ASIAN
BUSINESS
Asian
stock markets rose modestly Tuesday as a respite from major bad news gave
investors the pluck to get back into riskier assets.
Traders
brushed aside disappointing U.S. factory orders as falling bond yields for
Spain and Italy boosted confidence that Europe can avoid a messy breakup of its
currency union.
Japan's
Nikkei 225 index rose 0.9 percent to 8,366.58. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.5
percent to 18,310.47 and South Korea's Kospi gained 1.1 percent to 1,802.80.
Benchmarks
in Singapore, Taiwan, and Indonesia also rose. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose
1.3 percent to 4,033.80. Benchmarks in mainland China, Thailand and New Zealand
fell.
Andrew
Sullivan, principal sales trader at Piper Jaffray, said short covering—the
purchase of securities by a short seller to return those that they borrowed
from a broker and sold—could explain some of the gains in Hong Kong. Short
selling is profitable if the price continues to fall because the securities can
be bought back at a lower price.
Washington's planned strategic shift to Asia will
challenge existing alliances as nations try to balance strong economic ties to
China with defence links to Washington, a conference heard Sunday.
Many Asian countries have major business relations
with China but are also defence allies of the United States.
"The political, economic and cultural
ramifications of a newly-empowered Asia are bound to impact existing security
and economic relationships," Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen said at
the Shangri-La Dialogue, a conference on security issues.
He cited the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), Australia, Japan and South Korea -- which all have China as their
biggest trading partner but consider the US as the "dominant resident
security power" in the region.
"This divergence of economic partnerships and
defence relations will challenge existing alignments among nations," Ng
told the conference, which ended Sunday. "No nation wants to be in a
position to choose sides."
ASIAN MANAGEMENT
China should form a maritime cooperation forum with
India and US to focus on maritime border security management, joint exploration
of resources in order to reduce friction with neighbours in the South China
Sea, a write up in an official media here said today.
"China should take the initiative in building a
maritime cooperation organisation, which can reduce trouble and prevent
confrontation through building a consensus on maritime cooperation," the
Global Times web edition said. The organisation should focus on maritime border
security management, joint exploration of resources and crisis handling, it
said a day after US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta
announced at Singapore yesterday that America plans to shift a bulk of its
naval fleet to Asia Pacific by 2020.
China should advocate a new outlook of maritime
security, deepen cooperation mechanisms like the ASEAN Plus Three and
ASEAN Plus One, and craft an East
Asian Free Trade Area, the write up said.
"Its basic structure should include three levels,
East Asian state organisations as the core, dialogue mechanisms among regional
forces like the US, Australia and India as the outer level, and forums of
observers like the EU
and the UN as the periphery. As a result, all relevant parties with conflicts,
interests or concerns will be included," it said.
Swiss-headquartered
Veco Group ("the Group"), one of the most widely recognised and
professionally respected names in the advisory and fiduciary services industry,
announced today the opening of its first Asian office in Hong Kong. The new
Hong Kong office is a strategic part of the Group's commitment to bring its
unrivaled level of Swiss tradition of reliability, customisation and
performance to the increasing number of Asia-based private and corporate
clients who require discreet and independent advice.
Established
in Lugano in 1973 by Mr. Roberto Verga, Veco Group has grown to become a
preferred name for clients including some of the most respected families,
industrialists, entrepreneurs and corporations in Europe, Latin America, Asia
and the Middle East. With a 40-year tradition of Swiss excellence and offices
in major financial centers, the Group is distinguished by providing global
clients with truly independent and customised solutions in four focus areas,
namely trust, asset management, multi-family office and international
commercial trade assistance. The wide geographical coverage of Veco Group's
network of branches and partners enables it to offer clients an extensive range
of corporate and trust services worldwide.
BANKING
The intensifying euro zone crisis and uncertain global
growth outlook have raised hopes for a policy response from major central banks
but, while it could be a close call, they are likely to resist pressure to act
in the coming week.
The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the
Reserve Bank of Australia are all due to meet as data emerges on the euro
zone's service sector, and the manufacturing and trade performances of the big
German and U.S. economies.
The main focus will be Wednesday's ECB meeting, and
whether dramatic selling of peripheral European government debt by investors in
May and a flight into safe-haven U.S. Treasuries and German government bonds
will prompt it to act.
One reason to doubt a major shift in policy is that,
even after U.S. Treasury 10-year notes hit yields not seen in more than two
centuries of record keeping, and investors began paying the German government
for the right to hold its debt, the move across all markets may not warrant it.
"The stresses appear not yet to be big enough
across all asset classes for the policymakers to react," said Richard
Batty, global investment strategist at Standard Life Investments.
Ahead
of the European
Commission revealing plans to rescue and wind down failing lenders on the
continent as the Spanish banking crisis mounts, Britain has ruled out
participating in any European bank bailout or new fund.
Spain's banking sector is in crisis due to a housing
bubble that burst three years ago causing debts to pile up. Bankia, the fourth
biggest bank has been bailed out. European officials are working on two sets of
plans to address the crisis facing the European banking system.
The first, due to be published Wednesday, is a new
"crisis management framework" that would see the establishment of a
Europe-wide resolution-regime for banks. It would give officials powers to
seize and wind up failing lenders.
The other plan, which officials are still working on,
is for a European bailout fund to recapitalise the banks and restore market confidence.
The scheme would be funded by a levy on banks. The full proposal will be put to
EU leaders later this month.
However, Britain is opposed to this proposal,
potentially putting it at odds with France and Spain. Germany is said to side
with Britain.
BUSINESS
Google Inc is dipping its toe into the
customer-service business as the world's largest Internet search company steps
up competition with e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc .
Google
rolled out a new certification service called Google Trusted Stores on Thursday
that helps shoppers see which online merchants ship quickly and reliably and
which ones offer great customer service.
Google
has been testing the free service with online retailers including Wayfair,
Timbuk2 and Beau-coup. It is open to all U.S. merchants starting on Thursday.
Google
offers up to $1,000 in what it calls "purchase protection" to
shoppers who opt in to the program when making a purchase.
The
company has a dedicated customer service team based at its Mountain View,
California, headquarters to help resolve problems if shoppers are not getting
anywhere with the merchant.
Google
is also working on providing its own phone-based support for shoppers in the
program, said Tom Fallows, an e-commerce veteran who is now group product
manager at Google Shopping.
Putting
its faith on smart devices to forge ahead in a highly competitive mobile
space, Nokia has declared its readiness to launch in the Indian market the
Nokia Lumia 900, Lumia 610 and Nokia 808 PureView.
Nokia announced that it would expand its
Lumia range of devices in India by the third quarter of 2012.
The Finnish major also indicated that it
would launch the much-anticipated Nokia 808 PureView anytime soon. “We should
have PureView phones by the middle of this month,” said Vipul Mehrotra,
Director, Smart Device, Nokia India, at a strategy meet held near the city
on Thursday.
“Nokia 808 PureView will start shipping
in India by the middle of this month,” said a Nokia statement. Nokia 808
PureView combined a large, high resolution 41-megapixel, sensor, Carl Zeiss
optics and Nokia-developed pixel over sampling technology.
In the meanwhile, Nokia unveiled the
Asha Touch family of mobile devices in India. The two new phone models — Nokia
Asha 305 and Nokia Asha 311 — come on top of the Asha smart phone family. The
two Asha Touch family models would be made from its Sriperumbudur facility, a
release said.
BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
Two of the most storied names in global finance are
linking up, with Europe's Rothschild banking dynasty agreeing to buy a stake in
the Rockefeller group's wealth and asset management business to gain a
long-sought foothold in the United States.
Rothschild's London-listed RIT Capital Partners (RCP.L)
said on Wednesday it was buying a 37 percent stake in Rockefeller from French
group Societe Generale's (SOGN.PA)
private banking arm, for an undisclosed sum.
The transatlantic union brings together David
Rockefeller, 96, and Jacob Rothschild, 76 - two family patriarchs whose
personal relationship spans five decades.
"We are combining, on a macro level, two well-recognized
names and families who have a long history of wealth creation and responsible
stewardship," Rockefeller Chief Executive Reuben Jeffery said in an
interview.
Specific business initiatives arising from the new
partnership have not yet been determined, Jeffery said. "It will take us
time to work out the details."
One area where Rockefeller's clients may benefit, he
said, is access to Rothschild's direct private equity investments.
Rockefeller & Co traces its origins back to 1882
when it was founded as one of the world's first family offices by Standard Oil
baron John D. Rockefeller to manage his personal wealth. It became a
U.S.-registered investment adviser in 1980 and has since developed into a
wealth and investment manager overseeing $34 billion for ultra-rich families,
trusts, endowments and other institutions.
Buoyed by growth trends in the last year, global IT
firm SAP expects to
become the second largest player in the IT
database management business in the country in coming years.
"We acquired 20 new clients in the first quarter
(ended march 31, 2012). From the growth trends that we are seeing, we expect to
be No 2 in database business," SAP India Managing Director Peter
Gartenberg told reporters here. The company is relatively new in the
database management business but expects to catch up fast with its competition,
specially in India.
"India is among top 4-5 markets where we have to
win ... the impact that India has on global market and technology ... we cannot
afford to lose," SAP's Global Executive Vice President Steve Lucas said.
"We started last year and today, we have 1
billion euros in revenue (from HANA) and 3,000 customers evaluating HANA (SAP's
data analysis solution) globally, 400 have purchased and around 100 have
deployed it. I won't be surprise if we cross 2 billion euros business by end of
this financial year," Lucas said.
SAP IT solutions include software which can inform
companies or their retailers about customers probable shopping requirement by
analysing his previous data available with them and thus provide opportunity to
increase their sales.
FINANCE
G-7 finance officials review European developments
Finance ministers and central bank presidents of the
world's seven wealthiest countries held an emergency conference call Tuesday to
review the policy options European leaders are considering to forge a stronger
financial and fiscal union in Europe.
After the call, the White House said it believed
European leaders had a ``heightened sense of urgency'' about confronting a
crisis that threatens the U.S. economy. White House spokesman Jay Carney
said that President Barack Obama welcomed what Carney called ``accelerated
European action'' to avoid a euro zone meltdown that could have global
consequences.
``European leaders seem to be moving with a heightened
sense of urgency and we welcome that and we are hoping to see accelerated
European action over the next several weeks,'' Carney said. ``A movement to
strengthen the European banking system would be of particular importance during
this time period.''
In a statement, Treasury said that the G-7 finance officials
agreed to keep monitoring developments closely in the run-up to a leaders'
summit of the Group of 20 major economies on June 18-19 in Los Cabos, Mexico.
The European debt crisis is expected to be the major agenda item at that
meeting.
The G-7 countries are the United States, Japan,
Germany, France, Britain, Canada and Italy. The G-20 includes the G-7 nations
plus emerging economic powers such as China, India and Brazil.
The United States was represented at G-7 finance
discussions by Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Excise levy may be raised on diesel cars
The government appears to have made up its mind to
increase excise duty on diesel cars to neutralize the advantage of the state
subsidy that has prompted motorists to increasingly favour vehicles powered by
the fuel that’s Rs30 a litre cheaper at the pump than petrol.
Indications that the government is leaning towards an
increase in the levy emerged at a meeting summoned by the finance ministry on
Wednesday, said four people, including a government official, familiar with the
matter. The decision may be taken before the monsoon session of Parliament
begins sometime in July.
The meeting, chaired by finance secretary R.S. Gujral,
was attended by executives of leading auto makers and officials of the the
department of heavy industries as well as representatives of the auto industry
lobby Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam). “The finance ministry wants to do away with the
impression that rich people are getting benefited by the subsidy given on
diesel,” said a senior government official who attended the meeting and spoke
on condition of anonymity. “The tone of the ministry officials during the
meeting clearly suggested that they are adamant on increasing the duty amid
rising pressure from various quarters.”
INDIA
BUSINESS
India's economy grew at a near-decade low of 5.3 per
cent in the January-March quarter, data showed Thursday, as high interest rates
and the global
downturn hit the emerging market giant.
The unexpectedly grim figure undershot analysts' 6.1 per cent growth forecasts and coincided with neighbouring China's series of bleak data that have dashed hopes non-Western economies could help revive the global economy.
HSBC chief India economist Leif Eskesen compared India's weak performance, which pushed the country's currency to a record low of 56.50 rupees to the dollar, to that of a "gasping elephant"."The slowdown in growth has proven deeper than expected. It is the result of the lagged effects of monetary policy tightening and the impact of the weak global economic conditions," Eskesen said.
Full-year growth to March 2012 was 6.5 per cent, lower than the government's initial estimate of 6.9 per cent and far below the 8.4 per cent logged the previous year.
It was also the weakest annual growth since India's economy expanded by just four per cent in 2002-03.
The unexpectedly grim figure undershot analysts' 6.1 per cent growth forecasts and coincided with neighbouring China's series of bleak data that have dashed hopes non-Western economies could help revive the global economy.
HSBC chief India economist Leif Eskesen compared India's weak performance, which pushed the country's currency to a record low of 56.50 rupees to the dollar, to that of a "gasping elephant"."The slowdown in growth has proven deeper than expected. It is the result of the lagged effects of monetary policy tightening and the impact of the weak global economic conditions," Eskesen said.
Full-year growth to March 2012 was 6.5 per cent, lower than the government's initial estimate of 6.9 per cent and far below the 8.4 per cent logged the previous year.
It was also the weakest annual growth since India's economy expanded by just four per cent in 2002-03.
Voicing Indian businesses' concern over new US
restrictions imposed on H1-B and L1 visas, New Delhi has expressed the hope
this trend will not be sustained in keeping with the "logic and
rationale" of India-US
partnership.
India and the US should be working towards having one
of the world's largest trading relationships, India's ambassador Nirupama Rao
said on Wednesday, citing secretary of state Hillary Clinton's comment that
there is much more potential to unleash in the two nations' economic
partnership.
Noting that a key aspect of India-US economic
engagement is partnerships in high technology areas, Rao voiced the increasing
concern among Indian businesses about the difficulties they face due to
progressively stringent visa regulations. "The Indian IT industry
contributed $15 billion in taxes in the US over the last five years," Rao
told the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank, ahead of India-US strategic
dialogue on June 13.
"Ironically, the same industry is subject to new
restrictions imposed on H1-B and L1 visas," the ambassador said. "We
hope this is not a trend that will be sustained. The logic and rationale of our
partnership merits otherwise."
INDIA
MANAGEMENT
The whole India story was built around high-octane
growth. Now that growth is sputtering, investors both Indian and foreign, are
generally holding on to their Indian investments hoping for a rebound or
looking for greener pastures.
The economy in the year’s first three months grew just
5.3 percent from a year earlier, the slowest quarterly pace since early 2003.
“A gasping elephant” was how dismayed Leif Lybecker Eskesen, chief economist
for India at HSBC, described the Indian economy in a note to investors.
The euro crisis and fragile global financial system is
the government’s favourite defence. But investor confidence has been dented by
issues closer to home like the government’s waffling on key policy
announcements, massive spending on welfare programs which have created an
unsustainable budget deficit and failure to push through economic reforms.
India's
growth rate fell to its slowest pace in almost a decade last year, according to
government estimates published Thursday, putting further pressure on a
fractured coalition government in New Delhi that has been widely criticized for
its management of the economy.
India's economy grew 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March, down from 8.4 per cent the year before, as sectors like manufacturing, mining and agriculture did poorly. In a worrying sign for the rest of this year, the report showed a sharp drop-off in economic activity in the first three months of 2012, with growth falling to 5.3 per cent, from 9.2 per cent a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting India's growth rate to slow because of a contraction in new investments by the private sector and the financial effects of the crisis in Europe, but the numbers were worse than predicted. Moreover, more sectors exhibited slower growth, raising new concerns about the economy.
India's economy grew 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year that ended in March, down from 8.4 per cent the year before, as sectors like manufacturing, mining and agriculture did poorly. In a worrying sign for the rest of this year, the report showed a sharp drop-off in economic activity in the first three months of 2012, with growth falling to 5.3 per cent, from 9.2 per cent a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting India's growth rate to slow because of a contraction in new investments by the private sector and the financial effects of the crisis in Europe, but the numbers were worse than predicted. Moreover, more sectors exhibited slower growth, raising new concerns about the economy.
INSURANCE
Drivers are paying £225m extra a year for car insurance because
insurers are inflating costs for repairs and hire vehicles, the Office of Fair Trading
said as it announced its intention to refer the market to the Competition
Commission.
Motor insurance premiums rose by
12% between 2009 and 2010, and by a further 9% in the first three quarters of
2011, according to the OFT.
It has now concluded that a large part of that
increase is down to insurers inflating the costs of providing replacement
vehicles to not-at-fault drivers following an accident. In some cases the cost
of these is more than £1,000 above the going rate. "Competition in this
market does not appear to work well for drivers," said John Fingleton,
chief executive of the OFT. "We believe the focus that insurers have on
gaining the competitive edge through raising their rivals' costs means that
drivers pay more than they need to for their motor insurance policies.
"Because insurers are distracted from competing
primarily on the quality and value of service provided to insured drivers,
incentives for greater efficiency may be reduced."
The finance ministry
has told the four state-owned general insurance firms to restructure their
fire, health and motor businesses to cut losses that run into hundreds of
crores.
It wants better
management of claims, reduction in expenses and end to the pricing war that
have resulted in a combined loss of nearly Rs 1,500 crore in the last financial
year on group health insurance alone. "We want insurers to come with
realistic pricing for all products and not to take on loss-making portfolios in
order to gain business share," said a finance ministry official who did
not want to be identified.
The finance ministry
has sent a detailed advisory to the four insurers (New India Assurance,
Oriental Insurance, United India Insurance and National Insurance) asking them
to cut losses on third party motor insurance, group health policies and fire
insurance.
The government has
from April 1 this year discontinued the third party motor pool, a mechanism to
distribute losses among all the insurance companies, and is worried that most
of this loss-making business could come to the state-run insurers.
"The PSUs are advised to
be more cautious and prudent in underwriting motor business by devising a
proper underwriting/marketing strategy to minimise TP (third party
losses)," a finance ministry missive to the insurers stated.
The restructuring
could mean higher premiums for buyers.
"This may lead to
increase in premiums as insurers would now be forced to keep their claim ratio
to the minimum," said Vivek Gupta, partner, BMR Advisors.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Sony's stock price fell
below 1,000 yen on Monday for the first time since 1980 as global markets slide
but also a symptom of its decline since huge success with the Walkman three
decades ago.
Battered by competition from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, Sony has lost money for four straight years - and for eight years in its core television business.
A strong yen, which erodes overseas income, and natural disasters at home and in Thailand, a key manufacturing hub, have added to its woes. Sony's shares dipped to 990 yen before recovering slightly in trading on Monday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 stock average was down 2 percent after US hiring slowed sharply in May.
The company said it was first time that its stock price had traded below 1,000 yen since August 1980 - the year after it introduced the iconic Walkman portable cassette player to the world in 1979.
The stock had peaked at 16,950 yen in March 2000.
Sony, whose businesses run from digital cameras and personal computers to PlayStation game consoles and movies such as "Bad Teacher," last month reported a record annual loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) for the year through March 2012.
Battered by competition from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co, Sony has lost money for four straight years - and for eight years in its core television business.
A strong yen, which erodes overseas income, and natural disasters at home and in Thailand, a key manufacturing hub, have added to its woes. Sony's shares dipped to 990 yen before recovering slightly in trading on Monday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei 225 stock average was down 2 percent after US hiring slowed sharply in May.
The company said it was first time that its stock price had traded below 1,000 yen since August 1980 - the year after it introduced the iconic Walkman portable cassette player to the world in 1979.
The stock had peaked at 16,950 yen in March 2000.
Sony, whose businesses run from digital cameras and personal computers to PlayStation game consoles and movies such as "Bad Teacher," last month reported a record annual loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) for the year through March 2012.
As Myanmar opens up after five decades of military
rule, a country run on cash is finding a new alternative: plastic.
Private banks in Myanmar have begun rolling out automated
teller machines in recent weeks, revolutionary in a country where people
often haul sacks and suitcases of cash to banks. And more ambitious plans are
in the works.
"It's fantastic, so convenient," Naing Lin
Oo, a 26-year-old computer engineer, said after withdrawing about 120,000 kyat
($143) one recent afternoon.
"It would be good to see more of these," he
added, pointing to a two-month-old blue-and-yellow ATM run by
Co-Operative Bank, one of Myanmar's 13 private banks.
That's about to happen: the central bank is preparing
to launch a new nationwide ATM network within two months and is in talks with
Visa International's Plus and MasterCard
International's Cirrus to introduce international banking within six months to
a year, part of sweeping reforms in the former British colony, also known as
Burma.
Myanmar's banking system is among the world's most
antiquated, crippled by years of sanctions and disastrous socialist policies.
Moving funds abroad often requires help from ancient "hawala"
underground money-transfer agents.
LOGISTICS
In its endeavour to provide one-stop solution to
industries in the areas of transportation, inventory management and ware
housing material handling, the state government has identified six industrial
hubs- Rourkela, Paradeep, Kalinganagar, Jharsuguda, Angul and Dhamara for
developing logistics parks.
According
to preliminary estimates, each of these logistics parks would need 50-150 acres
of land with investment in the range of Rs 50-500 crore. The logistic parks
will include facilities like warehouses, distribution centres, storage areas,
offices, truck services, parking lots, truck terminals, container rail
terminal, container handling facilities, cold storages, distribution centers,
air cargo points, lorries, maintenance points, service stations, hospitals and
restaurants. In addition, such parks would be equipped with weighbridges,
telecommunication facilities, banks, health awareness units and recreation
centres.
The
logistics parks to be developed on the public private partnership (PPP) mode
would be served by roads, railways, inland water ways and air ways.
To
ensure that these parks are taken up on a priority basis, the Chief Secretary B
K Patnaik had urged the commerce & transport department to expedite the
process of land identification and short listing of investors. Patnaik has also
stressed on engaging a transaction advisor for the purpose.
FedEx Corp. said Tuesday that it is buying Brazilian
transportation and logistics company Rapidão Cometa Logística e Transportes SA
to expand its presence in the region.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Rapidão has served as an authorized FedEx
representative in Brazil for the past 11 years and is one of the largest
logistics companies in Brazil, FedEx said.
The acquisition is part of "our long-term
strategy to grow our Latin American business and better serve our customers
seeking to enter or expand their businesses in the Brazilian market," Juan
N. Cento, president of FedEx Express, Latin America and Caribbean, said in a
statement. The deal includes about 770 vehicles and trailers, approximately
9,000 workers in Brazil and 45 branches. Rapidão's logistics, distribution and
express businesses will be integrated into FedEx in phases over an 18 to 24
month period after the buyout is complete.
MANAGEMENT
Facebook Inc's 26 per cent slide from its initial
offering price may have investors who got in on the ground floor feeling
resentful, but some fund managers are eager to see shares dip even further.
Technology
glitches and a communications breakdown marred Facebook's $16 billion IPO on
May 18, leading many observers to believe the initial stock was overvalued,
contributing to its free-fall over the past two weeks. Still,
the company isn't value-free and at some price, shares represent an
opportunity, portfolio managers say.
"There is no company in the Internet area that
has gained such a huge market share in such a short period of time," said
Mark Hawtin, portfolio manager of the $64 million GAM Star Technology Strategy,
a portfolio for offshore investors launched in February 2011. "It's
absolutely a value asset in the Internet world."
Hawtin believes $18 to $25 a share "would be a
great entry point."
While many analysts are concerned about Facebook's
ability to generate revenues from advertising, Hawtin believes the model for
the social media website will eventually be fee-based, which could prove very
profitable.
"I think they will be the launch page for people
to get to the Internet," he said. Under a fee-based structure, vendors
would pay Facebook for every user that goes to their site from Facebook.
Aiming at quick recovery from disruptions like strikes
and proper utilisation of crew, Air India has
introduced a new computerised Crew
Management System (CMS) for pilots.
The CMS, which would also include cabin crew and
support staff later this month, would replace the old manual system, thereby
ruling out any scope for subjectivity or favouritism in deployment and
management of crew and other staff. It would also ensure operational safety,
meet regulatory requirements, optimise crew utilization, an official release
said here.
Currently, crew management is done by legacy manual
systems for cockpit and cabin crew separately. Air India has a complex
operation comprising international, domestic, regional (by Alliance Air) and
no-frill operations (by AI Express).
This operation is carried out by the operating crew
under government regulatory requirements and company rules.
The new computerised system, which has now been
introduced, is an integrated tool for crew planning for long, medium and short
term, depending on the network plan and commercial schedule of the airline.
CMS would provide real-time visibility of operation
and flexibility to manage disruptions by providing real-time crew availability.
It would also manage and control crew duty time, leave and sicknesses and
provide a firm plan of operation to the management and the crew, the release
said.
MARKETING
XL Marketing, a leading digital and direct marketing
company, today announced an investment by private equity firm GCP Capital
Partners, formerly known as Greenhill Capital Partners, as well as a debt facility
agented by Madison Capital Funding. The $70 million capital raise will be used
to fuel XL Marketing's continued growth through organic business activities, as
well as strategic acquisitions.
"We are thrilled to bring on such stellar
partners to help us take the company to the next level," said David A
Steinberg, XL Marketing CEO. "As we continue to execute on our growth
plans in the US, UK and other International markets, it was essential to secure
the right kind of capital, with the right partners. We now have the balance
sheet, strategic partners and assets and capabilities to compete and win in
every market where we play."
"The shift to digital and XL's unique client
offerings makes this the ideal time for innovative companies to create value.
We believe XL Marketing is uniquely positioned to help its clients capture the
full potential of their online marketing efforts," said Robert Niehaus,
Chairman and Founder of GCP Capital Partners, who will also be joining the Company's board of directors.
Verizon Wireless, AT&T
and other major wireless carriers are focusing on a class of customers they
once largely ignored: bargain hunters with a fear of commitment. With the
market for two-year-contract phones saturated, large carriers are marketing
aggressively to those who seek to prepay for minutes and data without a
contract.
Smaller carriers that
specialize in no-contract plans are stepping up to the competitive pressures
with better devices and faster networks. Cricket and Virgin Mobile USA both
announced in the past week that they will start selling no-contract iPhone 4
smartphones later this month.
Major carriers "are
focusing on prepaid as a growth engine," says analyst John Weber of IDC.
The research firm estimates the prepaid market will grow 7.4% a year on average
until 2016.
The marketing shift comes as
growth plateaus among customers who lock in long-term contracts in return for
phone subsidies. The number of those customers fell in the first three months
of this year vs. the fourth quarter, the first quarter-over-quarter decline in
industry history, says research firm Recon Analytics.
ODISHA BUSINESS
Hit hard by rising interest costs in the last
financial year, Jindal Stainless has approached lenders to reschedule
repayments of its over Rs 9,000 crore debt.
By reworking the debt payment schedule, the largest
domestic stainless steelmaker is seeking to maintain cash for its operations
till its new 800,000-tonne Odisha capacity begins production at optimum level,
the company's Executive Director (Finance) Jitender Verma told PTI. "We
are in negotiations with our lenders, both domestic and international, to
rework the payment schedules, so that there is no pressure on our liquidity. We
hope to finish the negotiations in next 3-4 months," he said, adding the
company does not have plans to convert debt into equity.
Debt-equity ratio of the company, which is already under under Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) programme, has increased to 5.17 in the last fiscal from 4.04 in FY'11.
According to the company's results, a rise of about 33 per cent in its interest costs at Rs 516.80 crore and forex losses of Rs 207.76 crore were largely responsible for company reporting a standalone net loss of Rs 103.90 crore in FY'12.
As on March, 2012, the company had liquid cash of Rs 164 crore to run its operations.
Debt-equity ratio of the company, which is already under under Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) programme, has increased to 5.17 in the last fiscal from 4.04 in FY'11.
According to the company's results, a rise of about 33 per cent in its interest costs at Rs 516.80 crore and forex losses of Rs 207.76 crore were largely responsible for company reporting a standalone net loss of Rs 103.90 crore in FY'12.
As on March, 2012, the company had liquid cash of Rs 164 crore to run its operations.
In a bid to further streamline mineral
transportation, the Odisha government has decided to integrate export data of
ports with the Integrated Mines and Mineral Management System (i3MS) from June
1. The effort aims bring transparency in the mineral business and therefore
checking illegal mining.
“i3MS, the online data verification and
permit generation software for mineral transports, will now be connected with
six different ports through which minerals are being exported from Odisha,” the
Steel and Mines Secretary, Mr D.K. Singh, told reporters here.
The six ports – Paradip, Dhamra, Haldia,
Kakinada, Vishakhapatanam and Gangavaram – would have to share data with the
State Government on export of minerals from Odisha through i3MS, Mr Singh said
adding the system come into force on June 1.
“The ports which fail to be part of the
system, will not be allowed to handle minerals being exported from Odisha.
Port authorities have to download data
on export of mineral from the State in Web site every fortnight,” said Mr
Singh.
Accordingly, the State Government would
have sufficient information regarding the amount of minerals being transported
to other countries and the persons or companies that undertake the trade, he
said.
RETAIL
Australian shares were down 0.9 percent on Wednesday,
staying near session lows after retail sales posted a fall in April, missing
forecasts and reverting to a soft run of sales after a spike in March.
Overall retail sales fell 0.2 percent, while
department store sales fell 1 percent in April, confirming commentary from
top department store Myer that sales had suddenly nosedived in the past six
weeks. "It shows the patchwork economy, with strong construction data
benefiting from the mining sector and weak retail numbers hurt by the non-mining
sector," said Michael Blythe, chief economist at Commonwealth
Bank of Australia.
The market was already lower from the open after gold
and copper prices fell offshore, shaken by a downgrade to Spain's sovereign
credit rating.
"Investors have cash to invest but are wary of
risk. This is especially the case in an environment of volatile equities and
the decreasing returns from cash. We believe that an appropriate fixed-income
strategy offers very real opportunities," said Darryl Trunnel, portfolio
manager of the Principal Global Strategic Income Fund.
Google's free 'product search' would soon be a paid
service in the US under which merchants and retailers will have to pay for
listings of products.
"We are starting to transition Google Product Search in the US to a purely commercial model built on Product Listing Ads. This new product discovery experience will be called Google Shopping and the transition will be complete this fall," Google Shopping Vice President (Product Management) Sameer Samat said in his blog yesterday.
The new initiative seen as a step to boost company's revenue will in addition provide the customers a higher quality shopping experience.
"... Shoppers can easily research purchases, compare different products, their features and prices, and then connect directly with merchants to make their purchase," Samat said.
The service will be based on bid price and relevance giving the merchants and retailers a greater control over where their products appear on Google Shopping. Over a period of time they will also have the opportunity to market special offers.
"We are starting to transition Google Product Search in the US to a purely commercial model built on Product Listing Ads. This new product discovery experience will be called Google Shopping and the transition will be complete this fall," Google Shopping Vice President (Product Management) Sameer Samat said in his blog yesterday.
The new initiative seen as a step to boost company's revenue will in addition provide the customers a higher quality shopping experience.
"... Shoppers can easily research purchases, compare different products, their features and prices, and then connect directly with merchants to make their purchase," Samat said.
The service will be based on bid price and relevance giving the merchants and retailers a greater control over where their products appear on Google Shopping. Over a period of time they will also have the opportunity to market special offers.
SUPPLY
CHAIN
Global supply chain optimization provider Manhattan
Associates MANH
-0.52% has announced that Empik, Poland's leading culture and entertainment
brand, has optimized its supply chain following a successful implementation of
Manhattan Associates' Warehouse Management System (WMS) at its primary
distribution center in Sochaczew, Poland.
Empik is one of the largest multi-channel retailers in
Poland providing access to much of today's popular culture through its chain of
almost 190 stores across the country and through its robust online offering. It
sells a wide and growing range of products and the company has experienced
strong revenue growth over recent years, particularly in its online business.
Manhattan Associates' WMS was selected to provide a centralized and fully
configurable solution that would allow Empik to optimize its current and
evolving supply chain processes.
Marek Dymarski, logistics director at Empik,
commented, "Manhattan's technology has successfully supported Empik's
logistics operations over the last three years and during this time we have
seen productivity improvements in several areas of our distribution center
operation. These have, in turn, allowed us to make cost savings and improve the
overall level of service we are able to provide to our customers. We have also
been able to compress cycle times, improve order accuracy levels as well as
expedite the whole order consolidation and fulfillment process. We look forward
to working closely with Manhattan Associates this year and in the coming years
to further optimize Empik's logistical processes."
Asean countries should work
towards standardising supply chains to help boost trade flow, speakers at the
World Economic Forum on East Asia said yesterday.
Lars Amstrup, president of Chep Asia, said
supply-chain costs in the Asean region are higher than in the developed world.
The European Union's harmonised rules mean that
packaging materials, for instance, are standardised for the entire bloc.
"When you have an inefficient supply chain, you
get products that are constantly shifted and you have a lot of manual handling,
waste and damage. For instance, crops can sit for three days waiting for
transfer during Chinese New Year," Mr Amstrup said.
Peter Ter Kulve, an executive vice-president of
Unilever overseeing Southeast Asia and Australasia, said there have been no
resources put behind standardisation. In Europe, 500 people work on this,
compared with just one in Singapore, he said.
"Ports in Asean are hopeless, especially in
Indonesia where it could take three to four weeks to get containers," Mr
Kulve said.
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
______________________________________________________________________
Source of
Information for this issue : Google alert accessed on 4th and 8th June 2012 &
Google search accessed on 8th June 2012.
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in improving this information updating service.
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Compilation
Sabita Sahu, B.A., PGDCA, MLISc,
Professional Library Trainee
Sabita Sahu, B.A., PGDCA, MLISc,
Professional Library Trainee
Concept, Layout and
Editing
Rajashekhar Devarai
Chief Librarian
Chief Librarian
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Documentation Division, Chanakya Central Library
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