Rupee to get a symbol today!

Joining the club of other major currencies of the world like the US dollar, the pound sterling, the yen and the euro among others, the Indian rupee too is set to get its unique identification symbol that is recognisable worldwide.
In February 2009, the Finance Ministry had invited Indian residents to participate in a competition for designing a 'symbol for the Indian rupee', the results of which are to be announced today. Five designs have been shortlisted by the government after this all-India contest, of which one will be denoted as the symbol for the rupee.
These signs are easy to write and are specially designed to appeal to Indian and international community.
A symbol reflecting the Hindi alphabet 'R' is likely to be approved.
Reserve Bank of India’s Executive Director HR Khan feels a symbol for the rupee was absolutely necessary. “Every currency has a symbol so we thought that the Indian currency should also have a symbol. It is more of a symbolic value because we are an emerging power and most countries have some symbol with acts as an identification for the currency worldwide.”

See good prospects for RIL-Pioneer deal ahead: Choksey

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) shale gas quest continues. It struck a USD 1.3 billion JV with US based Pioneer Resources for a 45% stake in its Eagle Ford Shale Gas field. After acquiring a 40% stake for USD 1.7 billion in Atlas Energy's shale gas asset in the Marcellus region in the US, RIL has forged its second joint venture for shale gas.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Securities gave his perspective on the deal.
Q: The markets had been long expecting these second deals as far as Shale gas is concerned. What did you make of this deal and how is it likely to go down from a market point of view as far as this stock is concerned?
A: I think this particular deal is once again in line with the deal which they had concluded earlier for the Atlas Energy. If you look at I think both the deals, both of them have something in common, particularly the valuation that they have paid. In the case of Pioneer, it is on a per acre basis, it is comparatively lower to what they have paid for the Atlas deal. They ended up paying about USD 12,170 per acre vis-à-vis about USD 15,170 per acre.
So from that perspective if you look at it the amount of money that they have paid on per acre acquisition for net acreage is comparatively lower. But against that if you look at the reserves that they are assuming in this particular acquisition, in the case of Pioneer it is about 11 TCF kind of reserves vis-à-vis about 13 TCF kind of a reserve in the case of Atlas.
So if you look at both these deals they are both on a net acreage basis value accretive. I see good prospects going forward from this particular deal particularly once they start drilling wells and probably extracting gas thereafter.
Q: Consensus there on the fact that this deal seems value accretive for Reliance and the fact that shale gas is the story of the future but the stock did not seem too excited today. What kind of upside does this acquisition present for the Reliance stock?
A: It is expected that this stock is not going to react in a hurry, more because most of the people are trying to still understand the amount of impact it would bring to the bottom line. Some amount of working has already started coming out in the form of gas reserves and based on that particular gas reserve and the enterprise value, we have worked out that enterprise value for RIL on a net acreage basis for Pioneer’s acquisition could be about USD 2.5 billion and for Atlas it is USD 2.7 billion.
In terms of conversion probably you may find that around Rs 40 per share kind of value addition which would take place because of this acreage addition that has taken place from shale gas acreages that they have brought in.
In my viewpoint for the stock market to react it would take some time because the drilling process has started for Pioneer and they probably expect about 26 wells to be drilled in these 6 months. Going forward in the next financial year you should be seeing some amount of news coming out on production side and that could possibly give the market an upside. But at this point of time, around Rs 40 per share kind of a sum of the parts valuation impact one can calculate with these two deals in their portfolio.

Are TTML, TTSL dialing a merger?

The Tata Group has begun the process of the streamlining the operations of Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (TTML) and Tata Teleservices (TTSL). But is this the first step towards consolidation? CNBC-TV18’s Priyal Guliani finds out.
With 3G licenses in the bag, Tata Teleservices Maharashtra and Tata Teleservices are going revamping their operations. Both are in the process of restructuring internally. In May, TTML's Managing Director Mukund Rajan stepped down to be reassigned to Tata Capital. TTML is now being handled by Anil Sardana, Managing Director of the unlisted parent Tata Teleservices. So the next obvious question, will the two be merged?
“As far as the legal integration is concerned, that has to be demanded by the shareholders and not me. Therefore I am not talking about that but I am saying that we will operationally integrate and make sure there is complete seamlessness between the two companies,” Sardana said.
Analysts say integration, if at all, could be in two ways.
TTML could do a reverse merger with its parent, but that could have its own complications as the parent is unlisted and much larger in size. The other option: Delist TTML and merge with the parent. But delisting is an onerous process and Tata Group has never delisted any of its companies so far.
With NTTDOCOMO as a strategic investor and nearly a Rs 1000 crore capex plan set for a rollout, it may leave the legal consolidation to the shareholders to decide.

IDFC to raise up to $750 mln via QIP: source

Infrastructure Development Finance Co (IDFC) plans to raise up to USD 750 million through a qualified institutional placement, a source with direct knowledge said on Thursday.
In late April, the lender's board had approved raising up to Rs 35 billion (USD 750 million) to fund future growth needs.

Dubai ruler not worried about debt restructuring: CNN

Dubai's ruler is not worried about debt restructuring and the United Arab Emirates will stay out of a planned Gulf monetary union, favouring a dollar peg, an interview transcript showed on Thursday.
The economy of the world's third largest oil exporter is expected to see the slowest growth in the Gulf region this year, with banks heavily exposed to a USD 23.5 billion restructuring of debt-laden state conglomerate Dubai World.
When asked whether Dubai needed additional external support to proceed with current restructuring, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said: "I'm not worried about the company, the company have got the wealth."
"So they have something, and they will come back very very quickly," he said in a transcript of an interview with CNN to be aired on Friday.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president and prime minister of the UAE federation, did not say which company he was referring to in the transcript provided to Reuters.
Dubai World reached a deal in May with key banks after a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Abu Dhabi emirate but the remaining creditors still await the final terms.
A unit of another conglomerate Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, has said it might sell assets to deal with its debt after a USD 6.2 billion loss in 2009.
The loss increased challenges faced by Dubai Holding to meet its obligations, estimated at USD 14.8 billion out of a total USD 109 billion owed by the government of Dubai and its entities.
Sheikh Mohammed also indicated he was not concerned about economic challenges in the OPEC member country.
"No, Dubai and UAE, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the emirates are fine, you know, we know it is recession, we know it is (a) challenge and we dealing with it," he said.
The second-largest Arab economy is seen expanding by 2.1% this year after an estimated 1.4 percent contraction in 2009, lagging behind its regional peers.

Trade in focus as Russia's Medvedev visits Obama

US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev huddled at the White House on Thursday, seeking to kickstart trade and investment to complement a political reset between former Cold War foes.
Medvedev, who started his U.S. visit with a tour of California's Silicon Valley high-technology companies, started talks with Obama around 10:30 a.m. (1430 GMT). Later he is scheduled to meet U.S. business leaders to pitch Russia as a swiftly expanding economy where investors are welcome.
Medvedev's visit to California's high-tech cradle reflected his drive to reduce Russia's dependence on natural resource industries by encouraging innovation and a pro-business mind-set.
The Obama administration has tried to engage the Kremlin in warmer relations since taking office 18 months ago, after relations between Washington and Moscow had deteriorated, especially after Russia's 2008 invasion of Georgia.
Obama is keen to bolster meager trade and investment with Russia as a way to take its reset with Moscow to a new level after gaining Kremlin support over Afghanistan, Iran sanctions and a landmark nuclear arms reduction treaty.
"Both presidents feel strongly that there's great potential in the U.S.-Russia relationship that extends beyond some of these flashpoint issues," Ben Rhodes, Obama's deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters.
"And that's why the two of them have decided to underscore the potential, really, of deepening the economic relationship between the United States and Russia, including a focus on areas of cooperation related to investment, innovation and, again, deepening our economic relationship," he said.
Obama's bid to use concessions to Russia in exchange for better cooperation on the key US foreign policy goals of Afghanistan, Iran and nuclear disarmament has been welcomed in the Kremlin.
There are still divisions between Washington and Moscow, including disagreement over Georgia, a US ally. The two sides say they are cooperating over the response to recent ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan but have differences over the U.S. Manas air base there.
In an interview with Russia's Interfax news agency, Obama urged Moscow to work with the United States on missile defense, another issue that has long divided the two countries.
"I believe that cooperative missile defense with Russia has enormous potential," Interfax quoted Obama as saying.

Insurers fear G20 rules may boost herd behaviour

Europe's insurers have urged Group of 20 nations to draw a stark distinction between insurers and banks in revamping regulations to prevent financial crises.
"We observe with concern policy responses stemming from G20 commitments that do not give sufficient recognition to the differences between the insurance and banking business models," European insurance industry lobby CEA said in a letter to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, whose country currently chairs the European Union's presidency.
Insurance companies, which insist they did not cause of the financial crisis but rather are its victims because of the writedowns they suffered on investments, fear they may be deeply harmed by regulators' efforts to rein in wayward banks.
"Some of the measures being proposed are inappropriate for the insurance sector," the CEA said.
"The unintended consequence of such a read-across of regulation from sector to sector would be to promote 'herd behaviour', leading all sectors to behave in the same manner," it said.
Insurers' up-front, long-term funding and low exposure to liquidity risk distinguished them from banks and helped insurers performing a stabilising role in the economy, a factor that could be threatened by current regulatory efforts, CEA said on Thursday.
The CEA made 12 recommendations for strengthening financial supervision and highlighted the differences between banks and insurers such as Germany's Allianz, France's AXA and Italy's Generali.
European Union officials said in a report earlier this month that a planned state levy on banks could be applied to other financial services firms, stirring fears among insurers.
International insurance lobby body Geneva Association has also said there is "little evidence" insurers pose a threat to the wider financial system or economy.

Institutions back AgBank IPO as HK price range set

The potential USD 11.4 billion Hong Kong leg of Agricultural Bank of China's dual-exchange IPO has already been over-subscribed by institutional investors at low to mid-range prices, sources involved in the deal said on Thursday.
AgBank, which is kicking off a formal marketing roadshow, set a proposed price range of HK$2.88-HK$3.48 a share for the Hong Kong offering, said the sources who are directly involved with the deal but cannot be named as the information is not yet public. AgBank could not be reached for comment.
In a positive sign for the deal, AgBank's Hong Kong institutional portion of the IPO was over-subscribed on the first day of bookbuilding, two separate sources involved with the deal said late on Thursday, adding that most of the orders were limited to middle to bottom of the range.
Local media, citing an unnamed person involved in the deal, have said AgBank is likely to price the Shanghai part of its dual listing at 2.60-2.70 yuan ($0.38-$0.40) a share.
At the high end of those ranges, the total initial public offering would raise up to USD 21.3 billion, just missing the record USD 21.9 billion raised by bigger rival Industrial and Commercial Bank of China in 2006.
Depending on demand, though, AgBank's underwriters could exercise the overallotment, or greenshoe, option and issue up to an extra 15 percent of the shares, raising as much as USD 24.5 billion, according to a term sheet obtained by Reuters.
The Hong Kong range gives China's third-largest bank with assets of USD 1.4 trillion a price-to-book value of 1.55 to 1.79 times, before any overallotment.
That puts the Beijing-based bank founded by Mao Zedong in the 1950s on par with fourth-ranked Bank of China and below the more than 2 times book that China's top banks trade at.
Valuation will be critical to setting the final IPO price.
James Liu, analyst at Sinopac Securities, said that with ICBC trading at above 2 times book, the expected AgBank valuation looked reasonable, noting that AgBank has a much bigger non-performing loan book than ICBC.
"The current range of pricing is relatively lower, and therefore, quite attractive," Liu said.

Canada's Flaherty: G20 discussing deficit targets

The leaders of the Group of 20 rich and developing economies are having discussions on fiscal deficit targets, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Thursday.
"There are some more discussions about what the precise targets would be and that's not a settled matter," Flaherty told reporters.
Flaherty also said a key issue for the G20 will be striking the right balance between growth and fiscal consolidation.
"There are clearly some countries, particularly some European countries, that need to fiscally consolidate on an urgent basis," he said.
"And then there are some countries that need to fiscally consolidate, but don't need to do so on an urgent basis so we need some moderation there. That's the delicate balance that we need to try to strike this weekend beginning with fiscal consolidation among those countries that urgently must do so so that the markets have confidence."

'Political risk everywhere' here to stay

Not so long ago, political risk was mostly regarded as a hazard in emerging but not developed markets, except perhaps for trading in oil and other commodities sourced from perceived "dangerous" places.
But since the crash of 2008, political news has fast become a key driver in developed markets. Investors in the world's most advanced economies are having to adapt.
"Political risk everywhere", proclaimed the title of a Goldman Sachs research note this month.
"In G7 economies, people used to think you could just concentrate on the numbers," said Commerzbank head of emerging markets research Michael Ganske. "Now that has changed. You just can't ignore the politics."
Ganske says his colleagues covering mainstream economies now increasingly ask his team for their insight on Western Europe.
The euro zone debt debacle, China's face-off with the United States over currency and trade, and London-based BP's disastrous oil spill are all examples of political risk to assets in developed countries.
The global financial crisis boosted the market impact of politics in several ways.
It created short-term dependence on government stimulus that in turn focused market attention on sovereign risk, highlighted global imbalances and the rise of emerging powers, particularly China, and fuelled populism and unrest worldwide.
Whether fringe euro zone countries such as Greece and Spain default depends on how far they can reduce spending and continue to access international markets.
That leaves investors asking two questions: can governments push through required cuts despite domestic resistance, and will core Eurozone states, particularly Germany, underwrite the debt if necessary? Neither have easy answers.
"The European spike is going to be with us for a few years yet," said Ian Bremmer, president of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group. "The austerity required is long-term and requires a level of coordination that rises above the institutional weaknesses of the euro zone."
Euro zone research notes are now dominated by talk of Spanish union negotiations, German local elections and the viability of ruling coalitions -- all issues financial analysts covering the region largely ignored until recently.

SAIC to raise $1.5 bn to fund own-brand vehicles

SAIC Motor Corp, China's top automaker, said on Thursday it will raise up to 10 billion yuan (USD 1.5 billion) through a share placement largely to shore up its own-brand cars and commercial vehicles to help secure its leading position in the world's largest auto market.
As wealth grows in the fast-expanding economy, many Chinese carmakers are looking to boost their profile to cater to an increasingly patriotic population who, if given the choice, prefer to buy quality local products.
SAIC, which operates car ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen, is virtually the only domestic player that has made some inroads into segments where Buick, Passat, Accord and Camry models prevail."SAIC has had some success in selling cars bearing its own brands. But it needs more input to broaden its portfolio, which still lacks SUVs and MPVs," said Lin Huaibin, an analyst with IHS Global Insight.
The maker of Roewe 550, a model popular among the young professional elite, aims to double sales of its own-brand cars to 180,000 units this year, rising further to 500,000 units in the foreseeable future.
To build on its success, SAIC needs more capacity and new models to further differentiate it from domestic rivals and narrow the gap with foreign auto makers, industry observers said.
SHARE PLACEMENT
SAIC said in a statement it planned to issue up to 900 million new shares to no more than 10 select investors, including its state parent, at no less than 11.47 yuan per share, or a 4.9% discount to its last close on June 18, when the shares were suspended.
Its parent has pledged to buy up to 10% of the issuance for no less than 1 billion yuan and will hold the shares for three years. Other investors must hold the shares for a year.
Roughly 6 billion yuan of the proceeds would be invested in its own-brand cars, with 1.2 billion yuan earmarked for commercial vehicle projects.
Another 2.8 billion yuan will be invested in the second phase of its research and development centre, while the reminder will be spent on an auto parts project.
Analysts attributed SAIC's choice for a share placement rather than public offering of new shares to a slumping Chinese stock market, which is bracing for Agricultural Bank of China's more than USD 20 billion IPO.
"It is not hard for a company like SAIC to find institutional investors. The lengthy approval process for public new share offerings and cautious market sentiment also make share placements a more convenient vehicle," said Chen Liang, an analyst with Huatai Securities.
SAIC's shares have dropped about 40 percent this year, underperforming a more than 23 percent fall in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index over the same period.

See good prospects for RIL-Pioneer deal ahead: Choksey

Reliance Industries Ltd’s (RIL) shale gas quest continues. It struck a USD 1.3 billion JV with US based Pioneer Resources for a 45% stake in its Eagle Ford Shale Gas field. After acquiring a 40% stake for USD 1.7 billion in Atlas Energy's shale gas asset in the Marcellus region in the US, RIL has forged its second joint venture for shale gas.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Deven Choksey of KR Choksey Securities gave his perspective on the deal.Q: The markets had been long expecting these second deals as far as Shale gas is concerned. What did you make of this deal and how is it likely to go down from a market point of view as far as this stock is concerned?
A: I think this particular deal is once again in line with the deal which they had concluded earlier for the Atlas Energy. If you look at I think both the deals, both of them have something in common, particularly the valuation that they have paid. In the case of Pioneer, it is on a per acre basis, it is comparatively lower to what they have paid for the Atlas deal. They ended up paying about USD 12,170 per acre vis-à-vis about USD 15,170 per acre.
So from that perspective if you look at it the amount of money that they have paid on per acre acquisition for net acreage is comparatively lower. But against that if you look at the reserves that they are assuming in this particular acquisition, in the case of Pioneer it is about 11 TCF kind of reserves vis-à-vis about 13 TCF kind of a reserve in the case of Atlas.
So if you look at both these deals they are both on a net acreage basis value accretive. I see good prospects going forward from this particular deal particularly once they start drilling wells and probably extracting gas thereafter.
Q: Consensus there on the fact that this deal seems value accretive for Reliance and the fact that shale gas is the story of the future but the stock did not seem too excited today. What kind of upside does this acquisition present for the Reliance stock?
A: It is expected that this stock is not going to react in a hurry, more because most of the people are trying to still understand the amount of impact it would bring to the bottom line. Some amount of working has already started coming out in the form of gas reserves and based on that particular gas reserve and the enterprise value, we have worked out that enterprise value for RIL on a net acreage basis for Pioneer’s acquisition could be about USD 2.5 billion and for Atlas it is USD 2.7 billion.
In terms of conversion probably you may find that around Rs 40 per share kind of value addition which would take place because of this acreage addition that has taken place from shale gas acreages that they have brought in.
In my viewpoint for the stock market to react it would take some time because the drilling process has started for Pioneer and they probably expect about 26 wells to be drilled in these 6 months. Going forward in the next financial year you should be seeing some amount of news coming out on production side and that could possibly give the market an upside. But at this point of time, around Rs 40 per share kind of a sum of the parts valuation impact one can calculate with these two deals in their portfolio.

Need to watch global mkts carefully for next few days

The markets didn't close too badly today. Towards the end it almost looked engineered the way a Lever or an HDFC managed to hold the Nifty above 5300. So I think today the effort was to get the Nifty to close the series above 5300.
But otherwise every time we dipped today and there were a few alarming slips during the course of the day. We managed to claw back and that’s good. So sub 5300 the Nifty did not stick and we managed to claw close to the series above 5300 which is not bad.
However as we start off the July series a few wrinkles have appeared on the global screen from Europe and Greece today, from the US overnight with the housing data. So I think we need to just watch the next couple of days a little carefully on whether there is some reversal in global markets.
Otherwise we are fine. India is doing well. It is relatively outperforming, money has come back to the market. So all of that is good. But just a couple of days of being a bit cautious would be good given that global markets have looked a bit edgy over the last 48 hours.

Mah Satyam could touch Rs 120: Gujral

Overall sentiment wise, chart wise Rs 80 seems to be the bottom for Mahindra Satyam, could see prices of Rs 120 quite soon, says Technical Analyst, Ashwani Gujral.
Gujral told CNBC-TV18, "Mahindra Satyam is a bit different than other tech stocks because they are kind of underperforming because of the rupee. Here, the downside is probably till about Rs 80, so the downside is Rs 9. But in case something positive comes out because everybody is skeptical what will be in the numbers, the investor could easily see targets of Rs 103 and then even Rs 120 and at that point you need to evaluate given the numbers that whether you need to hold on to the stock or not. Overall sentiment wise, chart wise Rs 80 seems to be the bottom, given the current situation. There are more positive developments, could see prices of Rs 120 quite soon."

MFs can't work in isolation, need to redefine role: UTI AMC

CNBC-TV18's Mrinalini Krishna caught up with the Chairman and Managing Director of UTI AMC UK Sinha for his reaction to the SEBI chairman's comments. She began by asking him what the way forward for the mutual fund industry is—here's a slice of that conversation
Sinha: We have to work towards defining the roles, duties, functions, responsibilities of the asset management industry in the country. It was done four decades back when UTI Act was passed and the purpose was very clear that our role was to mobilise domestic savings for the growth of the Indian industry. It looks like and the way comments are being made on our industry by others that we need to revisit that. That’s one thing.
Second is that this industry needs to seriously consider whether it can work as a self regulatory organisation. So these are the two main takeaways.
Q: Today during the course of the day the general consensus seemed to be that there were too many changes for the industry too fast and which is sort of disrupted the way the industry has worked. Where do you see the industry stabilising and what do you think is the strategy that as was discussed earlier during the course of the day that the incentive structure needs to be worked out and how to minimise the cost? What is the way forward for the industry?
Sinha: If you talk only of the incentive structure, somebody sitting in regulatory organisation has a view. So the way forward is for us to redefine our role. Is this industry performing any basic function for this country or not? Is this industry going to perform any important function for this country or not?—and if it is then what are the various rules of the game for this industry including taxation, including sales practices. We cannot work in isolation.
For example, we had a visitor from the United States and he made a point that after decades of investors education even today 80% of the funds are been sold which means there are loads there. So whether that could be the way forward or something else could be the way forward, the feeling in the industry is that instead of arguing on that it may not be a right approach.
We have to first—everybody, government, regulator, the industry and maybe some of the associates of the industry including media—all of us have to define what is going to be our role. My belief is if we are clear about our role some of these issues will be then answered or at least we know the framework within which we have to find the answer to these questions.
Q: The suggestion for a policy framework was thrown up today. By when do you see the industry coming together and brining out a policy framework?
Sinha: I hope they should do it fast. It’s critical—they should do it very fast.

Global mining stocks cheer political changes in Australia

Global mining stocks have reacted positive to the political changes in Australia. Investors hope that the new Australian Prime Minister will soften the controversial super-profits mining tax. CNBC-TV18's Pankaj Poddar reports on what it means for Indian stocks like Gujarat NRE Coke.
Julia Gillard has become the first woman Prime Minister of Australia as Kevin Rudd has stepped down as PM. Rudd was facing some flak from mining companies over the 40% tax that he had proposed on super-normal profits of these companies from FY12.
The mining industry had campaigned strongly against this tax. Most of the big companies like Rio Tinto and BHP have taken out advertisements in Australia detailing the job losses that would occur because of this tax. Faced with mounting opposition, Rudd was forced to step down.
Investors hope the new Prime Minister will soften "super profits" on mining tax and reduce the new effective tax rate may be cut below the 40% headline to save jobs.
Mining stocks reacted positively to the Australia Prime Ministerial change. Rio Tinto, Fortescue, and BHP Billiton rallied 2.8%, 2.03%, and 1.8%, respectively.
So, what are the implications for India? Gujarat NRE Coke has a large number of mines in Australia. It will be one stock to watch out in trade today. The stock had fallen 10-12% when the news of the tax was first announced, so there should be some bit of recovery in that stock today.
Also, Sesa Goa may largely benefit from this news.

Q1 earnings to be next big mkt driver: Prabhudas Lilladher

It was a choppy session for the markets on expiry day as the benchmark Sensex ended in the red with a marginal loss. The markets fluctuated between red and green territory for the most part of trade within a narrow band of 100 points on the Sensex. The Sensex was down 62.32 points or 0.35% at 17693.62, and the Nifty was down 10.80 points or 0.20% at 5312.35.
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Apoorva Shah, VP & HOR, Prabhudas Lilladher gave his perspective on the markets and spoke on which sector he thinks are likely to do well this earnings season.
Q: What do you reckon? Would you think we will see in the next series for the index itself?
A: I think we are going to remain more or less in this range and probably inch steadily upwards as the earnings season gets underway. I am expecting the earnings to be strong once again. We have seen pretty good numbers for the last couple of quarters now. I expect this quarter will be different in that sense.
So we should expect to see good numbers coming out. As we get into that we will see an inching up in the market. But till then we are going to remain more or less at these levels.
Q: Would you still say that the range would remain as wide as it has been for us in the last two series?
A: No unless something new comes up I do not think we will see any major fluctuations now in the market atleast not in the near term. Like I said I expect the range slightly to be at these levels and I expect a very narrow range but a breakout is possible as we start getting good numbers from the corporate sector.

Oil drillers, users say world needs deepwater wells

Energy chiefs defended deepwater oil as crucial to meeting future demand, telling a conference a prolonged US drilling ban in response to the giant Gulf of Mexico spill could stoke costs and threaten security of supply.
Setting aside the technical difficulties, the United States had embraced deepwater oil as a secure domestic source until BP's disastrous spill began in April, prompting Washington to impose a six-month ban.
Drilling deep under the ocean surface can provide alternative supplies to those pumped by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is liable to withhold exports to boost prices.

OSCE calls on Turkey to stop blocking YouTube

Europe's main human rights and security body told Turkey on Tuesday to stop blocking Google's video-sharing website YouTube and thousands of other sites banned under its internet law.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said the law, introduced in 2007, has been expanded to bar over 5,000 sites in the past two years and is severely damaging freedom of expression and information rights.
"I ask the Turkish authorities to revoke the blocking provisions that prevent citizens from being part of today's global information society," the OSCE's media freedoms chief Dunja Mijatovic said in a statement.Turkey initially passed the law to restrict access to pornography and other content it deemed harmful to children. The Vienna-based, 56-nation OSCE says the law has now been used to go far beyond that.
"Instead of allowing free access to the internet, new ways have emerged that can further restrict the free flow of information in the country," Mijatovic said.
Turkey, an OSCE member, first started blocking YouTube in 2008 after it ruled that some videos posted on the site were insulting to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the modern republic.
The Turkish government has also cited offences including child pornography and encouragement of suicide for blocking websites.
The OSCE said Mijatovic had written to Turkey's foreign minister to complain about new restrictions introduced earlier this month that have hampered access to other Google services such as its instant translation site and web traffic tracker.
Mijatovic said the alleged reason behind the block was an unsettled tax row between Turkish authorities and Google but that this matter was not covered in the original law.
Earlier this month, Turkish President Abdullah Gul used his Twitter page to condemn the ban on YouTube and some Google services. He said he had asked "responsible institutions for a solution. I asked for a change in regulations on merit."
The president's role in Turkey is largely ceremonial; decisions are taken by the prime minister and cabinet.

UK banks hit with $3 bn tax: France, Germany follow

Britain slapped a 2 billion pound (USD 3.1 billion) annual tax on banks on Tuesday and Germany and France said they will follow suit, telling the industry it must pay for its part in the financial crisis.
Britain's tax was less harsh than some previous estimates, however, adding to evidence that resistance from other leading economies to imposing similar levies may cap the scale of steps taken by governments.
British banking shares were down on the day but cut their losses after Finance Minister George Osborne's speech."This was a crisis that started in the banking sector and the failures of the banks imposed a huge cost on the rest of society," British finance minister George Osborne said.
"So it is fair and right that in future banks should make a more appropriate contribution which reflects the many risks that they generate."
Germany, France and Britain issued a joint statement saying they would all introduce levies on their banks to ensure no country is disadvantaged.
France will present the details in its coming Budget and Germany plans to present draft legislation in the summer. phased in, helping bank shares erase most of their early losses.
Finance Ministers from the Group of 20 leading economies have dropped the idea of a global levy ahead of a summit this week due to Canadian and Japanese resistance. But European Union leaders, under pressur to justify austerity measures to their voters, renewed a call for international action last week.
"We have clarity and it's not as bad as the worst case scenario," said Andrew Lim, analyst at Matrix after Osborne's speech. "Now we know it's only 2 billion pounds and that includes the UK operations of the overseas banks."
Detailed Treasury forecasts in the Budget document showed it expects the levy to raise 1.2 billion pounds in 2011/12, rising to 2.5 billion pounds in 2013/14.
The levy will be set at 0.07% of assets, with a lower initial rate of 0.04% in 2011. It affects covered liabilities, which are assets with Tier 1 capital and customer deposits deducted, and includes a lower rate on longer maturity wholesale funding.
The tax was part of an emergency budget of harsh spending cuts and tax rises as the UK's new coalition government aimed at bringing down a record peacetime deficit.
A bank levy had been expected to cost the industry between 1 billion and 5 billion pounds, depending on its structure.
By 1420 GMT Britain's bank index was down 0.3%, having been down about 1.6% before the Budget.

Nifty may give up some ground if global correction deepens

The market was very quiet and not much to take away from it. We have had some 9-10 days on the trot of gains. It was natural for the market to give up a little bit and see a mild bit of retracement and since the global setup was totally conducive to such retracement that’s exactly what we saw today. Rangebound trade through the session giving up 30-40 points on the Nifty led by correction in some of the metal stocks which probably overreacted to the news on the Chinese currency yesterday. So they retraced somewhat today.
So both largecaps and midcaps had very unremarkable sessions, can’t read too much into it. We just need to watch the global situation for the next couple of days because Europe did look a little edgy in the afternoon. So if the global correction deepens or the pullback deepens, it is conceivable that the Nifty gives up a little bit more ground after such handsome gains over the last 10 days. But even that would not count for too much. I don’t think traders would be worried about losing 50-100 points on the Nifty from here.

Anil Ambani meets Petro Min Murli Deora

There was plenty of action at the Oil Ministry on Tuesday. Chairman of one of India’s largest private sector business house ADAG, Anil Ambani met Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. Also, Reliance Industries’ Executive Director PMS Prasad was spotted entering Oil Secretary S Sundareshan’s office, reports CNBC-TV18’s Nayantara Rai.
While RIL and RNRL are believed to have agreed to most of the terms in the new draft gas pact, both sides realise the government’s support is also needed. After all, the Supreme Court has made it amply clear that the government will have the last word when it comes to gas allocation and pricing.
CNBC-TV18 had earlier reported that in the new draft gas pact, important terms like tenure and quantity have been left blank, since its upto the government to decide on these matters. It is also being learnt from sources that the new gas pact covers the expansion of gas plants of Reliance Power from the ADAG umbrella. For example, the capacity of the 220 mw gas power plant at Samalkot which is very close to the KG D6 might be hiked by two to three times. But for all this, the government also needs to be on the same page.

ULIP vs mutual fund: Where should you invest?

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Tarun Bhatia, Director - Capital Markets, CRISIL Research, speaks about various mutual funds schemes and ULIP.
Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video.
Q: I have taken one LIC plan, which is a moneyback plan and now I want to do some more investment, I want to know which plan will give me some benefit after fifty years, shall I go for ULIP (Unit Linked Insurance Plan) or mutual fund?
A: I think looking at the age profile, I would suggest that you should look at investing in large-cap mutual funds and balanced mutual funds, which give good long-term returns and there are good options out there in terms of investment. There is Reliance Growth Fund, which has been a consistent performer, there is HDFC Top 200 on the large-cap side and there are HDFC Prudence, Reliance Regular Savings, which gave give long-term returns.
Specifically to the question of mutual funds versus ULIPs, especially you have a LIC moneyback policy, I would say that the two products are very different and you need to look at the longevity. If you are looking purely from an investment point of view, I would suggest mutual fund is a good route. But if you want to look at insurance and if you have a more than ten year timeframe, then you could look at some good ULIP options.
The other thing that you could look at is given you are just 28 and you have long-term retirement planning in your mind, there are good MIP schemes, which are out there. There is an HDFC, HSBC and Reliance MIP schemes, which are very good, offers strong returns, ranked consistently one by CRISIL, which are more a retirement planning to which you could explore.
Q: I want to start SIP (systematic investment plan) with IDFC Premier Equity Plan A and ICICI Pru Discovery Fund, can you guide me on this? I am an investor and investing in Reliance Natural Resource Fund and Tata Infrastructure Fund and I am putting in Rs 1000 each.
A: I think the portfolio has too many schemes currently and it would be advisable to consolidate at this point of time. Couple of investments seem to be in equity linked saving schemes so that’s more from tax purpose. But of what you have enquired I think ICICI Pru Discovery Fund is a good option, it is fairly consistent performing scheme, has been ranked as CRISIL rank one on a regular basis.
The other option that you have indicated of the IDFC Equity Fund, I think there are some concerns on the returns over the past 12 months. Also looking at the portfolio, I would advice that large part of investment is in diversified schemes, which are relatively higher risks. You could consolidate your portfolio and maybe move part of your investments into large-cap schemes like Birla Frontline as well as Fidelity Growth, which offer good long-term returns and are again ranked one on risk return by CRISIL.

China to scrap export rebates despite yuan rise

China will scrap tax rebates to exporters of dozens of commodities including key steel products, corn starch, rubber products and ethanol, the finance ministry said, while they also face a rise in the yuan.
The decision has disappointed local steel mills, which were hoping for more government support as they come up against potentially calamitous margin pressures in the third quarter as well as a further decline in exports as a result of the rising yuan.
"Chinese steel exports have already been difficult and have lacked price competitiveness, and we will face a much tougher environment if some taxes aren't rebated," said an export manager with a major steel mill.
From July 15, the steel industry will see the removal of 9% tax rebates on hot-rolled steel coil, sections, some narrow cold-rolled coil products and hot-dipped galvanized coil, the ministry said on its website (www.mof.gov.cn) on Tuesday.
The rebate cut was widely expected by the market, despite denials by the China Iron and Steel Association last month. But some traders had expected the government to relent following the central bank's decision to allow the yuan to appreciate after 23 months.
The decision to go ahead with the cuts suggests Beijing remains determined to consolidate China's chaotic steel sector as well as ease trade frictions.
China's steel exporters have been subject to a series of anti-dumping measures by the United States, which cited subsidies in the form of low-cost loans, cheap land and export tax incentives.

Japan fiscal plan won't change outlook: Moody's

Japan's plan to rein in its debt lacks details and will not change its rating outlook, though it is a step toward helping the government return to financial health, Moody's Investors Service said on Tuesday.
"It is helpful to have a target because it will force discipline among policymakers at the Ministry of Finance," Tom Byrne, Moody's lead sovereign analyst for Asia and the Middle East, told Reuters.
"If there is significant progress in reducing the deficit over the medium term, it would support the rating."Japan set ambitious targets to rein in its debt on Tuesday that it said could not be met even under its rosiest growth scenario, the latest indication that the government will have to push through contentious tax hikes to fill deep fiscal gaps.
Ratings agencies have threatened to cut Japan's sovereign debt rating unless it shows a credible plan to rein in its debt.
Japan's sovereign rating is at Aa2, on par with Italy, but with a stable outlook.
"I don't think this will affect the stable outlook," Moody's Byrne said referring to the fiscal plan, which he described as not a "full fledged" plan.

White House summons top US Afghanistan general

The White House has summoned the top US general in Afghanistan to Washington to explain controversial remarks critical of the Obama administration, US military officials said on Tuesday.
The move comes a day after General Stanley McChrystal, the the commander of US and NATO forces in Afghanistan, apologized for comments by his aides insulting some of President Barack Obama's closest advisers in an article to be published in Rolling Stone magazine.
The military officials said McChrystal would be returning from Kabul on Wednesday, but did not give any more details.A US embassy spokeswoman in Kabul said she was aware of the media reports but could not comment.
McChrystal will meet in person with Obama, US media reported.
The Rolling Stone article, to be published on Friday, also quoted an aide describing McChrystal's "disappointment" with his initial one-on-one meeting with Obama last year.
"I extend my sincerest apology for this profile. It was a mistake reflecting poor judgment and should never have happened," McChrystal said in a statement on Monday.

BA in pension deal to clear way for Iberia merger

British Airways said it had agreed a recovery plan for its 3.7 billion pound (USD 5.5 billion) pension deficit, potentially removing a final obstacle to its planned merger with Spain's Iberia.
BA and Iberia signed in April an USD 8 billion merger to create the world's third-biggest airline after months of negotiations during which the British airline's pension deficit had been one of the main stumbling blocks.
Iberia had reserved the right to back out of the deal, which will see BA shareholders take a majority 56% stake in the combined group, if the funding hole turned out to be too big.
"Iberia has three months to reach a decision on the pension recovery plan," BA said in a statement on Tuesday.
The two companies hope to complete the merger by December and a spokesman for Iberia told Reuters the pension agreement was "a positive step forward in this process".
BA said it had reached a deal with the trustees of its Airways Pension Scheme (APS), which last December had a deficit of 1 billion pounds, and its New Airways Pension Scheme (NAPS), which had a 2.7 billion pound black hole.
The airline said the proposals would avoid closing the schemes and maintain BA's annual contributions at the current level of 330 million pounds, plus agreed annual increases in line with inflation expectations averaging 3%.

G20 not calling for new deficit spending: Germany

The Group of 20 economic powers is not demanding new stimulus measures and Germany will not be attacked for its planned austerity drive at a G20 summit this weekend, senior German government officials said on Tuesday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, one official said progress on a banking charge was a key test of whether the G20 can find a joint position on important issues, despite the fact G20 finance ministers had decided to give up on a common levy.
Talks at the G20 summit in Toronto were likely to focus on how to balance the need to sustain growth with efforts to pare back public debt, one of the officials said in Berlin.
Germany, Europe's largest economy, has defended government plans to pursue savings measures of around 80 billion euros in the next four years after US President Barack Obama preached patience in clamping down on public spending.
However, Obama had not pressed Chancellor Angela Merkel to ramp up stimulus spending in a recent telephone call, an official said, adding that the two had decided to explore what structural measures could be adopted to strengthen growth.
Differences between the United States and Germany were smaller than was generally assumed, he added.

* The increase in sales tax and 11 billion pounds in annual cuts to welfare spending are certain to prove unpopular and put pressure on the coalition. * Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg warned members on the eve of the budget that it "is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do" but added that there was no alternative to rescue the economy from debt. * Some in the Lib Dems fear that they are being used to provide political cover to help the larger Conservative party drive through swingeing cuts. They are worried that the party will take the blame for harsh medicine and not get much credit for any eventual upturn. * Compromise was evident on the divisive issue of capital gains tax on the sales of assets such as second homes. The rate will go up to 28% from 18% for higher rate taxpayers -- a middle ground between Lib Dem demands for it to rise to 40-50% and Conservative resistance to a rise. * Lib Dems will also take succour from an increase in the income tax threshold, taking 880,000 of the lowest earners out of the tax completely. * The real pain will start to be felt later this year. Most government departments face spending cuts of 25% over four years, with details of where the axe will fall to be set out in a spending review in October. * Britain's biggest public sector trade union has said it will fight government attempts to impose a pay freeze and curb pensions for its members. A stormy autumn looms, with protests likely to spread once departmental cuts start to bite. * A failure to deliver on reform to the voting system -- a key Lib Dem demand -- and falling poll ratings could fuel opposition to the coalition in the coming months. A Reuters Ipsos/MORI poll published on Monday showed Lib Dem support had sagged since last month's election and some in the party fear it will lose its identity in the coalition. * Labour revival: The party is in transition after defeat in last month's election ended 13 years in power and Gordon Brown's departure as party leader. It will elect a new leader in September, with former foreign secretary David Miliband the favourite for the crown. Once Labour regroups, it is certain to step up its attacks on the government's economic programme and could win over disenchanted Lib Dem supporters.

The Bordeaux 2009 en primeur campaign has caught fire after a sluggish start.
It now looks as if the prices of the top wines - the First Growths together with the right bank blue chips like Petrus, Angelus, Ausone and Le Pin - are going to be consistently 300-400% more expensive than the 2008 vintage, and considerably pricier than the great 2005.
Chateau Lafite Rothschild and Chateau Mouton Rothschild released their prices on Friday, June 18, to considerable gnashing of teeth among the bloggers, and some merchants. Others are more sanguine.Lafite, long the favourite first growth of the new millionaires of the Far East, priced its first wine at around 450 euro (USD 560) a bottle.
Negociants - the middle men to whom the chateaux sell the wine - announced they would sell it to wine merchants at 550 euro (USD 680). It should reach the market at around 7,500 euro (USD 9,300) a case. Mouton has come out at the same price.
This represents a leap of more than 300% on the price of the 2008, and more than 50% on the release price of the great 2005 vintage.
Wine merchants are flustered.
The chateaux traditionally release their en primeur wine in tranches. The first tranche is a toe in the water - they watch to see how the market behaves, and price subsequent tranches accordingly.
A leading Bordeaux source quoted on Monday on www.decanter.com (http://www.decanter.com/bordeaux2009) highlighted that chateaux such as Lafite were keeping back ever-increasing amounts of their production for sale in later years.
"The en primeur campaign is a mere coup de pub (publicity stunt) for the money that is going to be made by the chateaux from these wines in the future," the source said.

Analysis: UK budget will make or break coalition

Britain's budget on Tuesday set challenges for the coalition government that will ultimately decide whether the alliance has a long-term future or will crumble under the weight of a record peacetime deficit.
Finance minister George Osborne announced plans to increase VAT sales tax to 20% from 17.5% next year and raise two billion pounds through a tax on bank balance sheets.
The emergency budget came just over a month after the centre-right Conservatives and smaller, left-leaning Liberal Democrats formed an unlikely alliance, Britain's first coalition government since World War Two.* The increase in sales tax and 11 billion pounds in annual cuts to welfare spending are certain to prove unpopular and put pressure on the coalition.
* Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg warned members on the eve of the budget that it "is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do" but added that there was no alternative to rescue the economy from debt.
* Some in the Lib Dems fear that they are being used to provide political cover to help the larger Conservative party drive through swingeing cuts. They are worried that the party will take the blame for harsh medicine and not get much credit for any eventual upturn.
* Compromise was evident on the divisive issue of capital gains tax on the sales of assets such as second homes. The rate will go up to 28% from 18% for higher rate taxpayers -- a middle ground between Lib Dem demands for it to rise to 40-50% and Conservative resistance to a rise.
* Lib Dems will also take succour from an increase in the income tax threshold, taking 880,000 of the lowest earners out of the tax completely.
* The real pain will start to be felt later this year. Most government departments face spending cuts of 25% over four years, with details of where the axe will fall to be set out in a spending review in October.
* Britain's biggest public sector trade union has said it will fight government attempts to impose a pay freeze and curb pensions for its members. A stormy autumn looms, with protests likely to spread once departmental cuts start to bite.
* A failure to deliver on reform to the voting system -- a key Lib Dem demand -- and falling poll ratings could fuel opposition to the coalition in the coming months. A Reuters Ipsos/MORI poll published on Monday showed Lib Dem support had sagged since last month's election and some in the party fear it will lose its identity in the coalition.
* Labour revival: The party is in transition after defeat in last month's election ended 13 years in power and Gordon Brown's departure as party leader. It will elect a new leader in September, with former foreign secretary David Miliband the favourite for the crown.
Once Labour regroups, it is certain to step up its attacks on the government's economic programme and could win over disenchanted Lib Dem supporters.

Rich got richer; fastest growth in India, China: Report

The rich grew richer last year, even as the world endured the worst recession in decades.
A stock market rebound helped the world's ranks of millionaires climb 17% to 10 million, while their collective wealth surged 19% to USD 39 trillion, nearly recouping losses from the financial crisis, according to the latest Merrill Lynch-Capgemini world wealth report.
Stock values rose by half, while hedge funds recovered most of their 2008 losses, in a year marked by government stimulus spending and central bank easing.
"We are already seeing distinct signs of recovery and, in some areas, a complete return to 2007 levels of wealth and growth," Bank of America Corp wealth management chief Sallie Krawcheck said.
The fastest growth in wealth took place in India, China and Brazil, some of the hardest hit markets in 2008. Wealth in Latin America and the Asia-Pacific soared to record highs.
Asia's millionaire ranks rose to 3 million, matching Europe for the first time, paced by a 4.5% economic expansion.
Asian millionaires' combined wealth surged 31% to USD 9.7 trillion, surpassing Europe's USD 9.5 trillion.
In North America, the ranks of the rich rose 17% and their wealth grew 18% to USD 10.7 trillion.
The United States was home to the most millionaires in 2009 -- 2.87 million -- followed by Japan with 1.65 million, Germany with 861,000, and China with 477,000.
Switzerland had the highest concentration of millionaires: nearly 35 for every 1,000 adults.
Yet as portfolios bounced back, investors remained wary after a collapse that erased a decade of stock gains, fueled a contraction in the global economy and sent unemployment soaring.
The report, based on surveys with more than 1,100 wealthy investors with 23 firms, found that the rich were well served by holding a broad range of investments, including commodities and real estate.
"The wealthy allocated, as opposed to concentrated, their investments," Merrill Lynch head of US wealth management Lyle LaMothe said in an interview.

UK slashes spending, raises VAT and taxes banks

British finance minister George Osborne produced the harshest budget in a generation on Tuesday, slashing spending, raising taxes and slapping a levy on banks in a drive to cut a record budget deficit to almost nothing in five years.
The 39-year-old Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer said government spending would fall by around 25% over four years and announced VAT sales tax would go up to 20% from 17.5% next year, with a new 2 billion pound levy on banks introduced at the same time.
Nearly a million of the poorest paid people will be taken out of the income tax net altogether by raising its starting point and the headline rate of corporation tax will drop by one percentage point to 27% next year and then keep falling.Gilts rallied on the coalition government's new plans to cut the deficit which are likely to go some way to assuaging rating agencies' concern given the sovereign debt crisis spreading through the euro zone.
Rating agencies had warned Britain's triple-A status could be at risk if Osborne's plans to cut the record deficit of 11%, close to that of Greece, were found wanting.
Osborne said just over three-quarters of the tightening would come from spending cuts and the rest from tax rises. Welfare payments would be targeted and even the expenditure of Britain's Royal Family will be subject to closer scrutiny.
"When we say that we are all in this together, we mean it," Osborne told parliament in his first budget since Britain's Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government came to power last month.

BP boss retreats from spill; shares hit 13-yr low

Beleaguered BP boss Tony Hayward retreated from daily management of the US oil spill crisis on Tuesday and dodged making a conference speech where his stand-in was heckled by angry environmentalists.
BP Plc shares fell as much as 4.8% to a 13-year low after the company confirmed that Bob Dudley, a veteran of the company's troubles in Russia, is now managing the crisis response. Officials had insisted in recent days that Hayward would stay in the front line until the leaking BP well in the Gulf of Mexico was plugged. His position as chief executive is seen as under severe pressure.
"Hayward will remain at the helm for the near term but ultimately, this fiasco might prove career-shortening for him," said a fund manager from one of BP's top 20 investors on Tuesday.


A series of PR gaffes by Hayward and a failure to quickly stem the leak has piled pressure on the CEO since an explosion on the Gulf of Mexico rig killed 11 workers and ruptured a well, unleashing millions of gallons of crude that still flows into the sea more than two months later.
A US court decision will come this week over whether to uphold a post-spill ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The six-month ban was imposed by President Barack Obama's government -- also suffering severe criticism for the way it has handled the worst oil spill in US history which has soiled the coasts of four US states, threatens the tourism and fishing industries and has seeped into ecologically sensitive wetlands.
Oil drilling companies are contesting the ban, but it has support among environmentalists and sympathy among fisherman who suffered an extension of fishing bans this week.
In London on Tuesday, protesters twice interrupted a speech by BP Chief of Staff Steve Westwell, Hayward's replacement in an appearance at the World National Oil Companies Congress.
"We need to end the oil age," one young woman from environmental group Greenpeace shouted as she was removed by a security guard. Protesters also waved a banner carrying the BP logo splattered with black paint.

BP's diplomat takes centre stage in spill response

BP Plc chief Tony Hayward is handing day to day control of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill operation to Bob Dudley, a soft-spoken American unlikely to repeat the gaffes which have come to define his boss in many Americans' minds.
BP, an object of public hatred in the United States after the Macondo well started gushing up to 60,000 barrels a day into the Gulf, said Dudley's appointment reflects a need for Hayward to return attention to other aspects of BP's business.
It also reflects a desire to put the sensitive operation into a safe pair of hands after a series of PR gaffes by the CEO.Hayward has described Dudley -- dispatched to Houston with just a small suitcase in the days after the rig explosion to help run efforts to cap the well -- as "the management team's Foreign Secretary -- or perhaps Secretary of State in American terms".
Dudley's role of managing director with responsibility for oversight of the Americas and Asia involves him criss-crossing the globe, "making connections for BP" he said in an interview with the company's internal magazine late last year.
Up until now Dudley has been best known for his previous job as head of BP's Russian joint venture, TNK-BP.
After BP and its partners fell out over control of the business in 2008, he was forced to flee Russia, blaming a campaign of harassment by BP-TNK's billionaire oligarch co-owners.

Yuan move welcome for China, region: Fitch

China's move to allow more flexibility in the yuan reduces the risk of macroeconomic instability in China and the region as a whole, a senior official at Fitch Ratings said on Tuesday.
"We have seen recent revisions to China's currency policy which we think are a sensible move and reduce the risk of macroeconomic instability in China," Brian Coulton, Fitch's head of global economics, told reporters ahead of a seminar.
Stock markets rallied and some currencies jumped on Monday after China's move to make the yuan more flexible spurred demand for risky assets on optimism that a stronger yuan would lift China's purchasing power for foreign goods.
Coulton did not comment on any impact that China's latest move may have on the country's credit ratings.

BoR shareholders approve merger with ICICI Bank

The shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan have approved the bank's merger with ICICI Bank. The bank's shareholders have passed a resolution with requisite majority under section 44A of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act and will file the EGM resolution with the Bombay Stock Exchange, the National Stock Exchange and the bank.
This comes after a series of bizarre events on Tuesday, where the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) that was called to approve the merger was first cancelled after a Kolkata civil court restrained the management from holding the EGM. This was based on a complaint filed by a shareholder who was against the merger. The bank then went ahead and informed the exchanges that the EGM has been cancelled following a court order.
However, some shareholders, including the former promoter PK Tayal went ahead and held the meeting chaired by a shareholder named DV Lakhani. And this merger resolution was put to vote.
In the meantime, ICICI Bank approached the Kolkata High Court and got a stay against the lower court order.
The results of voting were declared on Tuesday and that approved the merger with ICICI Bank.
Commenting on the issue, G Padmanabhan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bank of Rajasthan, said, “We have only flagged certain issues to our solicitors so that they can come back and tell us that how to take the process forward. We have asked for a legal view and we are awaiting that. The management really wants to know whether whatever has been done is okay or not because the management has been endeavoring to implement the majority decision of the board yesterday itself in the EGM because of the court order we went slightly out of the loop. So we are only trying to ensure that the process is taken forward legally and appropriately.”
"The communication has been sent to the stock exchanges and what the stock exchanges do is up to them," he adds.

ICICI Bk-BoR merger approved: Is it legally tenable?

The shareholders of Bank of Rajasthan have approved the bank's merger with ICICI Bank today. This comes after a series of bizarre events yesterday, where the extraordinary general meeting that was called to approve the merger was first cancelled after a Kolkata civil court restrained the management from holding the EGM. This was based on a complaint filed by a shareholder who was against the merger. The bank then went ahead and informed the exchanges that the EGM has been cancelled following a court order.
However, some shareholders, including the former promoter PK Tayal went ahead and held the meeting chaired by a shareholder named DV Lakhani. And this merger resolution was put to vote.
In the meantime, ICICI Bank approached the Calcutta High Court and got a stay against the lower court order
Speaking to the press, G Padmanabhan, MD & CEO, Bank of Rajasthan said, "We have only flagged certain issues to our solicitors so that they can come back and tell us how to take the process forward. We have asked for a legal view and we are awaiting that. The management really wants to know whether whatever has been done is okay or not because the management has been endeavouring to implement the majority decision of the board, only yesterday in the EGM because of the court order we went slightly out of the loop so we are only trying to ensure that the process is taken forward legally and appropriately."
In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Akhil Hirani, Managing Partner, Majumdar & Co gave his perspective on the legal tangle.
Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video.
Q: The question is really about the process. Is this legally tenable?
A: This is a very curious case that has happened. I don’t think we have had seen something similar happened before. Obviously in the first instance the Bank of Rajasthan took all the necessary steps and did the process as per the Companies Act and fixed up a date for the meeting and tried to hold this meeting.
In the meantime before the meeting could be held, a stay order was passed by the Calcutta city civil court. Effectively the way we interpret this and the way I would look at it is that the stay order would operate on the company because effectively the management and the Board of the company and Chairman who is a member of the Board are the managers of the company. But a stay order directing the management not to hold the meeting would effectively mean that the company should not hold the meeting. So that’s the first point.
So in terms of the management then being made aware of this order and then deciding that well there is a stay now and so we really can’t hold this meeting and therefore not holding the meeting, I think they took the right step in doing that.
Of course you had all the shareholders who had gathered here and they decided that they could appoint their own Chairman and continue with the meeting. There is no real process for something like this. What the Companies Act provides is that 10% of the shareholders of a company could requisition a meeting and make a request to the Board of the company to hold a meeting, and then the Board would be mandated to hold such a meeting within a period of three weeks of such a requisition again by following all the procedures.
Although you may have had the 10% who could have requisitioned the meeting but the onus eventually was on the Board to then to take it forward. So if you look at it from a very technical perspective, whether that shareholders meeting is a validly held meeting or not is very questionable. From a company law point of view it could easily be a 50-50 case. Maybe that meeting was not valid in its own right.
So I think the management did the right thing because they were given a stay order and they said, fine we can’t hold this until we do something about it. So that’s how we would look at that first phase.
Now what you have is the Calcutta High Court reversing that lower court order and saying that we vacate the stay. But I don’t believe that such a vacation of this stay would be retrospective. So again if you look back in point of time on the day of the meeting there was a stay which prevented the management and thereby the company from going ahead with the meeting.
So the way we would look at it and the way one would go if you look at the process was that, now there is no stay and now it is again open for the Bank of Rajasthan to have another meeting and to actually just go ahead with the process in the two weeks or so if it can have a shorter notice and so on under its article and reconvene the meeting which will put to rest the entire controversy because otherwise without any real precedent and with different views on whether the court's order is retrospective or not is just going to be nebulous and grey and again still subject to challenges, some other activist shareholder wants to challenge that and go to the Supreme Court which will again thwart and delay the entire process. So these are the issues as we look at them based on the facts that have been presented.

BP boss retreats from spill; shares hit 13-yr low

Beleaguered BP boss Tony Hayward retreated from daily management of the US oil spill crisis on Tuesday and dodged making a conference speech where his stand-in was heckled by angry environmentalists.
BP Plc shares fell as much as 4.8% to a 13-year low after the company confirmed that Bob Dudley, a veteran of the company's troubles in Russia, is now managing the crisis response. Officials had insisted in recent days that Hayward would stay in the front line until the leaking BP well in the Gulf of Mexico was plugged. His position as chief executive is seen as under severe pressure.
"Hayward will remain at the helm for the near term but ultimately, this fiasco might prove career-shortening for him," said a fund manager from one of BP's top 20 investors on Tuesday.
A series of PR gaffes by Hayward and a failure to quickly stem the leak has piled pressure on the CEO since an explosion on the Gulf of Mexico rig killed 11 workers and ruptured a well, unleashing millions of gallons of crude that still flows into the sea more than two months later.
A US court decision will come this week over whether to uphold a post-spill ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The six-month ban was imposed by President Barack Obama's government -- also suffering severe criticism for the way it has handled the worst oil spill in US history which has soiled the coasts of four US states, threatens the tourism and fishing industries and has seeped into ecologically sensitive wetlands.
Oil drilling companies are contesting the ban, but it has support among environmentalists and sympathy among fisherman who suffered an extension of fishing bans this week.
In London on Tuesday, protesters twice interrupted a speech by BP Chief of Staff Steve Westwell, Hayward's replacement in an appearance at the World National Oil Companies Congress.
"We need to end the oil age," one young woman from environmental group Greenpeace shouted as she was removed by a security guard. Protesters also waved a banner carrying the BP logo splattered with black paint.

Long-term stock tips for doctors

In ‘Doctors’ special of ‘Your Stocks’, Avinash Gorakshakar, Anagram Capital, gives fundamental view on stocks and Hemen Kapadia, chartpundit.com gives technical view on stocks.
Below is a verbatim transcript. Also watch the accompanying video.
Q: I hold 100 stocks of Ranbaxy at Rs 439. I want to hold it for one year, at what target rate I should exit from this particular stock? What could I expect from this particular stock?
Gorakshakar: We are positive on Ranbaxy because we feel that there are several qualitative triggers in terms of molecule discoveries, which are likely to be announced in the next two-three quarters. Our sense is that if the investor has taken a position now, he should hold on for at least a year or so. We have a buy on the stock with the target price of Rs 510. This can also be acquired on every decline.
As far as some picks from the pharmaceutical space, we are positive on stocks like Jubilant Organosys and Dishman Pharma. We are basically positive on the CRAMS segment. We feel that these stocks also can be acquired at a current level.

JAL to end IT partnership with IBM Japan: Nikkei

Debt-ridden Japan Airlines Corp will terminate a 10-year-old information technology partnership with IBM Japan Ltd, as part of its cost-cutting efforts, the Nikkei business daily reported.
The airline might buy IBM Japan's 51% stake in JAL Information Technology Co for billions of yen to take charge of business planning duties at the company and have more control of system development, the paper said.
The high costs associated with developing proprietary systems through the joint venture have weighed on JAL's earnings, the Nikkei said.JAL's group workforce is likely to increase by around 1,000 if JAL Information Technology becomes a subsidiary, but the airline expects to save tens of billions of yen in costs over the long haul, the paper reported.
However, JAL is unlikely to alter its goal of cutting around 16,000 jobs in fiscal 2010, the daily said.
Though the main lenders are concerned that the move could hamper JAL's streamlining efforts, the airline would seek their understanding by playing up the savings expected from such measures as adopting standard software and outsourcing operations, the Nikkei said.
The airline, now rebuilding after having filed for bankruptcy