on its expected path between Cuba and Jamaica.

Weather forecaster Accuweather.com said that if Gustav passes through the Yucatan Channel into the Gulf, the storm could intensify into a Category 4 or 5 hurricane.

A powerful storm in the Gulf could force shutdowns on the offshore rigs that account for about a quarter of US crude production and much of its natural gas. Royal Dutch Shell PLC said it could begin evacuating workers as soon as today.