Monday, May 28, 2012

ASBM Business Updates Vol.1(17) 28 May 2012, Monday from Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar.

 
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ASBM Business Updates is a Selective Compilation of Business News from Various Sources. To find details follow the links.
ASIAN BUSINESS
Global insurers Manulife Financial Corp, Metlife and Prudential Financial Corp are among suitors expected to place first-round bids on Friday to buy ING Groep's Asia life insurance unit in a deal worth about $6.5 billion to $7 billion, sources familiar with the matter said.
A sale topping $7 billion could rank as Asia's top insurance M&A deal and would help the bailed-out bancassurer repay the 3 billion euros of state aid plus the 50% premium it still owes the Dutch government. ING has turned into a divestment machine since receiving the state aid and has sold 15.2 billion euros worth of assets across the world. The Asian sales would figure among the top two deals from ING's stable.
As part of the Asian divestment, ING received about 10 initial bids for its Asian asset management business this week. The asset management business, expected to fetch between $500 million and $600 million, is being sold separately.
Singapore exports rose more than expected in April due to a surge in pharmaceuticals, but softness in electronics, a mainstay of manufacturing in many Asian economies, points to a likely slowdown in regional growth as China’s economy cools.

Singapore, an Asian business and financial center whose trade is three times the size of its economy, is widely seen as a barometer for the region. Electronics account for about one-third of its exports of domestically produced goods excluding oil.

The wealthy Southeast Asian city-state on Thursday said its non-oil domestic exports grew 8.3 percent in April from a year ago, beating the consensus forecast of 6.9 percent growth and turning around from March’s 4.3 percent year-on-year contraction.

ASIAN MANAGEMENT
Asian companies and sovereigns sold no dollar-denominated bonds last week for the first time since January after yields surged on the deepening debt crisis in Europe and slowing industrial output in China.
China Petrochemical Corp., the refiner known as Sinopec Group, sold the last securities in the U.S. currency on May 10, before the slowest week since the Lunar New Year holidays in January, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. While yields on U.S. Treasuries dropped to near record lows, average yields on Asian corporate debt have surged 24 basis points to 5.31 percent, the biggest weekly gain since the period ending Oct. 7, Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes show. Funding costs increased an average 10 basis points to 3.42 percent globally in the same period, the indexes show.
Asia's private equity funds are moving closer to North American and European peers in key areas, but despite a tight fundraising climate they still charge higher management fees than their global peers, a new survey has found.

Private equity firms are normally paid what's called a 2-and-20 fee, or a 2 percent management fee on the capital invested and 20 percent of the profits when companies are sold.
The 2 percent fee is contentious, particularly when fund sizes run into the billions of dollars, but as investors prune their exposure to alternative assets amid the economic downturn, they have been calling the shots and winning concessions on fee structures.

In Asia though, management fees are at or near the traditional 2 percent level, and decreased only slightly from the year earlier, according to a new survey of over 100 private equity funds actively raising money in 2011 from Asia-based private equity investment firm Squadron Capital.

BANKING
Spanish banks' bad loans rose in March to their highest in 18 years, underscoring the problems facing the government as it drafts in independent auditors in an attempt to reassure investors it can clean up the sector.
The Bank of Spain said bad loans rose to 8.37% of banks' outstanding loans, the highest since August 1994 and up from 8.3% in February, which was also revised higher. The data was released before Spain names auditors on Monday to assess how bad the losses are likely to get, and how much cash banks will need to rebuild their balance sheets.
The audit will start with a one-month stress test followed by a deeper analysis of assets in the financial sector, Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.
Key equity index, the BSE Sensex, today staged a dramatic comeback after the country’s largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), announced a jump of nearly 200 times in fourth-quarter net profit.
The 30-share Sensex gained nearly 400 points from intra-day low levels to close at 16,152. Stock brokers turned optimistic on banking shares after SBI made a pitch to global rating agencies for an upgrade. The broader index, S&P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange, rose 0.44 per cent or 21 points to close at 4,891. The Bank Nifty, a gauge of banking shares, rose 1.7 per cent. The SBI stock rose five per cent to close at Rs 1,942. The SBI result indicates concerns over asset quality of Indian banks have peaked. The state-run lender reported a net profit of Rs 4,050 crore during the quarter ended March, compared to a measly Rs 21 crore during the same quarter last year. The bottom line was boosted by less provisioning towards bad loans, standard assets and bond investments as yields softened. Healthy growth in core income also pushed up the profit.

BUSINESS
Wall Street stocks staged a late recovery and the euro flirted with a near two-year low on Wednesday as investors remained on edge about Greece's possible exit from the euro zone, which threatened to deepen the region's debt crisis and hurt an already fragile global recovery.
Nervous investors piled into low-risk US and German government debt, sending their yields lower. The dollar also was favoured as a safe haven by investors. Each euro zone country will have to prepare a contingency plan for the possibility of Greece's leaving the bloc, three euro zone sources told Reuters, citing an agreement reached by officials.
A scramble for low-risk investments enabled Germany to pay no interest on 5 billion euros in new two-year debt amid the absence of new measures to tackle the region's debt crisis.

"The markets are on edge and sensitive to every possible out-of-control scenario coming out of Europe," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

Europe's leaders were expected to discuss boosting growth at a dinner meeting o n W ednesday, as well as the idea of a joint euro-zone bond. French President Francois Hollande supports the bond plan, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes it.
Bharti Airtel, India's biggest telecom company, said it had reached a deal to buy a 49 per cent stake in US chip-maker Qualcomm's 4G business in India for Rs. 923 crore ($165 million), and would completely own the venture within the next two years.

The acquisition gives Bharti the opportunity to quickly launch services in four zones, including the key markets of Delhi and Mumbai, where it does not have 4G licences, making it a serious competitor to Reliance Industries-owned Infotel Broadband, the only company with pan-India permits to offer high-speed data services on mobiles, tablets and computers. At present, Bharti owns 4G licences in four markets - Kolkata, Karnataka, Punjab and Maharashtra.
Bharti Airtel shares rose nearly 7 per cent after the announcement, eventually closing at Rs. 297.80, up 5.6 per cent from Wednesday

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Royal Bank of Canada and Credit Suisse are a mong the suitors seeking to bid for the non-US wealth management businesses of Bank of America Merrill Lynch, sources told Reuters, in a deal that could be worth around $2 b i l lion.
Swiss bank Julius Baer is also looking to bid for part of the BofA wealth businesses on sale, the sources said. Reuters reported last month that BofA put its non-U.S. wealth division up for sale, a deal that includes units in Asia excluding Japan, Europe and the Middle East and Latin America. The auction is another case of consolidation in the wealth management industry and comes as BofA is trying to re-focus the bank after its plunge in value following the financial crisis.
Bank of America, which sources say has received non-binding bids for the units, is selling the wealth division because it is too small and has failed to produce significant profits. The non-U.S. business manages about $90 billion of an estimated $2 trillion that the BofA wealth division oversees globally.
The BofA auction is the biggest deal in the wealth management industry since ING Group sold off its private banking assets in Europe and Asia in 2010 for about $1.9 billion.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) has put its Indian wealth management unit on sale, along with its other non-US wealth management businesses, according to persons familiar with the matter.
Reuters reported last month that BofA-ML had put its non-US wealth division up for sale, a deal that includes units in Asia excluding Japan, Europe, West Asia and Latin America. The firm’s Indian wealth management unit is also part of this sale process, according to the persons cited earlier, who declined to be named. An e-mail query sent to BofA-ML’s global wealth and investment management spokespersons on the issue remained unanswered.
Merrill Lynch Private Wealth Managers, BofA-ML’s Indian wealth management unit, is among the top 10 players in the country. It competes with wealth management arms of foreign players like Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, Deutsche Bank and local banks like HDFC Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank. The unit has a staff strength of 125-150 people.

FINANCE
Ship Finance International Ltd.'s (SFL) first-quarter profit rose 21% on a stronger performance in the tanker market.
The company, which operates large vessels for the transport of crude oil, had seen a weaker tanker market and higher expenses weigh on profits in recent months. But the spot tanker market rebounded at the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, and the latest quarter outperformed the preceding two quarters.
Ship Finance recently agreed to end its chartering agreements with Horizon Lines Inc. (HRZL) under an agreement that makes Ship Finance a large stakeholder in the ocean shipping company.
Following the deal, Ship Finance now has seven container vessels in the spot market, said Chief Executive Ole B. Hjertaker. Given the changed profile of its container business, the company is evaluating structural alternatives to maximize its value, he said, including carving out the container business into a separate entity.
Ship Finance said in March that Chief Financial Officer Eirik Eide would leave in the second quarter after a two-year stint to join another shipping company. He will be replaced by Senior Vice President Harald Gurvin.

US consumer finance watchdog to regulate reloadable prepaid cards

The US consumer financial watchdog has trained its sight on reloadable prepaid cards, as it moves to regulate a fast-growing product that has gained popularity as an alternative to checking accounts for lower-income Americans and a new source of fees for some banks.
Consumer advocates have been calling for regulation of the cards, which appear similar to conventional credit cards or debit cards tied to bank accounts. However, the prepaid cards are not required to offer the same consumer protections, such as clear disclosure of fees and caps on losses in case they are stolen. Reloadable prepaid cards that let customers add money to the accounts, were pioneered by alternative financial services companies such as Green Dot Corp in Monrovia, following which a number of large banks have launched similar products.
Consumers are expected to load prepaid cards with around $82 billion this year, an amount expected to more than double to $167 billion by 2014, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

INDIA BUSINESS
Islamic branding is an idea whose time has come, as brands tracking a broader consumer base get accustomed to Muslim sensibilities. It's not just about halal food alone, for it's at the forefront of the branding repertoire that resonates deeply with Muslim consumers around the globe.

Homegrown brands like CavinKare, Daawat, Bikano, Goldwinner oil, Vadilal ice cream, Amrutanjan Health Care and Gujarat Ambuja Exports are embracing halal-certification to get a better foothold in markets like Singapore, Malaysia and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries.

CavinKare has got a halal certification from Halal India, an apex body for halal certification , for three of its products - Fairever, Nyle herbal shampoo and Ruchi pickle - to expand its footprint in Singapore, Malaysia and GCC. "The certification is a reason-to-belief for customers on quality parameters. The certification will also give an edge over our competitors," said R S Vijay Kumar, GM of international business at Cavin-Kare , a Chennai-based personal care company.
Government gears up for pay parity in Indian Airlines and Air India
Crisis-ridden Air India may be headed for more HR trouble as the aviation ministry begins work on implementing the Dharmadhikari committee's report to bring about pay parity between employees of the now merged AI and Indian Airlines. The ministry has decided to implement the panel's suggestions for scrapping of performance-linked incentive (PLI) to employees to bring AI pay structure in line with the Public Enterprise Selection Board.

The ministry is yet to decide on other suggestions like allowing pilots of AI and IA to be cross-utilized for all aircraft in the merged airline's fleet, while having different seniority criteria for them. A ministerial panel is studying the report to decide what would finally be done so that implementation can begin in two months. "AI pilots are the highest paid pilots in the world. In the first year of implementing the report, we are targeting a saving of Rs 250 crore. This will mean some people take some pain but the cuts for people who are getting way more than industry average will not be more than 10-15 %," said sources.

INDIA MANAGEMENT
Wipro, India’s third-largest information technology (IT) services company, is likely to bag a contract worth Rs 960 crore from the Indian Air Force (IAF) to automate its maintenance management system.
The city-based soap-to-software maker has emerged as the lowest bidder for the contract, according to sources with direct knowledge of the development. Wipro is understood to have quoted Rs 960 crore for the project, while the second- and third-lowest bidders have quoted over Rs 1,000 crore. The defence ministry had issued the request for proposals (RFP) in 2008. Around 14 Indian and global IT companies, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCL, were said to be in the fray.
The sources said Wipro had bid for the contract as a system integrator for the project, with IBM as the original equipment manufacturer. Wipro will be responsible for the supply, installation, integration and maintenance of servers, and storage for the project, while IBM will supply the necessary hardware.
The deadlock at national carrier Air India continued for the ninth day on Wednesday despite strong feelers from the pilots that they are willing to talk with the management and the government to end the crisis. But the pilots were snubbed and there were no takers for the offer. The Air India management put the contingency plan into action and was able to operate flights to key international destinations such as Paris, New York, Frankfurt and Chicago.
Air India, however, cancelled some of its domestic flights between Mumbai and Delhi and redeployed some aircraft on international routes. It has decided to fly an Airbus A319 aircraft on the Singapore route.
"We have implemented the contingency plan. We are operating a bare minimum number of international operations by clubbing flights to destinations in Europe and the US," a senior Air India official said. "Only one flight in the Delhi-Hong Kong-Seoul route was cancelled on Wednesday. We have also brought in Airbus family of aircraft like A320, A321 and A330 to be used on international routes," the official said.

INSURANCE
Despite the difficult market conditions, Reliance Capital posted a strong set of number for the fourth quarter of FY12. The company achieved a milestone in terms of turnover last year, with revenues of over Rs 6500 crore.
In an interview to CNBC-TV18, chief executive Sam Ghosh says that each business outperformed significantly compared to last year, taking the company’s profit up 50% Rs 450 crore. “Based on the market, our assets under management (AUM) have fallen significantly, however we are number 1 in the mutual fund segment in terms of profitability as well as AUM,” he added. The broking business, commercial finance business and life insurance business also posted good profits for FY12. “If you look at the life insurance business, though new business premiums have fallen, this is the first year we made profits of Rs 373 crore,” said Ghosh.
Mutual funds and insurance companies have found a new ally in chit funds, a traditional savings scheme, for reaching out to small-town investors. Large chit funds in states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and New Delhi are diversifying into financial product distribution to step up revenues.
Prominent chit fund companies like The Balussery Benefit Chit Fund, Shriram Group, Margadarsi Group, MCI Bangalore Chits, Jayapriya Chits and Wealth Junction, among many other smaller players, have forayed into financial product distribution. As per the Chit Fund Act of 1982, all these companies have created a separate business vertical to launch their distribution venture. "We've requested for an amendment to the Chit Fund Act, which will allow us to run the distribution business within our core chit funds business," said the All India Chit Fund Association secretary and proprietor of The Balussery Benefit Chit Fund, TS Sivaramakrishnan.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
A Chinese conglomerate announced today it will buy a major US cinema chain, AMC Entertainment Holdings, for $2.6 billion to create the world's biggest movie theater operator.
Dalian Wanda Group Co.'s purchase reflects the global ambitions of a wave of cash-rich Chinese companies that are using acquisitions to speed their expansion by obtaining foreign skills and brand names. Beijing-based Wanda said it will invest an additional $500 million to fund AMC's development. AMC operates 346 cinemas, mostly in the United States and Canada, and says it has 23 of the 50 highest-grossing US outlets.
"We support AMC becoming bigger, not only in the United States but in the global market," said Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin at a signing ceremony for the acquisition.
The deal also reflects rising Chinese investment in US companies despite disputes between the two governments over trade and political issues such as this month's diplomatic standoff over a blind Chinese legal activist. The acquisition needs approval from regulators in China and the US.
Chinese companies had invested $34.8 billion in the United States by the end of 2011 in industries including auto parts, agriculture and steelmaking, according to data compiled by economist Derek Scissors at the Heritage Foundation in Washington.
Grexit, the term being used to describe Greece leaving the Eurozone, is likely to dominate world markets for a while, as fresh elections in Greece look like a certainty. Global markets were in a roil Monday, with widely differing viewpoints on events over the next few days. According to polls, fresh elections in Greece would see the Syriza party, which came second, winning in a massive backlash against Brussels imposed austerity.
Syriza's leader Alexis Tsipras is committed to tearing up Greece's bailout agreement with Europe, and intends to force a who blinks first showdown with Brussels, arguing that Greece can stay in the Eurozone but without the crippling austerity programme imposed that has seen its economy shrinking. In Brussels, where Eurozone leaders are due to meet later, the mood is currently not conciliatory, and the view is that Greece can choose to leave the European Union - an exit option that was earlier not available, if it wants to, while EU leaders ensure that the rest of the Eruozone is ring-fenced so the contagion doesn't spread to Portugal or Spain. The consensus view among most analysts, and central bankers is that while Brussels may be willing to ease targets for Greece, it will insist that the country adhere to agreed spending cuts and austerity.

LOGISTICS
Global trade logistics performance slowed down over the last two years amid the global recession, but India and others that pursued aggressive reforms continued to improve, according to the World Bank.

India with a Logistics Performance Indicators (LPI) score of 3.08 was ranked 46th in the World Bank's latest survey on trade logistics with Singapore with a score of 4.12 listed as the top performer among the 155 economies included in the report.

Countries like India, Chile, China, Morocco, South Africa, Turkey, and the US all improved their previous performance, according to the study, which is based on a comprehensive world survey of international freight forwarders and express carriers. According to the LPI report, high income economies dominate the top logistics rankings, while the economies with the worst performance are least developed countries that are also often landlocked, small islands, or post-conflict states.

In the upper-middle income country category, top performers include South Africa, China and Turkey.
Logistics major DTDC Courier and Cargo has acquired 53% stake in UAE-based Eurostar Express for an undisclosed amount.
"The acquisition allows DTDC to combine its strength with Eurostar and penetrate and consolidate its presence all over the West Asia, including GCC and MENA areas, more comprehensively," said Suresh Bansal, director and head of international business, DTDC. DTDC's move to invest in a global company comes at a time when foreign companies are largely investing in firms in India. In recent times, logistics giant Fedex bought out Mumbai-based AFL Freight and private equity players have been investing in logistics players in the country.
The acquisition will enable the Bangalore-based company access to the robust infrastructure and quality delivery capabilities in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, he said.
Eurostar group will hold 33% in Eurostar Express. Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital holds 44% stake in DTDC

MANAGEMENT
JPMorgan Chase & Co’s (JPM.N) Chief Investment Office (CIO), which was responsible for at least $2 billion in mark-to-market losses, appears to have made some classic mistakes in managing trading desk risk and monitoring traders.
Although the CIO losses have not been blamed on a rogue trader, they do have much in common with the incidents at UBS and Société Générale (SG), where single traders lost billions seemingly overnight.
At the time the losses were announced last week, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan chief executive, said the strategy that was responsible for the losses was “flawed, complex, poorly reviewed, poorly executed and poorly monitored.”
Dimon’s candor says plenty about the state of trading desk risk management at JP Morgan and other Wall Street firms. In the cases of MF Global, UBS and SG, sloppiness and incompetence in the institutions’ risk management of trading operations were cited as important contributing factors.
Most financial advisers and investors are sticking to a strict diet with exchange-traded funds, avoiding all but the most popular of options.
Heading into this month, just 25 funds held 61% of all the assets in U.S.-listed ETFs–and there are more than 1,458 on the market right now, according to investment researcher XTF Global. That herd-like mentality is credited by analysts to an emphasis–some say an overemphasis–on size and liquidity.
A growing number of ETFs focus on smaller niches and esoteric themes, which could be useful in a portfolio but their bid-ask spreads are often wider because they hold fewer assets and trade less often. “There is a common misconception that if an ETF is trading at relatively low volume levels and isn’t a leading asset gatherer, it’s best to stay away,” says Alec Papazian, a strategist at Cerulli Associates who has studied such issues.

MARKETING
Fierce competition in the field of marketing takes a toll on in-house marketing departments of companies. To ease their load and cash-in on this opportunity, marketing process outsourcing (MPO) firms have come to the fore. The new-age phenomenon was concentrated in southern states until recently. Now, MPO firms are heading for the national capital region ( NCR). An MPO firm is an end-to-end marketing solutions provider that undertakes the entire array of marketing, sales, advertising and PR operations for its clients. It helps save the company the pillar-to-post run to hire multiple agencies for marketers.
"Outsourcing some or all of the marketing operations enables an organisation to focus on its core business. Unlike the traditional way when outsourcing was 'task-based' where the chief marketing officer and his/ her team were managing outcomes through an ecosystem of multiple agencies," says Vinod Harith, founder and CEO of CMO Axis.
"We have predominantly focused on India for the first four years. Till recently our major market was Bangalore and Chennai but now shifting to Delhi-NCR and Mumbai. This year we have set up our global business team to focus on the US and Middle East market and then to Europe and Singapore in the next phase," emphasised Mr Harith.
Growth in the LCD TV market in India has slowed down significantly in the first quarter of 2012 at 10% as compared to 100% in the same period last year, says latest research by DisplaySearch.
The research also points out the decline of rupee to Rs 56 against dollar has increased input costs for LCD TV brands in India. If the TV makers decide to pass on the higher cost to customers, it may further dampen the growth rate, the research says. TV makers like Panasonic, Samsung and Akai have indicated possibilities of price hike with the companies planning increasing prices by 3-5% to off-set the weakening rupee.
"The TV brands have a pressing need to increase sales in the Indian hinterland, which requires a strong value proposition. With the combination of low-cost direct LED backlights and efficiencies in the LCD TV supply chain will enable the manufacturers to achieve its goal," says Indrajit Ghosh, director (India and South Asia) at DisplaySearch.
DisplaySearch feels the direct LED backlit technology in LCD TV will be the future as it would give brands room to price attractively even with the weaker rupee. "These low-cost direct LED sets can be marketed as 'LED' with the implication of improved technology," says Ghosh.

ODISHA BUSINESS
Odisha government and Posco- India Wednesday agreed to set up an 8 mtpa greenfield steel plant near Paradip, downsizing the earlier plan of establishing a 12 mtpa facility.

This was stated by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Posco-India CMD Y W Yoon after a marathon 90-minute discussion over the future of the proposed mega steel project which had been hanging in balance for last seven years.

"We will start the project work as soon as the state government hands over 2,700 acres of land for setting up of 8 mtpa steel plant," Yoon told reporters.

The company had so far been given only 500 acres of land for the purpose though the government claimed to have acquired about 2,000 acres, he said.

Posco-India which had proposed to set up a 12 mtpa steel plant near Paradip at an investment of Rs 52,000 crore, said to be the biggest FDI in the country, had failed to pick up due to various issues including stiff resistance from locals under Ersama block of Jagatsinghpur district.
The High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA), the apex body to clear projects across sectors involving investment beyond Rs 1,000 crore, is expected to meet shortly to reaffirm the state's investor friendly image and fast track execution of major projects.
A string of investments, bulk of them in metals and power sectors, were awaiting the nod of HLCA which has not met since May 4 last year. “The HLCA is set to meet soon to clear backlog of investment proposals. We have asked the concerned departments to compile reports expeditiously on decisions taken in the previous HLCA meetings,” said an industries department official.
As per data compiled by Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) under Union ministry of commerce & industry, Odisha had attracted investments of Rs 13.66 lakh crore till January 2012, beating other states in drawing investors.
Among the mega projects yet to be cleared include Rs 10,000-cr expansion plan of Aditya Aluminium Ltd, a unit of Hindalco Industries Ltd, to ramp up capacity of its aluminium smelter and captive power plant (CPP) proposed at Jharsuguda in western Odisha.

RETAIL
State Bank of India posted a record quarterly profit on higher earnings from retail loans and a turnaround in treasury income, pushing its stock up 5.1%, as Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri declared victory in his 'war on bad loans'.

Higher interest income and lower provisioning for bad loans helped SBI report earnings that may wipe out worries about its financial health, after the state-run bank almost plunged into losses in the same quarter last year.

The bank said net profit for the March quarter was Rs 4,050 crore, up from an insignificant Rs 21 crore a year earlier, when it set aside funds for loans that it may not recover. Analysts had forecast a net profit of Rs 3,530 crore. Net interest income - the difference between cost of funds and interest earned from loans - rose 44% to Rs 11,591 crore. Net interest margins, a measure of profitability, rose to 3.89%, from 3.07% a year earlier. The lender will pay a dividend of Rs 35 a share.
Close on the heels of the WPI (wholesale price index) numbers indicating an uptrend in food prices, official data at the retail level released on Friday confirmed a fresh bout of rising prices, which the consumer will have to bear for some months to come.
As per the CPI (consumer price index) data, retail inflation breached the double-digit mark at 10.32 per cent in April, primarily owing to a surge in prices of vegetable, milk, edible oils and protein-based items.
The nearly one percentage point spurt — as compared to the CPI inflation figure revised down to 9.38 per cent from the provisional estimate of 9.47 per cent for March — during the first month of the current fiscal year does not augur well on two counts.
First, it is just the beginning of the summer season when fodder prices will tend to rise and lead to a further hike in milk and meat prices. And, as for edible oils, with the rupee in a depreciation mode, imported edible oils will cost more.

SUPPLY CHAIN
Gartner Says Worldwide Supply Chain Management Software Market Grew 12.3 Percent to Reach $7.7 Billion In 2011
The worldwide supply chain management (SCM) software market totaled $7.7 billion in 2011, a 12.3 percent increase from 2010, according to Gartner, Inc.
It was the second year of double-digit growth for the SCM software market as supply chain investments kept their priority status and moved forward, despite caution from IT budget decision makers.

“Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, the market for supply chain applications showed itself to be pretty resilient in 2011 with most SCM providers continuing to expand their footprints,” said Chad Eschinger, research vice president at Gartner. “North America and Western Europe continued to be the prime consumers of SCM software in terms of dollars spent, with nearly 79 percent of market revenue. However, European growth slowed in 2011 while Asia/Pacific continued to experience robust growth that significantly outpaced the market average.”
Steelwedge, the leader in cloud-based sales and operations planning (S&OP) will host a live webinar tomorrow with Supply Chain Insights founder, Lora Cecere, who will unveil results of a new study about supply chain agility and the role of S&OP in improving organizational capabilities to sense and respond.
Ms. Cecere, supply chain analyst, researcher and author of forthcoming book, Bricks Matter, will share insights from a study she conducted in April with more than 100 Supply Chain leaders. Her research, "How S&OP Drives Agility" explores the definition of business agility, its importance and the processes and tools used to deliver better responsiveness and results in an ever-changing global market.
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Source of Information for this issue : Google alert accessed on 21st and 25th May & Google search accessed on 24th and 25th May 201­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­2.
We welcome your suggestions in improving this information updating service.
Knowledge Is Power. Be Informed, Be Knowledgeable, Be Powerful.
Best wishes
Compilation
 Sabita Sahu, B.A., PGDCA, MLISc, 
Professional Library Trainee
Concept, Layout and Editing
Rajashekhar Devarai
Chief Librarian
Information and Documentation Division,  Chanakya Central Library
Asian School of Business Management
Shiksha Vihar Bhola,
Barang Khurda Road, Chandaka
Bhubaneswar-754012


Sabita Sahu : Professional Library Trainee and R.S.Devarai : Chief Librarian, Knowledge and Information Services Unit, Chanakya Central Library, Asian School of Business Management, Bhubaneswar. chieflibrarian@asbm.ac.in ; www.asbm.ac.in

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