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Gated Community at Hyderabad

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:18:45 EST

Gated Community at Hyderabad - by dreamdamodar

IVR Prime Urban Developers has entered into joint development agreement for construction of high rise residential apartments. The 9.6 acre gated community project at Kukatpally, Hyderabad comprises a built up area of 1.325 million Sft and a parking area for 1200 cars. The Rs 386 crore project consists of a 2 bed room apartments of 1250 Sft, 3 bedroom apartments of 1500 Sft and 4 bedroom apartment of 1800 Sft each. Amenities such as clubhouse, jogging track, landscaped open spaces etc will add value to the project. The project is designed to satisfy the growing residential property demand from India's emerging middle classes in the key cyberabad growth corridor. The company is also set to foray into the city of Visakhapatnam with its real estate development at Vedurvada, located near the Vizag Steel Plant. The project is named Misty Woods and is spread in the area of 130 acres. The location is surrounded by the 6000 acre Naval and Air Force Academy and upcoming SEZ of Achutapuram. Companies like Brandixs Apparel Park, HPCL, Pokarna granites, St.Gobain etc are a part of this SEZ. The Rs 300 crore project comprise of 1500 affordable Independent homes in a well planned layout. The total Built up Area of the venture is around 1.22 million sft. Each plot size would measure upto 200 sq. yds with a built up area of 815 sft. in a single level. Amenities like club house, landscaped open spaces, primary school etc will be the value additions to the project. The company's ongoing projects include the Theme Park Project at Bangalore which is spread in the area of 8 acres which is being built at a cost of Rs 110 crore. It comprises of 490 flats in 9 elegantly planned buildings with 727 car parks with amenities like 40' wide internal roads, swimming pool and a club house. The total built up area of the project is going to be 5.26 lakhs sq.ft out which construction of 1.41 lakhs sq.ft is completed.

Suprax 400mg.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:14:55 EST

Suprax 400mg. - by dreamdamodar

Lupin has announced that its subsidiary, Lupin Pharmaceuticals Inc has launched Suprax 400 mg tablets (Cefixime USP) in the US. This line extension, further extends the brand franchise of Lupins flagship anti-intective Suprax. Suprax 400 mg tablets will help Lupin to further increase its share of the $450 million antibiotic market for the treatment of urinary tract infections. It will also extend the use of Suprax to the patient population of children of the age of 12 yrs and above. Suprax 400 mg tablets will be promoted by a 60 strong specialty pediatric sales force. Lupin is also evaluating additional options of reaching out to other specialty doctors- Its efforts will he supplemented by innovative promotional campaigns. The Suprax brand basket now includes, Suprax (Cefixime for oral suspension 100 mg / 5 ml and 200 mg / 5ml and Suprax 400 mg tablets (Cefixime USP).

TCS explores Scottish Waters.

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:12:43 EST

TCS explores Scottish Waters. - by dreamdamodar

Tata Consultancy Services has signed an eight year end-to-end IT application services contract with Scottish Water, worth an estimated 60 million. The new contract, whilst delivering an extended level of service, will also save Scottish Water a minimum of 8m in operation expenditure alone over the next 8 years. Scottish Water, the UK's only public sector water utility, serves 5.5 million customers in Scotland with water and waste water services. Since its establishments in 2002, Scottish Water has been working to transform the water industry in Scotland by improving efficiency and carrying out intense customer-centric programmes. The focus for IT management team has been to support the business' vision of delivering the best performance and value for money to its customers. The Scottish Water IT programmer 2007 was a competitive tender process involving 136 companies, out of which TCS has been selected as the only partner for application management and support, and strategic enterprise information, business intelligence and integration services. This includes the operational management of these services and the development of bespoke applications, integration and business intelligence reporting. TCS has also been selected as one of five partners to participate in the development framework for enterprise package implementations. Under the terms of this contract, TCS will consolidate Scottish Water's existing applications and transform information management to enhance the delivery of IT services to the business.

ACM-Infosys award for Koller

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:07:32 EST

ACM-Infosys award for Koller - by dreamdamodar

Infosys Technologies and ACM announced that Daphne Koller, a professor at Stanford University, has been awarded the first-ever ACM-Infosys foundation award in computing sciences. Koller, 39, is being recognized for her innovative approach to Artificial Intelligence (AI) that allows computers to reason and learn about the world from real-world data by combining the previously incompatible tools of logic and probability that are the basic principles of intelligent reasoning. She created a new field of learning that has transformed the way computers can process vast amounts of old verse, uncertain, often-conflicting data to solve complex real-world problems.

This new award, announced in August 2007, recognizes personal contributions by young scientists and system developers to a contemporary innovation that exemplifies the greatest recent achievements in the computing field. Financial support for the $150,000 award is provided by an endowment from the Infosys Foundation.

Kollers research aims to build intelligent systems using techniques that underlie rational reasoning and learning. It unifies ideas from relational logic, which involves reasoning about objects and the relationships between them, and probability, which provides tools for dealing with uncertainty. Her synthesis of logic and probability is known as probabilistic relational modeling. She has also developed new mathematical and computational tools that allow us to learn from complex data the probabilistic rules that model the world, and to use these rules to reach strong conclusions about the world.

Bharti Airtel and Bharti Aquanet, now a single entity.

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:14:32 EST

Bharti Airtel and Bharti Aquanet, now a single entity. - by dreamdamodar

Bharti Airtel gas announced the scheme of amalgamation of Bharti Aquanet into Bharti Airtel.

Bharti Aquanet the transferor company has set up landing station at Chennai for handling data and voice transmission in and out of India in association with domestic long distance operators and submarine cable companies.

Initially Bharti Aquanet was 51% subsidiary and the balance 49% capital of transferor company was held by Singtel of Singapore. Thereafter, the transferee company acquired the balance 49% shareholding of transferor company from Singtel and as a result the transferor company became 100% subsidiary of transferee company. Hence with a view to maintain a simple corporate structure and eliminate duplicate corporate procedures Bharti Airtel decided to merge and amalgamate all the undertakings of Bharti Aquanet the transferor company into Bharti Airtel.

The vesting of all undertakings of Bharti Aquanet in Bharti Airtel will enable Bharti Airtel the tansferee company to provide single window integrated telecom solutions, into new service areas as well expand it's subscribers base.

The amalgamation of all undertakings of Bharti Aquanet into Bharti Airtel shall facilitate consolidation of all the undertakings in order to enable effective management and unified control of operations.

The amalgamation would create economies in administrative and managerial costs by consolidating operations and will substantially reduce duplication of administrative responsibility and multiplicity of records and legal and regulatory compliances.

Sobha Developers.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:26:49 EST

Sobha Developers. - by dreamdamodar

Sobha Developers has signed a letter of intent with TUV Rheinland (India) the Indian entity of the large German company and a leading provider of technical services worldwide to set up a joint venture with a vision to build a brand Sobha-TUV Rheinland which transforms the perception of clients relating to quality, safety and security serving businesses. In the proposed joint venture TUV Rheinland and Sobha will hold equal shares. The partners shall bring their respective strengths such as technical competence in serving and securing quality, safety, security, inspections, testing and qualification training, processes and procedures, experience and capability into the new entity through increasing the benchmarking for the construction industry. The new entity shall address Sobha as the first client and then the global industry to set standards in the construction business. It is expected that the industry will welcome this new initiative as it will substantially improve their competitiveness.

Hindustan Zinc Limited, the Leader in the Industry.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:21:06 EST

Hindustan Zinc Limited, the Leader in the Industry. - by dreamdamodar

Hindustan Zinc has announced that expansion projects that will take its total integrated zinc-lead capacity to 1,065,000 tonnes per annum with fully integrated mining and captive power generation capacities, thereby making HZL the worlds largest integrated zinc-lead producer by 2010. HZL will continue to maintain its superior cost leadership position among the zinc producers in the world. Two brownfield smelter projects, which will increase the production capacities of zinc and lead by 210,000 kt and 100,000 kt respectively, will be undertaken at Rajpura Dariba in Rajasthan, India. HZL expects to increase its silver production from the current levels of approximately 100-200 tonnes per year to a level of approximately 500 tonnes per year in the form of silver and silver hearing residue. A large part of this increase would be from the Sindesar Khurd mine where silver occurrences are approximately at levels of 200 ppm and from the use of appropriate technology in the new smelters. The expansion is supported by HZL's strong reserves and resources of 232.3 million tonnes containing 27.5 million twines of zinc-lead metal at 31 March 2008. The reserves and resources position have been earlier independently reviewed and certified as per the JORC standard. To support the increased smelting capacities, HZL will expand its ore production capacity at the Rampura Agucha mine from 5 mtpa to 6 mtpa. Further, ore production at the Sindesar Khurd mine, the new star in HZL's mining portfolio, will be increased from 0.3 mtpa to 1.5 mtpa. HZL will also start mining activity at the Kayar mine which will have a production capacity of 0.3 mtpa. In line with the group's philosophy of being a fully self reliant producer of power, a captive thermal power plant with a capacity of 160MW will also be set up at Rajpura Dariba. The zinc and lead smelters as well as the 160MW captive power plant and the Rampura Agucha mine expansion will be complete by mid-2010. The expansions at the Sindesar Khurd and Kayar mines will be completed in phases by early 2012. The total investment in these projects is estimated at Rs 3,600 crore. This investment includes the cost of the smelters, captive power facilities, mine development and shaft sinking and other infrastructure. The expansion will utilise the same technology and project management skills that successfully delivered the Chanderiya II expansion project ahead of schedule.

Reliance Infocom BV and eWave World.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:13:06 EST

Reliance Infocom BV and eWave World. - by dreamdamodar

Reliance Infocom BV, a division of Reliance Globalcom and wholly owned subsidiary of India's largest integrated telecom operator Reliance Communications on 24 April 2008 announced acquisition of a controlling stake in eWave World, a UK headquartered telco focused on the rapidly developing market for wireless telephony services using the WiMAX technology standard. Over, the next 2-3 years, Reliance Globalcom, through the acquired company eWave World, would invest around $ 500 Mn (Rs 2000 crore) to build and acquire WiMAX networks in emerging markets in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa. Recently eWave World had entered into a joint venture in China to invest in nationwide broadband operations. The company holds WiMAX licenses and has received spectrum to commence WiMAX services in several countries. eWave World, was formed by a number of well known Industry veterans with a vision to become a major player in the rapidly developing market for wireless telecom services using the new WiMAX technology standard. The eWave World Executive team has a combined experience of over 150 man-years in the Global Telecom Sector.

IPCA Laboratories' achievement.

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 01:08:17 EST

IPCA Laboratories' achievement. - by dreamdamodar

Ipca Laboratories has received approval for its anti-malarial finished product formulation - artesunate + amodiaquine co-blister under WHO's prequalification programme. The product is now listed in the WHO pre-qualification product list dated 23 April 2008. Ipca is the 2nd company in the World to have pre- qualification for the product.

The prequalification programme was created by the World Health Organization in 2001. It aims to increase access to priority medicinal products that meet unified standards of acceptable quality, safety and efficacy, currently focusing on those medicines used for treatment of diseases such as malaria.

The list of prequalified medicinal products is used principally by United Nations agencies including UNAIDS and UNICEF - to guide their procurement decisions. But, the list has become a vital tool for any agency or organization involved in bulk purchasing of medicines, be this at country level or at international level, as demonstrated by the global fund to fight diseases such as malaria.

Anti-money laundering Surveillance Solution.

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:02:08 EST

Anti-money laundering Surveillance Solution. - by dreamdamodar

i-flex Solutions, a leading provider of IT solutions to the global financial services industry has announced that Korea Exchange Bank, Korea's largest foreign exchange bank, has become the first Korean Bank to successfully complete the implementation of an automated anti-money laundering surveillance solution - Mantas AML.

Mantas AML mitigates risk with comprehensive, enterprise-wide surveillance of customer accounts and transaction information to alert supervisors to suspicious behavior. The systems unique ability to analyze every transaction and generate risk-based alerts of suspected money laundering activities allows anti-money laundering and compliance officers to distinguish fraudulent from legitimate transactions.

KEB selected Mantas AML in May 2007 to meet anti-money laundering regulations that were being introduced in Korea. Mantas AML was localized to meet Korean requirements and the implementation is designed to help the bank comply with the Suspicious Transactions Reporting requirements of the Korean Regulator, the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit. The bank also wanted to expand its business in Asia, Europe, and the U.S and needed to increase its credibility with correspondent banks globally.

Dull Mid-day, Dull BSE.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 06:11:49 EST

Dull Mid-day, Dull BSE. - by dreamdamodar

The market which oscillated in narrow range for a better part of the day, dipped into the red in mid-afternoon trade. Trading was choppy ahead of the April 2008 derivatives expiry today. The S&P CNX Nifty slipped below 5,000 mark. Market breadth was just about positive. The market had opened firm on positive global cues. US markets settled with gains on Wednesday, 23 April 2008. Asian markets were trading mixed today. European markets which opened after Indian markets extended early losses. At 14:29 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 23.88 points or 0.15% at 16,672.41. It lost 29.44 points at days low of 16,668.60 hit in mid-afternoon trade. Sensex had hit a high of 16,844.02 in early trade. At the days high, Sensex rose 145.98 points. The broader based S&P CNX Nifty fell 28.25 points or 0.56% at 4,994.55. As per reports, marketwide rollover from April 2008 series to May 2008 series stood at 58-60% by Wednesday, 23 April 2008. Nifty rollover was at 62%. The market breadth was just about positive on BSE with 1333 shares advancing as compared to 1324 that declined. 68 remained unchanged. The BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 0.31% to 7,044.61 while the BSE Small-cap index declined 0.21% to 8,781.02. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex Turnover was dull on BSE today. It amounting to Rs 3851 crore at 14:30 IST as compared to Rs 3,071 crore by 13:30 IST Among the 30-member Sensex pack, 16 declined while the rest advanced. Indias second largest cement maker in terms of sales, ACC extended losses and was now down 2.92% to Rs 819.80 after it reported flat results in March 2008 just a while ago. It was the top loser from the Sensex pack. Indias top small car maker in terms of sales Maruti Suzuki India turned volatile after its results were announced. It was now down 2.12% to Rs 745. It had slipped to a low of Rs 728.70 soon after the results hit the market in early afternoon trade. Maruti posted 33.63% decline in net profit to Rs 297.68 crore on 9.35% rise in total income to Rs 5069.94 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. NTPC (down 2.40% to Rs 191.10), Cipla (down 2.07% to Rs 225.15), and Reliance Communications (down 1.69% to Rs 539.10), edged lower from Sensex pack. Indias largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.63% to Rs 2,561 on 4.14 lakh shares. RIL said on Tuesday it had formed a joint venture with Office Depot to provide office products and services in India. The two firms have also acquired eOfficePlanet, an Indian office products and services dealer, to accelerate the rollout of the joint venture. Indias largest dedicated housing finance company in terms of total advances, Housing Development Finance Corporation gained 2.21% to Rs 2621 on 27,821 shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Indias top FMCG company in terms of net sales Hindustan Unilever gained 2.01% to Rs 246.65 on 2.82 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. Frontline IT pivotals pared some early gains. Satyam Computer Services (up 2.01% to Rs 439.10, off days high of Rs 444.80), Infosys Technologies (up 0.55% to Rs 1656, off days high of Rs 1690) and Wipro (up 0.41% to Rs 444.90, off days high of Rs 453), eased from days highs. Indias largest software services exporter TCS slipped 0.86% to Rs 882.25. The stock hit a high and low of Rs 970 and Rs 865 respectively so far during the day. Bharti Airtel (up 1% to Rs 853.90), Hindalco Industries (up 0.93% to Rs 189.80), and HDFC (up 1.59% to Rs 2605), edged higher from Sensex pack. Oil marketing companies slipped as crude oil prices hovered near record highs of $120 per barrel. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (down 1.12% to Rs 247), Indian Oil Corporation (down 2.59% to Rs 437), and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (down 1.27% to Rs 382), slipped. Oil exploration companies slipped. Cairn India (down 0.93% to Rs 256.10) and ONGC (down 0.78% to Rs 1035) fell. Essar Oil was the top traded counter on BSE with turnover of Rs 276.55 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 137.61 crore), Indiabulls Securities (Rs 109.29 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 95.53 crore), and GSS America Infotech (Rs 91.66 crore), in that order Among the side counters, Media Video (up 20% to Rs 34.50), India Toners (up 17.47% to Rs 26.90), National Oxygen (up 17.78% to Rs 62.60), Kirloskar Electric (up 12.34% to Rs 208), and Gilette India (up 12.56% to Rs 1024), surged. Medi Caps (down 14.05% to Rs 75.55), Eastern Silk Industries (down 12.48% to Rs 156.80), Champagne Indage (down 9.39% to Rs 507.50), ZF Gearing (down 8.26% to Rs 188.25), and Essel Propack (down 7.37% to Rs 38.95), slipped Hindustan Zinc gained 2.85% to Rs 643.90 at even as the firm cut zinc prices by 2.3% or Rs 2,400 a tonne to Rs 1,02,400 a tonne. The near-term market will be driven by the quality of earnings rolled out by corporates in the coming days. Aggregate results of 245 companies showed 18.40% rise in net profit on 31.60% rise in net sales in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. There was 35.80% rise in net profit on 22.20% rise in net sales in FY March 2008 over FY March 2007. European markets which opened after Indian markets extended early losses. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (down 1.22% to 6,009.50), Germany (down 0.76% to 6,743.15) and France (down 1.07% to 4,891.12) slipped. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were trading mixed today, 24 April 2008. Hang Seng (up 1.55% at 25,680.78) and Shanghai Composite (up 9.29% to 3,583.02), edged higher. However Singapore's Straits Times (down 0.56% at 3,209.49), South Korea's Seoul Composite (down 0.08% at 1,799.34), Japan's Nikkei (down 0.28% at 13,540.87), and Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted (down 0.20% at 8,990.23), declined. US markets advanced yesterday, 23 April 2008 as a range of technology companies posted strong results that showed the sector's resilience in the face of an economic slowdown. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 42.99 points, or 0.34%, to 12,763.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 index advanced 3.99 points, or 0.29%, to 1,379.93. The Nasdaq Composite index rose 28.27 points, or 1.19%, to 2,405.21. Back home, market finished lower yesterday, 23 April 2008 in volatile trade today snapping its six-day winning streak, dragged lower by banking, capital goods and select blue-chip stocks. The 30-share BSE Sensex lost 85.83 points or 0.51% at 16,698.04 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 26.50 points or 0.52% at 5,022.80 on that day. As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors sold shares worth a net Rs 480.93 crore yesterday, 23 April 2008. Domestic funds bought shares worth a net Rs 70.04 crore on that day.

US Markets on Wenesday.

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 01:57:20 EST

US Markets on Wenesday. - by dreamdamodar

After incurring losses for two sessions, US Market managed to turn around on Wednesday, 23 April, 2008. Good earning reports from Boeing and UPS helped market turn sentiments after a rocky start. Nasdaq outperformed considerably. Seven of the ten major economic sectors ended the session with gains. The financial, energy, and materials sectors all finished in the red.

Boeing topped its earnings estimates marking a 40% year-over-year increase in profits. Boeing also reaffirmed its full year outlook. In the tech sector, Yahoo! topped earnings expectations and marked its first increase in earnings in roughly two years.

The market traded in green for almost entire day after starting flat earlier in the day. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended with a gain of 43 points at 12,763. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 14.5 points at 2,391. S&P 500 finished higher by 4 points at 1,379.

Eighteen out of thirty Dow components ended in the green on Wednesday with Boeing being the top winner.

UPS stock was a notable laggard on Wednesday though the company met its earnings estimate, but issued a cautious outlook due to economic concerns.

The technology sector also got a boost from Microsoft on Wednesday afte the company reaffirmed that it is not going to increase its bid offer for Yahoo.

But on the other hand, bond insurer Ambac's stock plummeted 37% to its all-time low after the bond insurer reported a massive loss on $1.7 billion in write-downs and a $1.0 billion increase in loan loss provisions.

Crude prices closed little higher on Wednsesday, after the dollar rallied against its rivals and after the Energy Department reported that crude inventory rose last week for the week that ended on Friday, 18 April, 2008. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $118.3/barrel (higher by $0.23/barrel or 0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded in the lower range throughout the day.

In the currency market on Wednesday, the dollar traded higher against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, gained 0.7% at 71.81

3M, Aetna, Whirlpool, PepsiCo, Motorola and Ford feature among many other companies who are scheduled to report prior to Thursday's open. Thursday's economic headliners include the weekly jobless claims count and March's durable goods orders followed by March's new home sales figures.

Markets mid-afternoon.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:53:32 EST

Markets mid-afternoon. - by dreamdamodar

The market failed to sustain higher level after a strong rebound from lower level was witnessed in mid-afternoon trade. After opening on a firm note the market had slipped in the red in mid-morning trade. The market may remain volatile ahead of the expiry of April 2008 derivative series on Thursday, 24 April 2008. Real estate shares advanced even as banking stocks stayed weak.

The market had witnessed six straight days of rally till Tuesday, 22 April 2008. The market breadth was positive. 16 shares from the 30-member Sensex pack declined.

At 14:29 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 49.68 points or 0.30% at 16,734.19. It lost 194.42 points at days low of 16,589.45 hit in mid-morning trade Sensex had hit a high of 16,871.27 in early trade. At the days high, Sensex rose 87.40 points.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was down 12.30 points or 0.24% at 5,037.05. As per reports, Nifty rollover from April 2008 series to May 2008 series stood at 55% by Tuesday, 22 April 2008.

The market breadth was positive. On BSE, 1467 shares advanced as compared to 1178 that declined. 68 remained unchanged.

The total turnover on BSE amounted to Rs 4803 crore by 14:30 IST as compared to Rs 3859 crore by 13:30 IST

Real estate shares advanced on fresh buying. The BSE Realty index rose 2.21% to 8,080.96 and was the top gainer among the sectoral indices on BSE. DLF (up 1.56% to Rs 684.90), Unitech (up 2.32% to Rs 287), Akruti City (up 3.94% to Rs 1,133.05), Omaxe (up 3.97% to Rs 232.80), and Purvankara Projects (up 10.99% to Rs 308), advanced.

Indias largest FMCG company in terms of sales Hindustan Unilever advanced 2.86% to Rs 244.70 on 2.01 lakh shares. It was the top gainer from Sensex pack. The company will unveil its Q1 March 2008 results on 28 April 2008.

Indias largest private sector company in terms of market capitalisation and oil refiner Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.59% to Rs 2,591.95 on 6.54 lakh shares. The stock moved in a range of 2571.40 and Rs 2632.75 so far during the day. RIL said on Tuesday it had formed a joint venture with Office Depot to provide office products and services in India. The two firms have also acquired eOfficePlanet, an Indian office products and services dealer, to accelerate the rollout of the joint venture.

IT pivotals gained on fresh buying. Wipro (up 2.62% to Rs 442), TCS (up 0.72% to Rs 893.40) and Infosys (up 2.70% to Rs 1643.80) advanced. However, Indias fourth largest software services exporter Satyam Computer Services slipped 1.30% to Rs 430.10, off its days low of Rs 422.

Grasim Industries (up 2.45% to Rs 2663.50), ACC (up 2.26% to Rs 838), and Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.42% to Rs 765), were the other gainers from Sensex pack.

Banking shares declined. Indias largest private sector bank in terms of net profit ICICI Bank slipped 3.16% to Rs 854.50 on 6.61 lakh shares. It was the top loser from Sensex pack.

State Bank of India, the countrys largest commetcial bank in terms of assets, slipped 2.06% to Rs 1,696.60 after its Chairman O.P. Bhatt today said the bank is making a provision of $10 million towards mark-to-market losses due to the subprime crisis overseas. Bhatt also said the bank's customers' exposure to foreign exchange derivative losses could be between Rs 600-700 crore ($150-175 million), which would be accounted for on customers' books.

HDFC Bank, the countrys second largest private sector bank in terms of net profit slipped 2.20% to Rs 1454.95.

Indias biggest dam builder Jaiprakash Associates was down 0.35% to Rs 244.80 on volumes of 26.77 lakh shares. The stock moved in a range of Rs 238.50 and Rs 252.

Indias largest private steel maker in terms of sales, Tata Steel staged a sharp recovery from days low of Rs 757 and was now up 0.05% to Rs 781.70. The company said on Tuesday, 22 April 2008, it will not raise steel prices for the next two to three months. The company decided to hold the prices after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urged steel makers to refrain from seeking windfall gains.

IFCI was the top traded counter on BSE with total turnover of Rs 221.40 crore followed by Reliance Petroleum (Rs 215.45 crore), Reliance Natural Resources (Rs 169.40 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 168.68 crore), and Indiabulls Securities (Rs 141 crore), in that order

Wockhardt (up 0.68% to Rs 303.90), Lupin (up 1.44% to Rs 550), Cadila Healthcare (up 4.75% to Rs 286.45) gained while Alembic slipped 0.58% to Rs 60.25. As per reports the drug price regulator will initiate prosecution proceedings against four pharmaceutical companies for selling select brands without getting their prices approved by the regulator.

Educomp Solutions slipped 0.65% to Rs 4108 despite posting 65.45% surge in net profit to Rs 31.47 crore on 54.41% growth in total income to Rs 119.53 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q3 December 2007. The company announced the results during trading hours today, 23 April 2008.

SKF India declined 0.39% to Rs 308.15 on posting 3% rise in net profit to Rs 37.76 crore on 9.04% rise in total income to Rs 394.18 crore in Q1 March 2008 over Q1 March 2007. The company announced the results during the market hours today, 23 April 2008.

The near-term market will be driven by the quality of earnings rolled out by corporates in the coming days. Aggregate results of 204 companies showed 20.80% rise in net profit on 33.40% rise in net sales in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. There was 38.80% rise in net profit on 22.40% rise in net sales in FY March 2008 over FY March 2007.

European markets, which opened after Indian markets were trading mixed. Key benchmark indices in United Kingdom (up 0.23% to 6,048.80), and France (up 0.88% to 4,915.55), advanced. However Germany's DAX index slipped 0.37% to 6,761.90.

Most Asian markets were trading higher today, 23 April 2008. Nikkei (up 0.23% at 13,579.16), Hong Kong's Hang Seng (up 1.40% at 25,289.24), Singapore's Straits Times (up 0.35% at 3,198.39), South Korea's Seoul Composite (up 0.74% at 1,800.79) and Shanghai Composite (up 4.15% to 3,278.33), advanced

However Taiwan's Taiwan Weighted index slipped 0.32% to 9,008.49

US markets settled lower yesterday, 22 April 2008, on record crude oil prices and disappointing earnings from technology, health-care and consumer companies. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.82% at 12,720.23. The Nasdaq was down 1.29% to 2376.94. The S&P 500 index lost 0.88%, at 1,375.

Back home market extend rally for sixth straight session yesterday, 22 April 2008 led by real estate, cement and infrastructure stocks. However, IT shares faltered after TCS earnings disappointed. The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 44.54 points or 0.27% at 16,783.87 and the broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 12.30 points or 0.24% at 5,049.30 on that day.

As per provisional data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 292.66 crore yesterday, 22 April 2008. Domestic funds sold stocks worth a net Rs 119.54 crore on that day.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 530.86 crore in the futures & options segment on Tuesday, 22 April 2008. They were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 255.44 crore and bought index options worth Rs 230.22 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 47.90 crore and sold stock options worth Rs 2.70 crore.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose seven cents to $118.14 per barrel on weakening US dollar, supply worries in Nigeria. The May contract expired on yesterday, 22 April 2008 closing at a record $119.37 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange, where it earlier hit an all-time intraday high of $119.90.

Meanwhile, rating agency CRISIL has revised its GDP growth forecast to 8.1% for 2008-09 from the earlier forecast of 8.5% in view of the worsening inflation, interest rate and global growth outlook. Despite some moderation, the overall growth scenario is expected to remain strong with investment as the main driver.

Aftermath of disappointing earning reports.

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:48:38 EST

Aftermath of disappointing earning reports. - by dreamdamodar

A number of disappointing earning reports took US market lower on Tuesday, 22 April, 2008. Dow plunged by triple digits. Meanwhile, crude oil spiked to lifetime highs. Only energy and telecom finished the day in positive territory. Each of the remaining economic sectors finished with losses.

The technology sector was hammered on Tuesday after Texas Instrument reported earnings beating expectation but issuing a disappointing outlook. There was another disappointing result coming from UnitedHealth. The company also lowered its full year 2008 earnings guidance. However, Dow components McDonald's and DuPont topped their earnings estimates, while AT&T met expectations.

The market traded in red for almost the entire day. Dow was down by almost 162 points at one point. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended with a loss of 105 points at 12,720. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 31 points at 2,376. S&P 500 finished lower by 12 points at 1,376.

Twenty-three out of thirty Dow components ended in the red. Du-Pont, AT&T and Mc Donalds were the main Dow laggards on Tuesday.

Du Pont shares were off 4% after the chemicals company forecast weakness in the U.S. construction and automotive markets to dent growth. On the other hand, McDonald's said first-quarter profit climbed 24%, but same-store sales in March were slightly negative. The stock ended 1% down on Tuesday.

The only economic data for the day was March existing home sales data. March existing home sales fell 2.0% to an annualized rate of 4.93 million from the prior reading of 5.03 million. This was slightly better than the expected reading of 4.92 million. Compared to last year, sales are down 19.3%. Prices have fallen 7.7% versus last year.

Crude prices reached another new high on Tuesday due to supply related concerns and also as the dollar fell to new lows. Lower dollar prompts investors to purchase commodities as an inflation hedge. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $119.37/barrel (higher by $1.9/barrel or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched a high of $119.9/barrel during intra day trading. Crude prices ended 6.2% higher last week and 88% higher on a yearly basis. For the year, crude is up by 22.3% till date. The May contract expires tomorrow and the June contract was up $1.93 to $118.56 a barrel.

In the currency market on Tuesday, the dollar sank to a new record low against the euro, pressured by surging oil prices and hawkish talk from European Central Bank officials. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.4% to 71.38.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange hit 3.8 billion shares, with declining stocks outpacing those on the rise by a more than 2-to-1 count. On the Nasdaq, 1.9 billion shares exchanged hands, with decliners also running ahead of advancing stocks, 3 to 1.

Boeing and UPS are scheduled to report their earnings prior to Wednesday's open. Wednesday's primary economic release is the weekly oil inventory report from the Department of Energy.

Security Solutions

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:37:40 EST

Security Solutions - by dreamdamodar

Tata Communications has announced the launch of a robust suite of security services designed to protect the applications, IT systems and networks that power its customers critical business infrastructures. The high-quality, cost-effective security services, which include premise and managed services as well as professional services, enables Tata Communications to provide its customers with security solutions on a global basis.

Tata Communications delivers a full range of monitored and managed security solutions that are backed by aggressive performance-based service level agreements. The services are overseen by an experienced, globally distributed support team using state-of-the-art systems, processes and tools. Tata Communications' wide range of supported vendors and solutions, combined with its globally consistent and efficient service delivery model, meets the security needs for businesses.

Tata Communications' focus on managed services allows enterprises to reduce costs by outsourcing the increasingly difficult and expensive task of both monitoring and managing their security infrastructure, while simultaneously delivering higher levels of coverage and protection. The suite of security services, which includes managed and monitored firewalls and unified threat management appliances, intrusion detection and prevention systems, distributed denial of service detection and mitigation, and penetration testing, offers customers proactive detection and evaluation of information security threats, accompanied by swift incident response and remediation actions. Evaluation and response is based on Tata Communications sophisticated real time security incident and event analysis, which draws upon a global base of current activity and trends

The Burman Family and Fresenius Kabi.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:14:05 EST

The Burman Family and Fresenius Kabi. - by dreamdamodar

Dabur Pharma has announced that the Burman family, promoters of the Dabur Group has decided to divest its entire stake in Dabur Pharma to Fresenius Kabi, a business segment of Fresenius SE, a Euro 11.4 billion German multinational with business interests across the global healthcare space at a price of Rs 76.50 per share. A share purchase agreement to this effect has been signed in New Delhi and the closing of the same is subject to requisite regulatory approvals.

Dabur Pharma is the pharmaceutical business of the group and is focused on the attractive global ocology market. It has built up an impressive product portfolio in ocology which is being sold through its global footprint across more than 40 countries including the key markets of US and Europe. Fresenius Kabi is a business segment of the healthcare group Fresenius SE. In 2007, Fresenius Kabi had revenues of Euro 2,030 million and an operating profit of Euro 332 million. This transaction broadens Fresenius' i.v. drug portfolio and its offering of patient specific oncology therapies.

A World-class integrated Commercial Complex.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:10:45 EST

A World-class integrated Commercial Complex. - by dreamdamodar

Larsen & Toubro has announced that the poroperty development division of the company proposes to develop a world class integrated commercial complex at Seawoods railway station, Navi Mumbai over 40 acres of land at a project cost of Rs 3500 crore. L&T will also develop a state-of-art Seawoods-Darave Railway station over the next three years.

CIDCO had floated this proposal in mid 2007 and the same was opened on 05 February 2008. L&T was one of the three qualified developers and bagged this project by bidding Rs 1809 crore.

The project has the potential to develop 4 to 5 million Sq. ft. of usable space. The development will consist of a modern railway station, large format retail and entertainment space, multiplexes, office complex, and premium category hotel and service apartments. L&T is in the process of short listing international architects to develop the concept and master plan for the project. Cushman Wakefield and Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj have been engaged for real estate advisory services for the project. This is the single largest investment by the company in the real estate development sector.

Navi Mumbai real estate market has gained importance steadily over the past few years with the increase in commercial activity and influx of IT companies setting up shop in Vashi, Kharghar, Belapur and Airoli. Approximately 8 million Sq. ft. of IT space is proposed to be constructed in Navi Mumbai over next three years. Other infrastructure initiatives like the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Navi Mumbai Multi-Services SEZ, Mumbai Trans Harbor link connecting Sewri to Navi Mumbai and proposed Mumbai Metro Rail project is expected to create huge demand for quality retail and office space, and hospitality in Navi Mumbai.

The proposed project is very close to the Palm Beach road and has access roads on all four sides. The impetus of the company will be to plan superior traffic management system and to develop parking space for 5000 vehicles to cater to the railway station as well as the commercial complex. Also the appropriate integration of various components of this project holds the key to its success.

L&T proposes to develop this project as a destination for urban shopping and entertainment catering to Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. This will be done by dedicating large spaces for entertainment, gaming sports activities and entertainment facilities for children. The company also proposes to create a differentiated shopping experience by creating various specialty malls like home interior and jewellery malls.

Currently there is a shortage of 'A' class offices in Navi mumbai. Approximately half of the project will be dedicated to be developed as 'A' class, high end office complexes catering to various sectors like banking and financial services institutions, logistics, aviation, engineering, automobiles, manufacturing and communication. The office complexes will have high end operations and management facilities and will be furnished with superior building management systems specially designed by L&T. Also premium facilities like Helipads on building tops will make it an ideal place for companies to set up their corporate offices. The commercial offices will be high-rise towers with both small and large floor plates to accommodate all types of clientele. Space will be allocated for making built to suit facilities for corporates.

L&T has been approached by international hospitality chains for operations of the premium category hotel and service apartments to cater to the growing business activity in and around Navi Mumbai.

L&T considers property development as a good opportunity in the growing retail, commercial, hospitality and residential sectors, due to its inherent project management, execution strength and stringent quality standards. L&T has already announced its intentions to float a realty equity fund to attract investments to such long term, highly profitable project ventures.

Once this project is commissioned, L&T will develop in-house capabilities to build and operate such Transit Oriented developments around Railway Stations. This expertise will help the company in future on several such projects of redevelopment of railway stations across the country.

A World City

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:07:35 EST

A World City - by dreamdamodar

Mahindra Lifespace Developers has announced the inking of a joint venture agreement for residential development between its subsidiary company, Mahindra Residential Developers (MRDL) and the private equity real estate fund, ARCH Capital Asian Partners, L.P., managed by ARCH Capital Management Company, an affiliate of Ayala Land, the Philippines largest and most trusted real estate brand and Ayala Corporation.

The joint venture will undertake the development of a gated residential community together with support, retail and recreational facilities in approximately 55 acres within Mahindra Lifespaces pioneering Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at MAHINDRA WORLD CITY, NEW CHENNAI.

Mahindra World City is India's first integrated business city developed by the Mahindra Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). Spread over 1500 acres in the outskirts of Chennai near Chengiepet, Mahindra World City has three sector-specific SEZs for Information Technology, Auto Ancillaries, and Apparel & Fashion Accessories. The leading Indian and multi-national Companies at Mahindra World City include BMW, B Braun, Cap Gemini, Infosys, Renault Nissan, Mindtree, Timken, TVS Group, Tech Mahindra and Wipro. Mahindra World City is expected to have a working population of 100,000 people by 2015 with current employment at close to 10,000 persons.

Mahindra World City is being developed as an integrated township with the theme of live - learn - work - play. Its master plan for the residential and social infrastructure zone, developed by world renowned planners and architects, HOK, has already won 2 international awards for the quality of its master plan.

The Mahindra World School, a strong and high-quality support system for the residents of Mahindra World City is expected to commence operations at Mahindra world city from the academic year starting June 2008. Mahindra lifespaces' first residential project, Sylvan County, at Mahindra world city has been hugely successful and this will be followed shortly by the development to be taken up by the new joint venture with the Ayaya Group.

Mahindra Residential Development, the joint venture entity, will be 51% owned by the Mahindra group and 49% by an ARCH Capital controlled investment vehicle. The residential development will offer an exclusive community of around 750 residential units with sprawling green spaces and large community interaction zones. The development will be master-planned and designed by acclaimed international planners and architects with amenities, development standards and a green environment that would set new benchmarks in the Indian context.

New version of Flexcube Core Banking.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:04:26 EST

New version of Flexcube Core Banking. - by dreamdamodar

i-flex Solutions has announced the availability of version 2.2 of Flexcube core banking for IBM System z on zOS with IBM Web Sphere and IBM DB2 software stack.

It combines the rich functionality of Oracle Flexcube and the reliability and security of IBM System z to enable global financial institutions to respond swiftly to changing market dynamics. Banks can manage high transaction volumes and a large number of users while keeping response time consistent because the new version is highly scalable.

Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) enabled Oracle's Flexcube fits seamlessly into IBM System z deployments using IBM software. Flexcubes use of WebSphere 6.1 and DB2 9 leverages IBM System z specialty engines (zIIPs and zAAPs) that help in reducing total cost of ownership. Flexcube is designed to be the choice for banks migrating legacy core banking applications onto a contemporary platform.

DFMPro 2008 EX

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 03:01:24 EST

DFMPro 2008 EX - by dreamdamodar

Geometric has announced the release of DFMPro 2008 EX, an integrated tool on SolidWorks which helps to get designs right the first time. Organizations can now easily add their own DFM checks and rules to automate in-house DFM practices into their standard operating procedures.

DFMPro is a revolutionary design for manufacturability product for designers and manufacturing engineers to facilitate upstream manufacturability validation and identification of design areas that are difficult, expensive or impossible to manufacture. DFMPro allows quick and in-depth examination of product manufacturability. DFMXpress, a lighter version of DFMPro is shipped with every seat of SolidWorks 2008.

DFMPro 2008 EX, the latest release of DFMPro, permits organizations to build their own custom rule libraries easily and quickly. Basic knowledge of visual basic scripting or SolidWorks macro languages is adequate to build custom rules. DFMPro 2008 EX now also supports easy sharing of manufacturability knowledge across departments, suppliers and vendors, thus improving their efficiency by reducing manufacturability issues. Advanced customization on the product can be provided by DFMPro product resellers, and also directly from Geometric.

DFMPro 2008 EX has also been enhanced with additional out-of-the-box rules for machining and sheet metal fabrication processes.

3DPaintBrush

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:59:07 EST

3DPaintBrush - by dreamdamodar

Geometric has announced the release of its new product, 3DPaintBrush, a visualization software that helps create near photo-realistic images, animations and videos from existing computer-based 3D models within minutes. 3DPaintBrush is suitable for design professionals who need to create images and animations instantly. It's easy to use features make 3DPaintBrush attractive for 3D enthusiasts too.

3DPaintBrush allows real-time rendering of 3D models to create impressive digital image outputs for architects, interior decorators, industrial product designers, engineers simulating environments, advertising creative professionals, and multi-media content developers. It's easy-to-use features include the ability to import and combine 3D models from multiple sources, manipulate material properties, adjust light settings, add backgrounds and environments, create animations, and finally save the results in popular image formats, or export as Shockwave Flash and other popular movie formats. For users of Microsoft Expression Blend, 3DPaintBrush provides the ability to export in XAML format to create engaging web-connected experiences for Windows.

Integration with Google 3DWarehouse provides easy access to millions of existing 3D models. 3DPaintBrush is based on DirectX 9.0, and it is supported on Windows XP SP2 and Windows Vista.

Biocon's stake in AxiCorp GmbH.

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:53:52 EST

Biocon's stake in AxiCorp GmbH. - by dreamdamodar

Biocon is close to acquire a 70% stake in German pharmaceutical Company, AxiCorp GmbH for a consideration of 30 million. This will enable the marketing and distribution of a range of pharmaceuticals including generics, biosimilars, biologies and innovative pharmaceutical products in Germany and Europe.

AxiCorp is a specialized marketing and distribution company established in 2002 by a group of industry experts to address the lucrative generics and parallel distribution market in Germany and Europe. AxiCorp is ISO 9001 certified with a differentiated distribution model that is aligned to the radically altered way the German pharmaceutical market now functions.

An open label, multi-centric, placebo controlled, single ascending dose study designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of IN105 under fed conditions in type II diabetic patients currently on Metformin therapy has been commenced at 5 investigation sites. The study is expected to be completed in August 2008 and will provide the data necessary to commence phase IIb clinical trials.

A Randomized, open label, four arms parallel phase II clinical study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody (T1h mAb) in combination with methotrexate in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis has been initiated at 7 investigation sites.

Another phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of anti-CD6 monoclonal antibody (T1h mAb) in patients with active Psoriasis is also due to commence at 5 investigation sites. This has been designed as a single blind, randomized, multiple dose, multiple schedule, multi-centric, parallel study in patients with active moderate to severe Psoriasis, with independent blinded disease activity assessment, and quality of life metrics assessment. These clinical trials will enable Biocon to establish proof of concept for T1h and will add tremendous value to its licensing potential.

An open label, prospective, multi-centric study to evaluate the Safety And Efficacy of BIOMAb-EGFR (Nimotuzumab) as Induction and Maintenance Therapy in combination with Radiotherapy plus Temozolomide in Indian patients with Glioblastoma Multiforme is ongoing at 8 investigational sites across the country.

Another clinical trial designed as an open-label, randomized, comparative, multi-centric study to assess safety and efficacy of BIOMAb-EGFRTM (Nimotuzumab) in combination with chemotherapy versus chemotherapy alone in the treatment of patients with stage IIIB / IV non small cell lung cancer is also being initiated at 11 sites. The above clinical trials will enable Biocon's Oncotherapeutics division to expand its market share through label extensions.

Biocon has decided to split up its cardio-diabetes group by launching a stand alone cardiology division. This new division is being launched to focus on brand building for its flagship statin based product Statix as well as other products viz. Telmisat, Eptifibatide and its recombinant streptokinase product Myokinase. The cardiology market in India constitutes 10%.

CRR Hike and Bank Stocks.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:18:40 EST

CRR Hike and Bank Stocks. - by dreamdamodar

Four banking stocks rose in between 0.96% to 4.8% at 11:37 IST on BSE after Reserve Bank of Indias CRR hike

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 237.10 points, or 1.44%, to 16,719.54 on hopes that the worst was over for the banking sector, following the top US lender Citigroups announcement of a quarterly loss of $5.1 billion and plans to cut another 9,000 jobs.

Bank of India (up 4.8% to Rs 336.25), HDFC Bank (up 2.8% to Rs 1435.35), ICICI Bank (up 1.18% to Rs 845.05) and State Bank of India (up 0.96% to Rs 1,699) edged higher.

BSE Bankex had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 April 2008, gaining 10.68% compared to the Sensexs return of 9.91%. It had however underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 27.05% compared to Sensexs decline of 13.32%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), after trading hours on Thursday, 17 April 2008, announced a steep 50 basis points hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR) which will become effective in two stages. Given the sharp surge in inflation over the past few weeks, the market was expecting a hike in CRR, and thus the hike was already factored in share prices of banks.

The focus is now on the RBIs annual policy review on 29 April 2008. CRR is the amount of money banks have to keep with RBI as a percentage of deposits. Banks get zero interest on their funds with RBI kept as CRR. Banks are adopting a wait and watch policy on interest rates after the CRR hike.

US Markets - Last week.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:14:26 EST

US Markets - Last week. - by dreamdamodar

It was totally a week for earning reports that dominated the week that ended on Friday, 18 April, 2008. The week ended in a fashion exactly opposite to the way it had ended last week. Better than feared earning reports and mixed data on the economic front took US market substantially higher for the week that ended on Friday, 18 April, 2008.

But half of the weeks gains was due to the huge gain incurred the by the market on Friday itself which was mainly instigated by higher-than-expected first quarter earnings from Google. Other than that, commodities once again reached a sky-high price, with crude oil ended the week up by 6% at $116.9/barrel. Hence, Energy was the best sector to end with gains for the week followed by Technology.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 524 points for the week. Tech - heavy Nasdaq gained 112.7 points. S&P 500 gained 57.5 points. In percentage terms the three indices gained 4.1%, 4.9% and 4.3% respectively.

On Friday, 18 April, Google reported a earnings of $4.84 per share for its most recent quarter, beating estimates by a large margin. Google stated that its paid advertising clicks were growing stronger than skeptics were speculating. The Google stock gained 20% on that day. It helped the tech sector outperform the other major economic sectors. Dow won a huge 229 points on that day itself.

Other earnings-related excitements came from Honeywell and Caterpillar on Friday itself. Both companies announced better than expected quarterly profits. That also gave a good boost to Dow and S&P 500 on that day.

With respect to the financial sector, earning reports were better than feared but with investment companies reporting losses one after the other, it was a reminder that business conditions are far from good. Wachovia, Merrill Lynch and Citigroup all reported loss for the quarter. The only exception was with JP Morgan.

Other major names in the earnings front that hit the headlines during the week were Johnson & Johnson and UPS. While the former beat expectation, the later disappointed. Pfizer reported first quarter earnings which was a nickel short of the consensus estimate.

On the tech front, IBM announced its quarterly earnings beating estimates by a large margin. The company also upped its guidance for the full year. Other than beating earning estimate, Intel gave a reassuring outlook, which helped calm the markets fears over demand and margins.

Among major economic report of the week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics revealed that producer prices rose 1.1% in March, which was well ahead of the 0.6% consensus estimate. That increase was driven primarily by higher energy and food costs. Excluding those items, producer prices were up just 0.2% in March. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.3% and the core CPI rose 0.2%. Both matched expectations, but provided the market with some relief as they were better than feared after producer prices spiked higher.

Also, Housing starts and building permits fell by a larger than expected amount to their lowest levels since 1991. March housing starts plunged nearly 12% and Building permits decreased 5.8%, also falling to the lowest level since 1991.

Satyam's relationship with Caterpillar.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:07:30 EST

Satyam's relationship with Caterpillar. - by dreamdamodar

Satyam Computer Services and Caterpillar Inc. the worlds leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, and industrial gas turbines, have agreed to terms for the sale of Caterpillar's Market Research and Customer Analytics (MR&CA) operations. The deal calls for Satyam to acquire Caterpillar's MR&CA intellectual property and assets for $60 million. Satyam will also launch a business unit to provide MR&CA solutions and services globally to Caterpillar and to its other customers in various industries.

The acquisition will strengthen Satyam's relationship with Caterpillar. Satyam will now support Caterpillar in segmentation, promotions, forecasting, new product development, service, validation, and customer survey execution, among other areas.

Caterpillar's MR&CA IP and assets will complement Satyams business consulting capabilities, deep industry knowledge, and market research processes, enhancing Satyam's offerings in these areas and enabling it to establish itself at the forefront of the substantial KPO market, According to a NASSCOM study, the KPO industry will reach US$17 billion by 2010, with India accounting for about $12 billion. Market research and analyticstools and processes internet in organizations strategic planning - will constitute about 25% of that sum. Satyam is well positioned, thanks to the acquisition, to offer these strategic services to the greater marketplace, a step in line with its objectives to transform its clients businesses.

To accommodate Caterpillar's MR&CA requirements, as well as those of other organizations, Satyam will launch innovation centers in India, Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia Pacific. These facilities will enable Satyam to provide a full suite of innovative servicesspecifically, the gathering, storing, accessing, and analyzing of data to global companies in manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, and other industries.

Subex being awarded.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 03:03:53 EST

Subex being awarded. - by dreamdamodar

Subex has been selected as a recipient of the Verizon's 2007 supplier excellence award. The award recognizes Subex for its outstanding effort and achievement in demonstrating performance excellence thro the deployment of its moneta revenue assurance solution across multiple Verizon next-generation services. Subex was recognized on 17 April 2008 during a luncheon reception in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, USA.

Subex's Moneta enables customers like Verizon to maximize revenues by detecting and correcting any issues across the value chain, ensuring that services are properly ordered and billed for and that all revenues are received. By improving data processing accuracy, Subex's customers achieve a solid ROI through the software while improving overall customer satisfaction due to reduced billing and service- related errors. Moneta is recognized as the industry-leading solution for automating critical revenue auditing tasks that promote operational efficiency and sustained profitability.

Together with Subex and its Moneta Revenue Assurance software, leading telecom operators are migrating from manual, ad hoc analysis to end-to-end operational assurance for today's most strategic services and products. Moneta consistently delivers an ROI within months as it helps identify and collect previously uncollected revenue. Typical customer deployments start with a single application and eventually span across the entire enterprise as a means of improving both operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

SRF surges.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:54:10 EST

SRF surges. - by dreamdamodar

SRF gained 3.60% of Rs 133.80 at 9:55 IST on BSE after the company said on Thursday, 17 April 2008, it has scheduled a board meet on 25 April 2008 to consider buy back of equity shares.

The company made this announcement during trading hours on Thursday, 17 April 2008, when the stock surged 12.60% to Rs 129.15.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 206.13 points, or 1.25%, to 16,687.33 on hopes that the worst was over for the banking sector, following the top US lender Citigroups announcement of a quarterly loss of $5.1 billion and plans to cut another 9,000 jobs. The market shrugged off a hike in cash reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

On BSE, 5,500 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 1.65 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 134.90 and a low of Rs 131.50 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 207.40 on 4 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 90.50 on 24 March 2008.

The small-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 April 2008, gaining 35.88% compared to the Sensexs return of 9.91%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 20.08% compared to Sensexs decline of 13.32%.

The companys current equity is Rs 67.89 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 133.80 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 20.20, by a PE multiple of 6.62.

SRFs net profit declined 51.1% to Rs 34.28 crore on 9.2% fall in net sales to Rs 408.81 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

SRF is engaged in manufacturing nylon tyre cord fabric, industrial yarns, polyester films, belting and coated fabric, refrigerant gases and chloromethanes.

Energised Suzlon Energy.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:52:06 EST

Energised Suzlon Energy. - by dreamdamodar


Suzlon Energy surged 4.97% of Rs 314.40 at 10:11 IST on BSE after the company said on 17 April 2008 its wholly owned subsidiary Suzlon Energy (Tianjin) has secured orders totaling nearly 200-megawatt of capacity for wind farm projects in China.

The company made this announcement on Friday, 18 April 2008. Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 267.65 points, or 1.62%, to 16,748.85 on hopes that the worst was over for the banking sector, following the top US lender Citigroups announcement of a quarterly loss of $5.1 billion and plans to cut another 9,000 jobs. The market shrugged off a hike in cash reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). On BSE, 3.02 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 18.74 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock hit a high of Rs 316.50 and a low of Rs 301.55 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 460 on 9 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 220.10 on 7 March 2008. The large-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 April 2008, gaining 26.93% compared to the Sensexs return of 9.91%. It had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 21.18% compared to Sensexs decline of 13.32%. The companys current equity is Rs 299.38 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2. The current price of Rs 314.40 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 9.04, by a PE multiple of 34.78. On 2 April 2008, Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, USA, a step-down subsidiary of Suzlon Energy signed an additional order for 200-megawatt of wind turbine capacity with Horizon Wind. On 8 February 2008, Suzlon Energys wholly owned subsidiary Suzlon Wing Energy A/S, Denmark received an order from Spanish Saving Bank Unicaja, Spain for 102.90 megawatt of wind turbine capacity. On 5 February 2008, the companys wholly owned subsidiary Suzlon Energy Australia secured an order for 56.7 megawatt of wind turbine from Pacific Hydro, Australia. Suzlon Energys net profit rose 91.9% to Rs 338.18 crore on 49.7% growth in net sales to Rs 1654.96 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006. Suzlon Energy provides customers with total wind power solutions.

Alchemist Realty's towering performance in the market.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:50:21 EST

Alchemist Realty's towering performance in the market. - by dreamdamodar

Alchemist Realty jumped 5% of Rs 630.05 at 10:33 IST on BSE on setting record date for a 2-for-1 stock split.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 247.48 points, or 1.50%, to 16,728.68 on hopes the worst was over for the banking sector, following the top US lender Citigroup's announcement of a quarterly loss of $5.1 billion and plans to cut another 9,000 jobs. The market shrugged off a hike in cash reserve ratio by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

On BSE, 90 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 10,255 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 630.05 so far during the day, which is a record high. The stock had touched a low of Rs 600.05 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week low of Rs 52.30 on 11 May 2007.

The small-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 17 April 2008, gaining 30.45% compared to the Sensexs return of 9.91%. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, gaining 71.20% compared to Sensexs decline of 13.32%.

The companys current equity is Rs 14.08 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 630.05 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 4.72, by a PE multiple of 133.49.

Alchemist Realty has fixed 5 May 2008 as the record date for a 2-for-1 stock split. The company announced the record date on Friday, 18 April 2008.

Alchemist Realtys net profit rose 315% to Rs 0.83 crore on 12,670.8% growth in net sales to Rs 30.65 crore in Q3 December 2007 over Q3 December 2006.

The company's principal activity is to develop real estate property.

Alchemist Realty's towering performance in the market.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:50:18 EST