Ways2trade: The Week That Was

corporate
Bharati Shipyard to launch open offer
THE board of Bharati Shipyard has decided to make an open offer for Great Offshore as the company vice-chairman and managing director, Vijay Sheth put down his papers on May 29. Bharati Shipyard currently holds a 14.9% stake in Great Offshore while Mr Sheth, the erstwhile promoter, holds less than a 1% stake in Great Offshore. Bharati will spend Rs 250 crore to hike its stake to 35%. On May 8, Bharati Shipyard had taken over the pledged stake of Great Offshore's promoters at Rs 315 a share. SBI Capital Market would manage the offer.
NO CHANGES IN BHARTI-MTN DEAL
Bharti group chief Sunil Mittal on Monday ruled out any revision in its proposed deal to buy 49% stake in South African MTN in a stock and cash deal. Mr Mittal clarified Bharti's stance after news reports from South Africa had said that minority shareholders of MTN were not satisfied with the current offer and wanted the Indian telco to offer a higher price. Meanwhile, Public Investment Corporation (PIC), the largest shareholder in South Africa's MTN, on Tuesday said there was "room for improvement" on the price offered by Bharti, putting pressure on the Indian telco to sweeten its offer. PIC, South Africa's state pension fund, owns 13.5% of MTN . Credit rating agency Fitch has said that the deal could push up the debt of the two telecom firms by $6.9 billion. "Under the current terms as presented to the market, it could result in additional net debt of $4 billion at Bharti and $2.9 billion at MTN ," it said.
GM FILES FOR BANKRUPTCY
General Motors, the American carmaker, filed for bankruptcy on Monday. It will reorganise into a smaller entity, and will liquidate 11 factories and idle three plants. In India, GM's subsidiary will continue to operate and run its plants, its president & MD Karl Slym said, adding that the Indian operations will not be affected and that consumers have nothing to fear. "There is no effect on our employees as far as their payments, salaries and job security in India are concerned. In the early part of this year, we were for sure affected by some of the news from North America, but we have also seen sales growth month-on-month in India," he said. GM India is looking to raise $200 million to invest in various manufacturing units across India, after funding from its parent unit was cut off.
    economy
    Prez promises good
    governance
ADDRESSING joint meeting of houses on President Pratibha Patil reiterated the new government's resolve to dump old ways and encode a new governance principle for those in charge of the levers of power. President also promised a road map for disinvestment of public sector enterprises through public offers, recapitalisation of state- owned banks, fiscal consolidation in medium term meaning fiscal stimulus to continue and more liberal term for investment in insurance. Widening the scope of NREGA, which has proved to be an effective social protection measure; introduction of a new right to food Act; addressing the challenges in the health sector such as infant mortality, nutrition and pre-emptive cure; make quality education a right through the enactment of a new law; set up a national literacy mission for women; raise the target of rural housing for the next five years to one lakh twenty crore units; introduce a major housing scheme for the urban poor; and take up initiatives for skill development.
EXPORTS DROP 30% IN MAY
India's new trade minister on Wednesday held out hopes of incentives for exporters, as data showed no respite from the pain gripping the sector with exports dropping 30% in May, the eight straight month of decline. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said there would be measures in July's budget and in the foreign trade policy, to be announced in August, to help alleviate some of the pain being felt the sector, the worst victim in India of the global recession. Quick estimates put out by the commerce ministry showed that May exports fell to $10.8 billion from $15.5 billion in the year earlier period, as demand continued to shrink in key western markets.
CORE GROWTH BOUNCES BACK
In April, the six core industries together clocked the fastest growth rate in 10 months, emboldening the prime minister's key economic advisor to hint at the possibility of an upward revision in the economic growth forecast for the year.Power, crude oil, refinery products, coal, cement and finished steel grew 4.3% year-on-year, recovering from a low of 1.1% in December 2008, according to data released by the ministry of commerce and industry on Tuesday.
technology
Intel unveils chip for ultra-thin laptops
INTEL Corp on Monday launched a lighter, power-saving microprocessor intended for use in ultra-thin laptops, a move by the top chip maker to shore up its lead in mobile computing. The new processor, dubbed the Pentium SU2700, comes amid investors' fears that cheaper processors such as the Atom, designed for use in ultra-cheap netbooks, are cannibalizing the market share for higher-margin, more expensive chips. Acer and Asustek have said they will build laptops with the chip, and Microsoft will ensure its software supports it. Intel expects that by the fourth quarter of 2009, about a fifth of its consumer shipments will be for the new-generation laptops, slimmer and more energy-efficient.
GOOGLE LAUNCHES NEW SEARCH TOOL
Google, already the king of Internet search, rolled out an experimental new search product on Wednesday called "Google Squared." Google Squared does not provide a list of links to Web pages, like with a traditional Google search, but presents information derived from a query in a spreadsheet-like grid called a "square." Users of google .com /squared can then build, modify and refine their "square" through further Web searches. "Unlike a normal search engine, Google Squared doesn't find webpages about your topic ,instead, it automatically fetches and organizes facts from across the Internet," Google said in a preview of the product.
BLACKBERRY MAY HAVE SECURITY ISSUES
BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd has issued a security patch for the popular device warning that it is vulnerable to attacks by hackers. Research in Motion issued the security warning last week in a bulletin on its web site, but officials could not be reached to comment on details of the patch. If the patch is not applied, security experts said, there is a risk that hackers could exploit the vulnerability, though they have not done so yet. The newly disclosed vulnerability could allow hackers to take control of servers running BlackBerry systems by sending emails with tainted attachments in Adobe Systems Inc's PDF format, according to computer security researchers.
    markets
    Sensex, Nifty hit
    10-month highs
INDIAN bourses progressed rapidly with key indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- hitting nearly ten-month highs as investors were heartened by new UPA Government's economic agenda, unveiled by President Pratibha Patil in the week under review. The markets achieved new highs in sustained volatility and the Sensex closed past the 15,000-psychological level for the first time since September 2, 2008. Accentuated interest of investors in secondline stocks pushed up the Smallcap and Midcap indices by a whopping 7.88% and 6.98%, respectively, outperforming the bellwether Sensex. In the week to June 6, the 30-stock BSE barometer ended the week at 15,103.55, a net rise of 478.30 points, or 3.27%, over the week. Investors were virtually confident that the economic reforms will get a strong push in the first year in the light of a political stability in the country. Addressing Parliament on June 4, Patil disclosed that the Government would focus on revival in economy which has already showed signs of recovery with a good expansion in the manufacturing activity in May 2009. Patil said the government will focus on reforms in financial and infrastructure sectors as also disinvestment of public sector undertakings while sticking to fiscal prudence. India's infrastructure sector output grew 4.3% in
April, indicating a gradual economic recovery. Inflation, too, remained low at 0.48% for the week ended May 23. The broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange advanced by 137.95 points, or 3.10%, to end the week at 4,586.90 from its previous weekend's close. Foreign Institutional Investors, the principal market moving factor, remained consistent net buyers in equity. Hence, the capital inflows in equity stood at USD 427 million in the initial four days of the week. Analysts said the market is strongly bullish and may witness a pre-Budget rally. The full Budget is likely to be presented on July 3 by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Sectorial indices such as the BSE Consumet Durables Index soared by about 10% and the BSE Capital Goods index by 8.40%. The trading volume for the week was high at Rs 1,30,005 crore on the NSE and Rs 45,288 crore on the BSE compared to Rs 1,11,845 crore and Rs 36,674 crore respectively. Silver prices snapped four-week of winning string while gold also reacted downwards on the bullion market during the week under review. politics
    Meira Kumar becomes
first LS woman Speaker
TWO years after India created history by electing a woman as its President, another Constitutional post which had so far remained the preserve of men made its way to a woman, that too hailing from the Dalit community. Meira Kumar, daughter of the late Babu Jagjivan Ram, was on Wednesday unanimously elected as Lok Sabha Speaker. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the members of the Lok Sabha in celebrating the occasion. Describing Ms Kumar's elevation to the post as "a truly historic" moment, he hailed her contributions as a distinguished diplomat, parliamentarian and as an able administrator. He hoped that the experiences gained from all these position would hold her in good stead. The 64-year-old leader's election received all-round endorsement.
SAEED'S RELEASE DISTURBING: INDIA
India has officially conveyed to Pakistan its "disappointment" over the release of Jamaatud-Dawa chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed who is viewed here as a part of the terror infrastructure in that country. Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon conveyed India's strong views on the matter to Pakistani high commissioner Shahid Malik during a meeting on Wednesday. "We conveyed our disappointment on the release of Hafiz Saeed and we made it clear what we thought of it," said Mr Menon. It is understood that Mr Malik told Mr Menon that his government was studying the order and held out the possibility that it would look at legal options. This comes in the backdrop of reports that Islamabad might not appeal the court verdict.