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Boeing's Dreamliner 787 delivery further delayed to 2011
(Business) |
27-08-10
Delivery of the 787 Dreamliner - Boeing's latest development in passenger transportation - has been delayed once again.
Boeing has attributed the delay in the availability of an engine needed for the final phases of flight test later this year.
Boeing said last month that the cumulative impact of a series of issues, including supplier workmanship issues related to the horizontal stabilizer and instrumentation delays, could push first delivery of the 787 a few weeks into 2011. The delay in engine availability has extended that estimate to mid-first quarter 2011.
Boeing is working closely with Rolls-Royce to expedite engine availability.
The 787 is a family of airplanes in the 200- to 300-seat class that will be able to carry passengers on routes between 3,500 and 8,500 nautical miles (6,500 to 16,000 kilometers). The 787 is expected to allow airlines to offer passengers more of what they want: affordable, comfortable, nonstop, point-to-point travel to more destinations around the world.
Boeing says that 787 is the first commercial airplane to make the change from metal to composite structure. The majority of the 787's major structure is made out of composite material. The Dreamliner is the first commercial airplane to be built with a one-piece fuselage. |
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US GDP growth revised downward to 1.6%
(Business) |
27-08-10
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has revised downward by 0.8% the GDP growth number for the second quarter (April to June 2010) in its second estimate released today compared to the first estimate for the same period, released earlier by BEA, growth of 2.4%.
The second estimate of GDP growth for the second quarter is 1.6%.
Compared to the real GDP growth of 3.7% in the first quarter (January to March 2010), growth has declined by sharply, once again fueling recession fears.
According to BEA, the slower GDP growth primarily reflected a surge in imports compared with the previous quarter and a slow-down in inventory investment. These contributions to the slowdown in GDP growth were partly offset by an upturn in residential investment, an acceleration in business investment, an upturn in state and local government spending, and a pick up in federal government spending.
The skeptical stock markets fell into negative territory in reaction to the revised 1.6% growth number, but returned to positive territory with sharp gains when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the American central bank would do all it could to ensure a continued economic recovery.
He said that the committee was prepared to provide additional monetary accommodation through unconventional measures if required. |
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Direct Tax Code - What does it mean for you and me?
(Business) |
27-08-10
Direct Tax Code is the buzz-word in the Indian media today. The cabinet has approved a bill to implement the new direct tax code, the bill will now go to parliament to become a law.
The government had announced its intention to revamp the tax code that has been in use in the country for the last 50 years, and the new Direct Tax Code is a result of the deliberations that followed.
So, the question that comes to mind is - What does it mean for you and me?
Tinkering with the rates of taxes is something that the government does every year, there is nothing new in it. So why is the government spending crores for getting the new DTC up and alive.
Overhauling of the DTC will decide how the government will go about calculating and collecting its tax revenue.
The objective of new DTC is to bring together all direct taxes like income-tax, dividend distribution tax, fringe benefit tax and wealth-tax to "establish an economically efficient, effective and equitable direct tax system which will facilitate voluntary compliance and help increase the tax-GDP ratio".
To achieve this objective the government is updating and rewriting the outdated rules. It is designed to provide stability in the tax regime as it is based on well accepted principles of taxation and best international practices. It will eventually pave the way for a single unified taxpayer reporting system. |
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Hyundai Motors India Ltd. announces hike effective from 1 Sept 2010
(Business) |
26-08-10
Hyundai Motors India Ltd. has announced a price hike of upto 1.2% across all models with effect from 1st September 2010. It has attributed the increase to the rising input costs.
The price hike was announced by the company's Director, Marketing and Sales, Arvind Saxena. He said "There has been an increase in the input costs for car manufacturers. We have tried to absorb as much of the cost as we can, to cause as less inconvenience as possible to our valued customers."
Hyundai Motors India is the wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of South Korea. It is the second largest passenger car manufacturer in the India.
The models of the company include the Santro, i10, i20, Accent, verna and Sonata. |
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State Bank of Indore merges into State Bank of India
(Business) |
26-08-10
State Bank of India, the biggest bank of India just got bigger. It has formally acquires State Bank of Indore today (26 Aug 2010) as per the Gazette Notification issued on 28th July 2010 by the Department of Financial Services.
From today, all branches of State Bank of Indore have started working as branches of State Bank of India.
State Bank of India will issue a maximum of 116052 shares of face value of Rs.10 each to the minority shareholders of State Bank of Indore. The shareholders as on record date of 11 Aug 2010 will receive 34 shares of State Bank of India fore every 100 shares of State Bank of Indore, which is the approved Share Exchange Ratio.
This is the second merger of an associate State Bank into SBI. Earlier, State Bank of Saurashtra had been similarly merged in August 2008. The other associate banks still functioning independently are - the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur,
- the State Bank of Hyderabad,
- the State Bank of Mysore,
- the State Bank of Patiala and
- the State Bank of Travancore
O. P. Bhatt, the Chairman of State Bank of India has indicated that he awaits approval from the government to take these into SBI's fold. |
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Credit Policy - RBI has raised Repo Rate and Reverse Repo Rate
(Business) |
27-07-10
Repo Rate raised by 25 basis points and reverse Repo Rate raised by 50 basis points. The Sensex shot up more than 60 points as RBI released the credit policy, giving a thumbs-up when the credit policy was announced on Tuesday 27 July 2010.
The new Repo Rate - the rate at which banks borrow from the reserve bank - has become 5.75% and the reverse repo rate - the rate at which RBI borrows from the banks - has gone up to 4.5%. The RBI has left Cash Reserve Ration (CRR) unchanged at 6%.
The RBI was expected to raise the policy rates as a measure to control the run-away double-digit inflation. The market had been betting on a rate hike of 0.25% and keeping its fingers crossed. The fact that the governor has complied with market expectations and the market has responded with a 60+ point jump.
In his speech RBI governor said that he expects economy to grow by 8.5% in this fiscal, better than the previous 8% projection.
Inflation has been the primary concern of policy-makers in the past few weeks. The government which has been focusing on growth has not been able to do much to control the increase in the prices of food items and other commodities. The RBI has also clearly indicate a gradual approach in tackling inflation, taking care that the growth story is thrown off track. |
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GST by 1-April-2011 - indicates Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
(Business) |
22-07-10
GST to come into effect from 1st April 2011. This is what Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee indicated while addressing the finance ministers from the states at a meeting in New Delhi.
GST, short for Goods and Services Tax, is slated to be a landmark reform of indirect taxes in India. All central and state taxes will come be merged into GST once it comes into effect.
"GST – a landmark reform of indirect taxes is well within our reach. It is now for us to convert it into a reality." said the finance minister.
For the first year of implementation, the finance minister proposed 3 rates - a maximum rate of 20% and a lower rate of 12% for for goods, and 16% for services. According to him, in the 2nd year the rates should be 18%, 12% and 16%. By the third year, the finance minister said GST should move towards a single rate of 16%.
The revenue from GST will be shared equally by the states and centre.
Pranab Mukherjee assured the states that the compensation for subsuming Purchase Tax on foodgrains will be provided along with VAT compensation for the next four years.
The empowered committee had suggested separate exemption thresholds from goods and services of Rs. 1.5 crore and Rs. 10 lakh respectively. The finance minister has asked the committee to reconsider this in view of the fact that "It is fundamental to a dual GST that every transaction constituting a supply of goods and services receive similar treatment under CGST and SGST." He has asked the committee to come up with a uniform exemption threshold. |
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NIFTY based futures contracts to trade on Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)
(Business) |
18-07-10
Nifty based futures contract will open for trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on Monday 19-Jul-2010. Two products based on Nifty are being introduced - E-mini S&P Nifty 50 Futures, and
- E-Micro Nifty 50 Futures
These products will all investors and traders in USA to bet on the Indian growth story.
These products will be listed and traded on the CME Globex platform and the trading hours on CME will be Monday-Friday, 3:30 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. the next day Chicago time (except Friday, which closes at 3:15 p.m.) with a trading halt Sundays-Thursdays from 9:30-10:30 p.m. CDT (8:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. CST) coinciding with the hour prior to the NSE open.
Managing Director & CEO, NSE Ravi Narain says "The introduction of these two new contracts will make the Nifty 50 available to a much larger community of traders and investors across various exchanges and time zones. This will also go a long way in realizing our vision of making Indian financial products available globally"
Investors can trade for nearly 23 hours on CME Globex. These hours include the market hours in India (except the last one hour before the Indian market opens). |
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IMF expects India to grow at 9.4%
(Business) |
09-07-10
IMF - International Monetary Fund - predicts India to grow by 9.4% this fiscal - in a scenario where global economy is expected to grow by 4.5%, with the emerging and developing economies leading.
According to the latest update of World Economic Outlook releasedWorld growth is projected at about 4½ percent in 2010 and 4¼ percent in 2011. Relative to the April 2010 World Economic Outlook (WEO), this represents an upward revision of about ½ percentage point in 2010, reflecting stronger activity during the first half of the year. The forecast for 2011 is unchanged. The projections for China stand at 10.5% for 2010 and 9.6% in 2011, while India is forecasted to grow at 9.4% in 2010 before falling to 8.4% next year. The advanced economies are collectively expected to grow at 2.8% in 2010 before falling to 2.4% next year.
The IMF forecast said Asia’s strong recovery from the global financial crisis continued in the first half of 2010, despite renewed tension in global financial markets. Economic activity in the region has been sustained by continued buoyancy in exports and private domestic demand. |
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RNRL to merge into Reliance Power
(Business) |
04-07-10
Within days of the Ambani brothers announcing a new gas supply deal, younger brother Anil Ambani has announced the merger of one of his group companies Reliance Natural Resource Limited into another of his group companies Reliance Power, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals.
According to the announcement as part of the all stock deal, shareholders will get 1 share of Reliance Power for 4 shares of Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL).
The decision was announced after the boards of the two companies met today to discuss the issue.
When the Ambani brothers had separated 5 years ago, they had signed an MOU which included supply of gas from Reliance Industries to Anil Ambani's RNRL at a cheaper price. RIL was unable to keep up to the supply of gas part of the agreement at the agreed price. This led to long and ugly dispute between the two brothers.
Anil Ambani lost this part of long running dispute with is elder brother in the supreme court in May. The apex court had asked the brothers to renegotiate their MOU.
It was reported that both brothers and their representatives have had a series of meetings and an amicable solution was successfully worked out though the details of agreement were not released. |
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