Business Line articles from July 2009

Business Line archives from July 2009

FRONT PAGE: SBI net rises 42% in Q1.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - The country's largest bank State Bank of India has posted a 42 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 2,330 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, aided by a robust growth in 'other income'. The...

FRONT PAGE: Can India take a leaf out of Europe?
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The Empowered Group of Ministers which meets on Friday to decide on the 3G policy would do well to examine the experience of other countries with such auctions. The UK was the first to...

FRONT PAGE: Ambani gas case: Apex court to fix date for final hearing.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The Supreme Court on Thursday indicated that it would decide on September 1 the date of final hearing of the cross- appeals filed by both Ambani group firms, as also a petition by the Centre...

CORPORATE: M&M net profit surges to Rs 401 cr.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - An impressive growth in volumes, amalgamation of Punjab Tractors and cost control measures helped Mahindra & Mahindra report a standalone net profit of Rs 401 crore for the quarter ending...

CORPORATE: SAIL profit drops 28% on lower prices, higher input costs.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) on Thursday reported a 27.7 per cent drop in its net profit at Rs 1,326.09 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2009, compared with Rs 1,835.19...

CORPORATE: Matrix Labs net down 49%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Matrix Laboratories Ltd's net profit decreased 49 per cent at Rs 16.56 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared with Rs 32.37 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous...

CORPORATE: Natco Pharma profit up 5%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Natco Pharma Ltd's net profit increased five per cent at Rs 8 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2009 compared with Rs 7.68 crore in the corresponding quarter of previous financial...

CORPORATE: Nagarjuna Const Q1 turnover up marginally.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd (NCC) has reported a marginal rise in net profit at Rs 38.22 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2009, against Rs 37.09 crore for the corresponding...

CORPORATE: Tata Chem profits up 59% on demand growth.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Tata Chemicals, manufacturer of fertilisers, chemicals and food additives, has reported a 59 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 94 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, mainly due to growing...

CORPORATE: Indian Oil pumps up nine-fold rise in Q1 profits.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Foreign exchange gains, lower interest coupled with inventory gains have helped Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) post a nine- fold jump in net profit for the first quarter of the current...

CORPORATE: Wockhardt posts Rs 190-cr loss.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Saddled with Rs 255-crore mark-to-market (MTM) losses, pharmaceutical major, Wockhardt, posted a net loss of Rs 190 crore for the quarter-ended June 30, against a profit of Rs 106 crore in the...

INFO-TECH: Subex back in black on FCCB restatement.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Bangalore, July 30 - Better cost management and gains from restatement of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) helped telecom software maker Subex Ltd bounce back into the black in the June quarter. The...

INFO-TECH: Patni Computer net up 19%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Patni Computer Systems beat market expectations with 18.7 per cent year-on-year rise in net income at $28.7 million ($24.1 million) for the second quarter ended June 30. The company plans to...

INFO-TECH: MS-Yahoo deal will 'offer better search experience'.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Microsoft Corporation and Yahoo!'s 10-year pact will create a significant competitive alternative in search, according to a top Microsoft India official. "For consumers, this agreement...

INFO-TECH: Wipro to go aggressively after Govt contracts.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - In a move aimed at going aggressively after Government contracts, IT services major Wipro is 'revisiting' its strategy and game plan with regard to the Government business. "Government...

INFO-TECH: Zylog acquisition plan.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Chennai, July 30 - The Chennai-based Zylog Systems Ltd plans to acquire two 'target' companies. One is a US-based company specialising in the development of advanced technology products and solutions to the...

INFO-TECH: BSNL profits drop 80% as expenses rise.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Notwithstanding a booming telecom market, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd has reported a massive decline in its profits for 2008-09 to Rs 574.85 crore from Rs 3,009 crore in the...

INFO-TECH: Bharti, MTN likely to extend timeline for merger talks.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Bharti Group and South Africa's MTN Group are likely to extend the time period for discussing a possible merger. The two companies had earlier entered into an exclusive agreement to...

INFO-TECH: Cos rushing to ECGC for cover.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - The number of IT exporters seeking cover from the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd (ECGC) is growing because of the recession abroad. "Till last year, the IT segment...

INFO-TECH: Infosys renews asset cover with NICL.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Bangalore, July 30 - Infosys Technologies Ltd has renewed its asset cover with National Insurance Corporation of India (NICL). The total insured value for 2009-10 is at Rs 10,000 crore. The software firm has...

BANKING/FINANCE: Karnataka Bank trims deposit rates.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mangalore, July 30 - Karnataka Bank has reduced the rate of interest on term deposits by 50-150 basis points on various maturities. A bank release said here the new rates will come into effect from August 1....

BANKING/FINANCE: Magma Fincorp in pact with German co for insurance.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009biz Kolkata, July 30 - Magma Fincorp Ltd and its promoter, Celica Developers Private Ltd, have signed a joint venture agreement with the Germany-based HDI-Gerling International Holding AG for entering into...

BANKING/FINANCE: Non-life PSU insurers park funds in G-Secs, bank CDs.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Bangalore, July 30 - To secure their investments, non-life insurers have moved back to government securities and public sector bank certificates of deposits (CDs). High-level officials from PSU insurance...

BANKING/FINANCE: Bharti AXA offers home, shop covers.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Bharti AXA General Insurance Co Ltd has launched insurance products for householders and shopkeepers with covers beginning from Rs 2 lakh and Rs 5 lakh respectively. "These basic products...

BANKING/FINANCE: Inflation: Spotlight on manufacturing.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Is the Monetary Policy too loose, too tight or just right? Going by the RBI's pre- and post-quarterly policy statements, it is not too sure itself and thinks liquidity and rates are appropriate for the present...

BANKING/FINANCE: Fee-based income lifts UCO Bank net.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - Backed by a higher fee-based income, UCO Bank posted a 34 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 178.85 crore for the quarter ended June 30, against Rs 133.4 crore for the corresponding quarter...

BANKING/FINANCE: Non-interest income boosts United Bank net 65%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - Backed by an exceptional increase in non-interest income, United Bank of India posted a 65 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 70 crore for the quarter ended June 30, as against Rs 42.54 crore...

BANKING/FINANCE: ICICI Bank sees huge potential in infrastructure finance.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - ICICI Bank sees a huge opportunity in project and infrastructure finance and mortgage lending, according to its Executive Director, Mr Sonjoy Chatterjee. "The high infrastructure deficit,...

BANKING/FINANCE: Call rate ends at 3.25-3.30%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - The inter-bank call rate ended at 3.25-3.30 per cent, against the previous close of 3.20-3.30 per cent. Under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) conducted by the Reserve Bank of India,...

BANKING/FINANCE: Rupee marginally up.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - The rupee gained marginally by 8 paise against the dollar, tracking the Sensex which gained in the last hour of trade. The domestic currency opened at 48.54 and strengthened to close at...

BANKING/FINANCE: Bond prices dip ahead of auction.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Bond prices were down by around 50 paise, ahead of the auction of government securities on Friday. RBI is scheduled to auction Rs 12,000 crore of government securities this week. The Reserve...

BANKING/FINANCE: IOB profits jump on income growth.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Chennai, July 30 - A jump in treasury income and fee-based income enabled Indian Overseas Bank to report a 17.9 per cent growth in net profits to Rs 301.7 crore for the first quarter of 2009-10 compared with Rs...

OPINION: Farmers and fertilisers.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 If ever there is a good reason for dumping the present method of subsidising farmers for their fertilisers it is the fact that the Government wrote out cheques for nearly two-thirds of the revenue of fertiliser...

OPINION: Renewed thrust on alternative energy.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 India is in an unenviable position. While it would do well to engage with the rest of the world in carbon-reduction projects to reduce the high-energy intensity of its economy, simultaneously earning global...

OPINION: A superb juggler's act.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Dr D. Subbarao, had to craft the July 28, 2009 Monetary Policy Review under very difficult circumstances. From September 2008, his task had been relatively easy as all...

OPINION: Agriculture and economy.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Apropos the article "The RBI and the gorilla" (Business Line, July 30), as rightly pointed out, more money chasing fewer goods may raise the spectre of inflation again. As a growing economy, India's money...

OPINION: Delhi Metro mishaps.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 The analysis of the repeated mishaps at the Delhi Metro Rail project sites stressts basic design faults and poor quality material. Global tenders are floated and, after careful analysis, a selection is made and...

OPINION: Credit Policy: Right stance, practical nuances.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 The RBI did what the majority of market participants had anticipated. It did not change any of its three policy levers. Living up to market expectations when these are based on the fundamentals of the economy...

OPINION: Clearing the air on 2G Spectrum.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 The allotment of 2G Spectrum on First-Come-First-Served (FCFS) basis by Mr A. Raja, when he was the Minister of Communications and Information Technology in the previous UPA Government, is unnecessarily being...

OPINION: Scientific approach to fighting poverty.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Prof Esther Duflo, Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US, is one of the leading development economists in the world today....

NEWS: Inflation rate falls for 7th straight week to 1.54%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The annual Wholesale Price Index fell for a seventh straight week, declining 1.54 per cent in the week to July 18 after falling 1.17 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the previous week,...

NEWS: 'Allow SPVs to bid for more than one highway project'.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The Chairman and Managing Director of India Infrastructure Finance Corporation Ltd (IIFCL), Mr S.S. Kohli, today called for allowing special purpose vehicles (SPVs) set up for highway...

INFO-TECH: Scanpoint, ISRO launch Indian geomatics software.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Bangalore, July 30 - The first Indian geomatics or earth information software has arrived, at nearly 40 per cent of the cost of MNC packages. Antrix Corporation, the business arm of ISRO, and Scanpoint...

NEWS: Essar's Mahan power plant achieves financial closure.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Essar Power's Rs 4,860-crore project at Mahan in Madhya Pradesh has achieved financial closure. With a 3:1 debt-equity ratio, it has been funded by a consortium of ICICI Bank, Power Finance...

CORPORATE: Dunlop to restart operations at Chennai plant.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Chennai, July 30 - Dunlop India Ltd plans to restart operations at its Chennai factory from August-end. Dunlop Factory Employees Union representatives said the union has entered into an understanding with the...

CORPORATE: ABG Shipyard increases stake in Great Offshore to 7.8%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - ABG Shipyard has acquired another 2.12 lakh shares of Great Offshore through a bulk deal on the NSE at Rs 450 a share on Thursday, hiking its stake in the company to 7.8 per cent. On...

CORPORATE: Escorts Q3 net doubles.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Tractor and agri machinery maker Escorts' net profit more than doubled to Rs 22 crore for the third quarter ended June 30, from Rs 9.30 crore for the same period last year. Net sales during...

CORPORATE: Jindal Steel profit surges.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) has announced more than a two-fold increase in its consolidated net profit for the first quarter ended June 30. It recorded a 123 per cent increase in its...

CORPORATE: Reliance Infra posts higher profit.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Reliance Infrastructure of the Anil Ambani Group has clocked 25 per cent higher net profit for the first quarter at Rs 317 crore against Rs 253 crore in the year ago quarter. While net sales...

CORPORATE: Parsvnath Q1 net plunges 81%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Real estate company Parsvnath Developers Ltd has registered an over 81 per cent fall in its consolidated net profit for the first-quarter ended June 2009, to Rs 13.81 crore. The total...

CORPORATE: Ashok Leyland launches multi-axle vehicle 3116.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Launching its latest multi-axle vehicle (MAV) 3116, the Hinduja Group's flagship commercial vehicle manufacturer, Ashok Leyland Ltd, on Thursday said that its Rs 1,300-crore greenfield plant...

CORPORATE: Adani Q1 net up 36%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Ahmedabad, July 30 - Adani Enterprises Ltd reported an increase of 36 per cent in its consolidated net profit at Rs 128 crore for the first quarter ended June 30 compared with Rs 94 crore during the same period...

CORPORATE: Lanco Infra Q1 net, sales zoom.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Boosted by good performance from the construction and power sector, including power trading business, Lanco Infratech has recorded a profit of Rs 115.8 crore up 96 per cent and revenues of...

LOGISTICS: IIFCL sanctions Rs 6,475 cr for highway projects.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) has sanctioned Rs 6,475 crore of loans to 58 highway projects, with a total project cost of Rs 37,678 crore. This is the largest sanction...

LOGISTICS: Port officers against Chanda heading pay panel.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, June 30 - The All India Port and Dock Officers' Federation has opposed the continuation of Dr A K Chanda as the head of the Pay Revision Committee for port and dock officers, expressing apprehension...

LOGISTICS: Private airlines post combined loss of Rs 2,400 cr in 2007-08.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The Chennai-based Paramount Airways has reported a profit during 2006-07 and 2007-08, making it the only airline among the eight domestic private ones to end two successive years in the...

MARKETING: Sony not eyeing low-cost segment in India.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Sony India, which posted a Rs 3,300-crore turnover for FY '08-09, said it has no intentions of becoming a mass-market brand. Answering a question on how the company is tackling...

MARKETING: Coca-Cola's marketing drive for Limca.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Coca-Cola India has announced the launch of a new marketing initiative for its product, Limca. The campaign titled 'Limca Laptop Ki Baarish' will allow consumers to win 'HP Mini Laptops'...

MARKETING: Extended summer makes ice-cream cos happy.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The extended summer this year has ice-cream companies jumping with joy. The season has seen numerous launches and a growth in sales for most ice-cream makers. Mother Dairy's CEO (Dairy and...

MARKETING: Airtel signs up as title sponsor of Champions League Twenty20.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Bharti Airtel has signed up as the title sponsor of Champions League Twenty20 for five years, starting with the inaugural season in 2009. Airtel signed the deal on Thursday with ESPN STAR...

STATES: Pride Hotels plans Rs 800-cr expansion.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Chennai, July 30 - Pride Group of Hotels has announced a Rs 800- crore expansion plan. The company currently operates 10 hotels - five luxury hotels under the brand The Pride Hotel in Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad,...

NEWS: Steel consumption growth projected at 6%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - The country's steel consumption in the current year will be around six per cent, according to Mr B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel. "The projected growth, though lower than last...

NEWS: Universal Cables net down 18%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata. July 30 - Universal Cables has reported a fall of 18 per cent in its net profit to Rs 1.99 crore during the first quarter of 2009-10, from Rs 2.44 crore in the same period last year.Turnover has also...

NEWS: Wockhardt, IOC join hands.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - Wockhardt Hospitals, in association with Indian Oil Corporation, has announced a massive health check-up programme for six lakh IOC's Indane gas customers in the twin cities. Under the...

NEWS: BEL sets up radar chair at IISc.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Bangalore, July 30 - Bharat Electronics Ltd said it has signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Science to set up a chair professorship for radar studies. BEL has contributed Rs 1 crore as corpus fund....

NEWS: Many keen to sell N-reactors.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - While several countries are keen to sell nuclear reactors to India, any deal in this direction would be struck only on terms set down by the government, the Minister of State in Prime...

NEWS: JBIC signs 2 loan agreements.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has signed two loan agreements for an aggregate amount of up to $153.7 million (Rs 741 crore) with L&T-MHI Boilers Private Ltd (LTMB) and...

NEWS: Teesta Urja may be given 3 months to convert partly paid-up shares.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has recommended that Teesta Urja (TUL) be given three months time for conversion of 34.50 crore partly paid-up shares into fully paid- up...

NEWS: Realty developers seek more sops.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - The Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India, while welcoming the subsidising of home loans and extension of tax holidays for projects by the Government, said incentives to...

NEWS: Rs 3,000 cr to be invested in aerospace SEZ.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Hyderabad, July 30 - An investment of Rs 3,000 crore will be made by industries in the Aeropsace and Precision Engineering Special Economic Zone at Adibatla, Ranga Reddy district, according to the Andhra Pradesh...

CORPORATE: Varun Shipping net sinks 91%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Lower tanker rates have dragged down Varun Shipping Co's net profit by 91 per cent to Rs 1.84 crore for the quarter ending June 30, from Rs 21.33 crore in the corresponding period last year. ...

CORPORATE: McLeod Russel Q1 net up at Rs 31 cr.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - During the quarter ended June 30, 2009, McLeod Russel India Ltd, the largest producer of tea, posted a net profit of Rs 31.18 crore against Rs 7.08 crore in the corresponding previous period....

MARKET WATCH: GKW jumps post re-listing.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - Re-listed GKW, which underwent equity dilution following transfer of its special steel manufacturing assets to Graphite India, has seen a sharp rise. The stock was re-listed on July 20....

MARKET WATCH: ICSA India (Rs 187.35): Buy.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 We recommend a buy in ICSA India from a short-term perspective. It is evident from the charts that the stock was in a medium-term downtrend from a June high of Rs 214 to a July low of Rs 138. The band between Rs...

MARKET WATCH: Day Trading Guide.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Buy DLF in dips with tight stop at Rs 389. Initiate fresh long- position if ICICI Bank surpasses Rs 774 and SBI climbs above Rs 1750, with tight stop- loss. Fresh long position can be initiated only if Infosys...

MARKET WATCH: JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley pick Sterlite ADS.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co have jointly invested $103 million in the ADS (American Depositary Shares) offering of Sterlite Industries by exercising the over- allotment...

MARKET WATCH: No entry load regime: MF distributors rejig strategies.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Come August 1, mutual fund investors need not pay entry load for their new purchases. With the primary revenue stream from entry loads removed, some intermediaries are evolving new strategies to stay in...

MARKET WATCH: Franklin Templeton arm invests Rs 50 cr in Career Point.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) has invested Rs 50 crore in Rajasthan-based Career Point Infosystems Ltd. "The investment was made by Franklin Templeton...

MARKET WATCH: MFs raise exit barriers to prevent churning by investors.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Increasing number of mutual fund houses are gearing up to battle the no-entry-load regime, which will come into effect on August 1, by raising exit barriers for investors. Fund houses such...

MARKET WATCH: SBI, Tata Steel, Reliance see healthy rollovers.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Chennai, July 30 - Turnover remained firm at Rs 94,477.38 crore in the F&O segment on Thursday. The Nifty July future closed at 4,571.15 against the spot close of 4,571.45. The August future ended a tad...

MARKET WATCH: NHPC to sell power on merchant basis by 2011.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Mumbai, July 30 - Hydropower major NHPC will be able to sell 40 per cent of its power on merchant basis by January 2011, when the company achieves the targeted production of 9,500 MW. The balance will follow...

CORPORATE: L&T Finance not looking at equity listing for now.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - L&T Finance Ltd (LTF), a non-banking finance company, is not looking at a listing of its equity shares for now, its Chairman, Mr Y.M. Deosthalee, has said. The company may go in for a...

CORPORATE: Usha Martin gets $3-m order from Chinese co.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 Kolkata, July 30 - Usha Martin Ltd, manufacturer of wire and wire ropes and special steel, has entered the Chinese market for the first time, according to the Chairman, Mr B. K. Jhawar. "We have secured an...

CORPORATE: Havell's India Q1 net up 21%.
July 31, 2009... from BUSINESS LINE, July 31, 2009 New Delhi, July 30 - Havell's India Ltd has reported a 21-per cent increase in net profit for the first quarter ended June 2009. Net profit stood at Rs 49.3 crore against Rs 40.7 crore in the same period last...