The new Audi A4, its price and features

It is a big day for the avid car aficionados in the country, as Audi India finally lifts the covers off their new Audi A4.

The sedan is offered in both petrol and diesel variants with their iconic Quattro option.

The new Audi A4 is priced at Rs. 27.33 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai), about Rs 60,000 cheaper than its nearest rival the BMW 3 series.

A 3.0 TDI engine is also available and all the three engines are offered in S-Line sports package also.

The sparkling new sedan is being assembled at the company's Aurangabad facility in Maharashtra with several other upcoming models.

New Audi A4 will come with 'New Audi Car Life' including car finance, insurance service plans and extended warranty.

Starting with desirable and tempting exteriors, this new sedan has been endowed with a new set of a smart head lamp cluster, which is more edgy in shape and has LED day time running lights.

The head lamps now have projector styled, powerful, Xenon lights.

A flawless black grille that holds the company's renowned insignia sits on it, while the bumper is also tweaked a little which is making the frontage look mind blowing.

The front bumper adorns a trapezoidal shaped luminous pair of fog lamps for superior visibility in the dark.

The sides are pristine as usual with very little or no change at all, while the rear end of the car has been integrated with new LED graphic lamps.

The rear body colored bumper has also been refurbished a little and is making the car look breathtaking.

The interiors of this new Audi A4 are blessed with the sophisticated drive select system, which has 5 different driving modes and a new cutting edge multi-media interface.

The new version also features a start/stop ignition system.

Other features include a new electro-mechanical steering system with mounted controls and brake energy recuperation among the prominent changes.

The company has used all the best in class ergonomics and other components in this sedan and the dashboard has also been revamped, making it look elegant.

As the new Audi A4 will have several trims, the varied notifications and other features in the central console will vary with the trim opted for.

Under the bonnet, this refined sedan is being offered with an option of petrol and diesel trims to choose from.

The engines include a 1.8 litre TFSI motor with 15.6 kmpl mileage and, while the other 2.0 litre TDI engine with 16.5kmpl mileage.

Fuel efficiency on the petrol is improved by 25%. Audi is also planning to expand its dealer network to 25 by end of 2012 which currently stands at 18.

Source : Rediff

The US Transportation Department slapped $80,000 fine on Air India

The US Transportation Department has slapped a $80,000 fine on Air India for failing to post customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans on its website and adequately inform passengers about its optional fees.

This is the first penalty assessed for a violation of the department's new airline consumer rules that took effect last August.

"Our new airline consumer rules help ensure that passengers are fully informed about airline services and fees and what to expect if their flight is delayed on the tarmac," US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said on Thursday.

From August 2011, foreign carriers operating to the US with at least one aircraft of 30 or more seats have been required to adopt contingency plans for lengthy tarmac delays as well as customer service plans, and to post these plans on their websites.

US carriers have been covered by this requirement since April 2010, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.

Also both US carriers and foreign carriers with a website that sells tickets to US consumers have been required to include on their homepages a prominent hyperlink that takes viewers directly to a page that shows all fees for optional services the carrier charges, including baggage fees.

Air India failed to post its customer service and tarmac delay contingency plans and to provide a link to its optional fees by the required date, the statement added.

Source : Rediff

Markets end down amid weakening rupee

The benchmark indices ended nearly 1% down on Thursday, amid a weakening rupee, with select auto and bank shares leading the fall.
The 50-share Nifty slipped 51 points to close below the psychological level of 5,200 at 5,188 levels and the Sensex ended weaker by 151 points to shut shop at 17,151 levels.
The Asian markets ended on a subdued note.
The Hang Seng slipped 0.3% to close at 21,249, Shanghai ended flat at 2,440 levels and Taiwan closed at 7,659, down 17 points.
Meanwhile, the European markets opened on a firm note and were trading higher. CAC, FTSE and DAX have advanced 0.5-1% each in the opening deals.
Back home, Hero MotoCorp ended lower by 8% to close at Rs 2,067 after reporting lower-than-expected 20% year-on-year (y-o-y) growth in net profit at Rs 604 crore for the quarter ended March 2012, due to higher raw material cost.
Analysts had expected a net profit of Rs 626 crore from the world's largest two-wheeled vehicle manufacturer. Total income grew 12% at Rs 6,140 crore on y-o-y basis.
Tata Steel, Maruti Suzuki, Coal India, State Bank of India, Bajaj Auto, Tata Power, Coal India, ICICI Bank, Jindal Steel, DLF, Mahindra & Mahindra, and NTPC were also among the laggards.
On the other hand, HUL, Wipro, TCS, Sun Pharma, BHEL, Infosys  and HDFC Bank  were among the notable gainers among the Sensex stocks.
Auto, banking and metal stocks were amongst the worst hit in trades today.
The BSE Auto index was the top sectoral loser, down 2.5% or 257 points to shut shop at 10,205 levels.
BSE bank index- Bankex ended weaker by 1.6% or 197 points at 11,663 levels.
Bank of India, Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank , Union Bank and Canara Bank were among the top losers down 1.4-4% each.
Metal index shed 1.6% to close at 10,844 levels. PSU, realty, power, capital goods, FMCG and oil & gas and healthcare stocks also faced a mild selling pressure.
On the other hand, technology and consumer durable stocks witnessed a wee bit of buying in trades today.
Shares of sugar companies rallied in an otherwise weak market, after the government removed the cap on sugar exports and placed the commodity under the open general licence category.
Shree Renuka Sugars ,Bajaj Hindustan , Balrampur Chini Mills, Triveni Engineering and Industries and EID Parry closed higher by 3-12% on back of huge volumes.
Bajaj Steel soared 17% to Rs 158 after reporting a net profit of Rs 81 lakh for the quarter ended March 2012. The company had a net loss of Rs 3 lakh in a year ago quarter.
Total operational income grew 52% at Rs 70 crore on year-on-year basis.
VIP Industries slipped 7% t Ros 86, extending its previous day's over 4% fall after its consolidated net profit for the March quarter more than halved to Rs 7.80 crore due to higher operating expenditure.
The company had a net profit of Rs 16.30 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.
The broader markets were in line with the benchmark indices, the BSE mid-cap index slipped 64 points to 6,234 levels and the small-cap index ended lower by 68 points at 6,709 levels.
The overall breadth was negative as 1,720 stocks are declined while 1,054 stocks advanced.

Source : BS

Indian stock market daily closing report

India markets ended down almost 1% in today’s trading session. Weak rupee weighed on the markets today. The Indian rupee touched fresh four-month low of 53.45. Large trade deficit, current account deficit and continuing significantly large gold imports kept rupee under pressure in recent past. RBI guidelines regarding Basel III regulations weighed on bank stocks today. Heavy selling pressure is seen in Hero MotoCorp today. The stock ended down 7.69% on the back of its less than expected Q4 FY12 result. Buying interest is observed in sugar stocks today as the government placed the sugar under the open general license category & removed the cap on sugar exports.

Ad Katha - Indian ads

A recently published book, Ad Katha, is not just a trip through the golden age of Indian advertising, but also an enquiry into how many of the cultural symbols that we now see as "Indian" came about, says Ajit Balakrishnan.
A beautiful girl is anxiously staring off camera. The camera cuts to a batsman swinging his bat for a six, the girl's face breaks into an ecstatic smile, the crowd roars in the background, the girl dodges stern officials and policemen, dances onto the cricket field, runs up to the batsman, gives him a hug and a bite of Cadbury's milk chocolate.
And the stereotype of the demure Indian girlfriend is banished forever.
A ponytailed moppet in a polka-dot dress and matching hair ribbon starts out in 1966 on Bombay bus panels, and for the next half-century amuses us with its puns on current affairs.
One racing season it is "Thorough Bread"; during the Enron scandal it is a blacked-out billboard with "Enr On? Or Off?"
The sign-off: Utterly Butterly Amul.
These and dozens of other advertisements fill the 330 colourful pages of Ad Katha, a sumptuous book just published through the energetic efforts of Bal Mundkur and Gerson da Cunha.
It is written and produced by Anand Halve and Anita Sarkar.
Leafing through this book is not just a trip through the golden age of Indian advertising, but also an enquiry into how many of the cultural symbols that we now see as "Indian" came about.
Bal Mundkur was the swashbuckling founder of Ulka Advertising, arguably India's first financially and creatively successful advertising agency.
Gerson da Cunha was for many years the moving spirit behind Lintas, the ad agency for Lever, that great training school for Indian marketing professionals.
The advertisements showcased in Ad Katha are markers not just of an increasingly confident and creative advertising industry but of Indian society too.
The Cadbury milk chocolate TV ad marked the end of the sati-savitri portrayal of Indian women; the Amul billboards and bus panels were a sign of the arrival of an irreverent Indian media, where no issue or person is beyond a playful dig.
The 1970s was a period when the Nehruvian dream of state-led industrial progress was starting to fade and dynamic Indian entrepreneurs were taking the stage.
People like Kersey Katrak, Bal Mundkur, Sylvie da Cunha, Gerson da Cunha and Frank Simoes were helping these entrepreneurs establish distinctive Indian voices for their clients.
"A woman expresses herself in many languages, Vimal is one of them," heralded then-nascent Dhirubhai Ambani empire.
"Livva little hot … sippa Gold Spot," established a soft-drink mega franchise.
I remember sitting in the placement office at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, in 1971, feeling miserable at the choices before me: a life in the steel industry in Jamshedpur and one supervising labour in a cigarette factory in Calcutta.
Trusting my 21-year-old's instinct I looked away from these options, took a plane to Bombay and, in what was considered a revolutionary choice for an IIM graduate in those days, chose to work in a Bombay advertising agency.
Ad Katha traces the origin of the Indian media's free spirit to Hickey's Bengal Gazette of 1780.
The eccentric James Hickey, the book says, made this pioneering newspaper "the channel of personal invective" and no individual, including the governor-general's wife, was spared.
Among the many other gems in the book is an early 20th-century ad for Ford.
It asks, "Why wait until after the monsoon to buy a car?" and assures us that "Ford closed cars are built to withstand all kinds of weather conditions... the bodies are all-steel... in a few seconds the spacious windows can be quickly closed to keep out the rain...."
Advertising in India today, says Gerson da Cunha in an essay in the book, is a Rs 30,000-crore (Rs 300 billion) industry - which makes it three times the size of its sibling, Bollywood.
It is this revenue that finances India's newspapers, magazines, TV channels and Internet sites, and allows our noisy, quarrelsome and democratic system to function in defiance of powerful governments and even more powerful private vested interests.
The mysteries of Indian consumer behaviour are well captured in a story in the book (I think this one comes from the autobiography of Prakash Tandon, the legendary head of Lever).
An early market researcher, questionnaire in hand, asks an Indian housewife who has her head covered demurely by her sari, "Madam, who does the shopping in your house?"
"Husband buys," says the housewife, barely meeting the market researcher's eye.
"Even personal items for yourself?" asks the sceptical market researcher.
"Husband buys," says the woman again.
She then waits for a few moments, and murmurs, "But I tell him what to buy."

Source : BS

How Trai’s new policy will affect telecom sector

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, or Trai, has delivered a stunning blow to the telecom sector in the form of its spectrum pricing and refarming recommendations.

The sector was already reeling from scandals and misgovernance, and staggered by a confused Supreme Court judgment based on inappropriate assumptions (for details, see "Time for a review", March 1, 2012, and "Open access is the future," March 4, 2012).

This will cripple an erstwhile sunrise sector that drove (and still can) India's prosperity through productivity, enabling many factors to converge positively -- such as its economic momentum, enterprise, resilience and, most important, a demographic bulge that could become a blessing or a curse.

This convergence was (and is) possible because of the enabling ability of telecom and broadband to provide access to education, vocational training and continuing education; health care and other public services; and commerce, including the delivery of individual output, within easy reach. All this is stalled, as we deliberately disembowel ourselves, as it were.

If Trai's recommendations are implemented, they will ensure that a lone survivor dominates the sector, annihilating all significant competitors – Bharti, Vodafone, Idea, Tata, and newcomers like Telenor and Sistema – through their having to pay exorbitant fees just to keep their current business going, even without expansion.

That is, provided the lawsuits that are likely to follow don't obliterate everything for the next 10 years.

Are these setbacks happenstance, heaven-sent, or acts of man? Analysing the components shows that much is attributable to the machinations of men, although rendered by different individuals or groups under varying compulsions.

The afflictions that began with cronyism and misgovernance have been aggravated by a judgment based on misapprehensions regarding: (a) spectrum technology; (b) the economics of auctions #8743 (c) competition in network economies.

In trying to get at the corrupt nexus of corporations, politicians, bureaucrats, and just plain crooked people, indiscriminate zealotry is destroying legitimate enterprise. The judgment lumps the guilty with the circumstantially proximate.

Coupled with defining auctions as best for the public interest, this set the stage for what has followed. The furore over corruption and the Anna Hazare movement ensure that any objective recommendation would come under fire, with a mobocracy baying for revenge.

Is being deprived of ubiquitous, reasonably-priced broadband so devastating? Yes, because of broadband's great potential in India's vastness for enabling people at relatively low cost, compared with, say, fixing energy supply, or sanitation and water, or roads, or growing food. All these are necessary; but broadband is much easier to achieve, at lower cost, and would bring it all more easily within our grasp, especially in rural areas.

Performance

Some question the beneficial effect of revenue sharing from the National Telecom Policy, 1999, (NTP-99) suggesting the sector might have done as well or better without the change. Pakistan is cited as an example for growth with auctions. Consider the performance of the sector in both countries.

Chart 1 shows mobile subscriptions in millions. India has done very well in absolute terms. (The third line shows India's numbers reduced to 70 per cent, reflecting an estimate of live subscriptions.)

Chart 2 shows the percentage of population served. Pakistan's coverage grew rapidly until about 60 per cent, then tapered off. India started more gradually before accelerating to 60 per cent a couple of years later, and kept going. In March 2011, both were around 70 per cent. At the end of December 2011, India was at 76.86 per cent.

However, there are two major differences. One is the scale of India's operations. Sheer magnitude makes for much greater complexity, and the achievement is therefore remarkable.

The second is the significantly higher government levies in India. India's telecom sector is perhaps the world's most heavily burdened, with government collections higher than in Pakistan by 15 to 24 per cent of revenues. (Compared with China,where government charges are only 3.5 per cent, India's levies are even more grossly out of line.)

Had Indian enterprises not had this burden, it's conceivable they might have had the capacity and stomach to effectively address rural coverage, especially with the right incentives.

Achieving ubiquitous broadband

Now consider what needs doing for countrywide access to broadband, and what odds have to be overcome. First, there's the addition necessary to rural and semi-urban networks, where almost three times the existing coverage is needed. Much of this needs wireless access.

This is why spectrum pricing critically affects outcomes. Many people in India harp on a litany of sunk-costs-not-affecting-tariffs, oblivious to the vast deficiency in network coverage, ie, areas and people without access. It's like arguing over pricing without any production plant or products.

Without capital investments in network coverage, there can be no services, nor any tariffs, high or low. There is little doubt of the effects of high spectrum and licence fees: these needs remain unmet.

Hence the low rural teledensity of under 39 per cent at the end of February 2012, with urban coverage at nearly 170 per cent, and overall teledensity at 78 per cent. Separately, there's the issue of inadequate incentives for broadband delivery.

Statements from Trai and the Department of Telecommunications about the spectrum pricing recommendations being reasonable because of the revenue potential simply don't add up. Their projections are based on a fantasy of booming growth (like the Budget projection of 7.6 per cent GDP growth, but even more exaggerated).

Whereas the combined effect of the scam and its fallout, sentiment, momentum, and misguided efforts at tax-gouging will ensure that telecom revenue growth is no more than a stunted five to seven per cent, at best.

No bank will lend seven-year funds in such uncertain circumstances to what was once a sunrise sector -- but is now like heavy infrastructure, with a need for 20-year financing.

Add the costs and difficulty of reframing the 900 MHz spectrum, and one has to wonder: who is going to bid, and why?

It makes sense only for one survivor. All this is aside from the extension of subsidised non-performance at the PSUs, instead of transforming them into anchors of an open-access national network.

Source : BS

What is thwarting the growth in the country?

The speed at which political statements of doubtful veracity acquire the aura of gospel truth is astonishing. One such "truth" is: coalition compulsions impede economic reforms. Even Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu believes in it. He recently said, "Thanks to coalitional democracy, there is some slowdown in economic reforms and decision-making."

A few weeks earlier, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had expressed similar views: "With a fractured mandate, yes, you can rule. But you have to carry other people with you."

That's right, but post-liberalisation, India has never seen a solid mandate for any party; it has been the era of coalitions. In fact, liberalisation itself was carried out by a coalition government. But the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was keen to open up the economy; the same cannot be said about the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).

Worse, the Congress-led regime has taken a number of steps that militate against the spirit of economic reforms. Consider the case of food security legislation. Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices Chairman and prominent agricultural economist Ashok Gulati believes that the proposed Bill, cleared by the Cabinet in December last year, has the potential of taking the economy to the "crisis levels of 1991".

The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Committee, headed by former Reserve Bank Governor C Rangarajan, had serious differences with the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) over the scale of the entitlement project.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, too, was worried over financial implications. The food security legislation is also feared to drive out private companies.

The moral hazard is no less frightening; for the law, if executed, would give a fillip to the process of transforming free citizens into serfs, always looking at askance at the giant feudal lord, the Indian state -- for relief, poverty alleviation, employment (the rural jobs scheme), and now even for food.

Government size and scope will increase. The raison d'etre of economic reforms was the reversal of this transformation that began during over four decades of socialism; downsizing government and its role was part and parcel of the attempted reversal.

But NAC bleeding hearts have had their way. And there is a possibility that the fiscally ruinous and morally hazardous project would be implemented. By the way, no Congress ally is forcing the government to go for the Bill.

The strains on the public exchequer are showing because of mindless populism. The fiscal responsibility law is practically dead; the deficit is assuming alarming proportions; and a desperate finance ministry is taking recourse to desperate measures, as evident in the Vodafone case.

The taxmen lost the case against the telecom major in the Supreme Court. But the ministry is restless; it is trying all sorts of tricks; it wants to apply laws retrospectively and arm tax officials with discretionary powers. India Inc, the international business community, and even foreign governments are upset.

It needs to be mentioned that earlier, too, in 2005, the government had refused to respect the apex court's verdict in a Rs 800-crore (Rs 8-billion) tax case that had gone in favour of ITC; it had promulgated an ordinance and managed to extract Rs 350 crore (Rs 3.5 billion) from the company.

A government cannot expect to disrespect the rule of law and (concomitantly) attract investors. The rule of law is the foundation of economic reforms. The government itself has shaken the foundation, and there is no coalition compulsion involved.

Nor is there any pressure from any allies to keep Air India (AI) running. One need not be an aviation expert or a financial wizard to say the national carrier is beyond redemption.

Yet, AI – which loses Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) every day, has debt worth Rs 43,000 crore (Rs 430 billion) and accumulated losses in the region of Rs 20,000 – recently got a Rs 30,000-crore (Rs 300 billion) revival package. The government sticks to the socialist dogma of "no privatisation," despite the UPA's dissociation with the Left.

Then there are green lobbyists who enjoy the patronage of the presiding deities of the ruling alliance. NAC members N C Saxena and Aruna Roy, for instance, are opposed to the $12-billion Posco project, the largest foreign direct investment in India.

And they have succeeded so far in frustrating the efforts of the Korean steel company, the Orissa government, and even of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with whom Seoul has taken up the matter more than once. Worse, the greens' opposition to Posco is doctrinaire and not fact-based.

Electoral politics has also had its share of victims. Aiming to win over the local populace by demagoguery, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi torpedoed Vedanta's bid to mine bauxite in the Niyamgiri hills of Orissa. The grand old party may or may not gain in electoral terms, but the state and its people have certainly lost the benefits that might have come to them because of the project.

Apart from ideological and electoral reasons, capricious and erratic governance has also harmed the cause of development. Years after work in Lavasa began, the government realised that the ambitious realty project was responsible for violations.

Yet another example of dirigiste mindset is the grant of first compulsory licence for a pharmaceutical product in March this year.

It needs to be mentioned that no Congress ally is involved in jeopardising industrialisation in the name of environment protection or affordable medication.

There are many more instances revealing the pro-Left leanings and anti-reforms biases of the UPA. Coalition compulsions have little to do with the big state imperative.

Source : BS

RBI may allow costlier FCCBs for pre-payment

Facing huge redemption pressure on funds raised via foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), India Inc has requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow companies to offer higher interest rates on fresh foreign currency loans or bonds, the proceeds of which will be used to pre-pay existing FCCBs.
The current norms mandate if a company wants to pre-pay FCCBs via fresh foreign loans or bonds, the new paper must be of longer maturity and carry a lower interest rate than the existing.
"Many of us don't want to leave it till the last moment, as the situation may get out of hand. We plan things in advance, depending on the market conditions. Hence, pre-payment is often necessary. We have requested the RBI to relax the rules on lower cost. Our understanding is the RBI is taking a benign view on this request," said a person familiar with the developments. He requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Industry players said in the past the banking regulator had allowed such waivers on a case-to-case basis. "Our view is the RBI should not hide behind the guidelines. The regulator must give the leeway, considering the current market conditions. Unless a higher rate is offered, no new investor will be willing to put in money," said a senior executive of a private bank.
The regulator had recently allowed companies to raise funds through external commercial borrowings (ECBs) to refinance an existing ECB at a higher cost under the approval route.
On the refinancing of existing FCCBs via external commercial borrowings, companies have asked the central bank to reduce caps on pricing and maturity.
"If you see the ECB guidelines, depending on the size of the issue there are caps on pricing and maturity. The rules may prescribe the maturity must be of at least five years, but the company may have found investors willing to invest only for three years. Hence, we have requested companies not be constrained by regulations and some leeway be offered," said a person working with a large corporate house.
Also, demands have been raised to allow a reduction in the conversion price because the share prices of many companies have plunged in recent months. Industry players said while the RBI had allowed that in 2010, it was withdrawn later after the Securities and Exchange Board of India had reservations.
"We have requested that at least part of the bonds be allowed to be converted at a reduced price," said a source. According to a latest report by rating agency Fitch, 59 Indian companies will face redemption worth $7 billion in 2012.
A senior finance ministry official confirmed that discussions were on to address problems faced by companies in servicing FCCB obligations. "We are aware of the issue. The government is not averse to addressing the problems faced by companies in making FCCB payments due to the adverse systemic scenario," he said.
Adding that the companies were facing a tough situation they could not have perceived while taking the FCCBs, the official indicated the government might also allow them to utilise financing from domestic financial institutions in managing the obligations.
He, however, pointed out the measures would be aimed at supporting companies across the board to handle the situation and not at helping individual companies.

Source : BS

Sahil Lavingia Youngest Indian CEO in US shares his amazing story

When Sahil Lavingia, 19, a computer science student decided to drop off the University of Southern California to join Pinterest he went first with the news to his mother.

"I felt like my life would be better if I left school and joined Pinterest, and that's what I told them," said Sahil, a designer, founder and CEO of Gumroad, a tool that democratizes the ability to sell stuff online.

"Gumroad's goal is to making selling as easy as sharing," Sahil told India Abroad. He added: "Over the last several years, sharing has become easier and easier but selling has remained just as hard as it was in 2001."

Gumroad sells things online that you've made and includes songs, albums, videos, photos, and other things. You can price a link for as little as $1, and as much as $1,000.

However, Gumroad has its cut in online selling. It takes five per cent + 25¢ of each transaction. For example: If you sell a digital video for $10, it gets $0.75 and $9.25 is deposited into your account.

There are no setup fees, monthly fees, bandwidth fees, or withdrawal fees. It directly connects you to your client.

Born to Indian parents in New York and raised in London, Hong Kong and Singapore the youngest entrepreneur among the Asian Indian community do not think living in various country was a gift in disguise but he loved living in so many different places in such a short period of time though he said, "It definitely helped me learn a lot about the world and about myself".

Talking about Gumroad he said: "We're trying to make it easy and accessible for everyone. We think anyone that creates content (anyone who writes, creates music, makes videos, takes photos) should have the ability to sell directly to the people that want their stuff. Those are the people that can benefit. We are just three for now, and growing quickly."

He said: "We have launched a bunch of new features, including the ability to remember your credit card so you can repeat-buy very frequently. We're working hard on making the product better, and building a team that will scale along with it."

Before venturing into Gumroad, he was with Pinterest, as a designer head and made Turntable.fm for iPhone. Not only this, by the age 16 he had already created dozen of apps (applications) though not all were successful. But some of his favourites have been applied in iPhone.

He says out of 20 products his favourites are: Dayta, that's a data tracking application for iPhone, and Rmmbr, a note-taking web app that doesn't require registration and Color Stream app, helps to create and store colour palettes for iPhone.

Crate, an app, that lets you share multiple files at once to anyone you want. Tweader,similar to twitter. Trnsfr an app that lets you send pages your're looking at from your browser to your phone.

Rmmbr, wrote on his Rmmbr says "it's my one-hour app".It is an easy way to create notes on the go. All you have to do is visit a Rmmbr URL and it'll create one for you if it doesn't exist.

Caltrainer, an iPhone app that gives Caltrain timetable in the San Francisco Bay Area. Recently Gumroad turned one-year-old Sahil's invention of pencil has been a hit online.

So what is this pencil craze? On this Sahil said: "Yes, my pencil has been seen hundreds of thousands of times by now, which is crazy. He's selling that iconic pencil on Gumroad for $1 and has found buyers too. The iconic pencil came into being after four hour of long work on Friday a year ago.

Like any startup, Sahil too have mentors, whom he calls his friends. "Nope, it's not tough for a teenager going to Venture Capitalist. VC's are just like me and you. I don't think age matters in a discussion like seed investment."

So any business venture in India, he said while in college he visited India last in 2009 for an internship for a software company in Bangalore.

Young, vibrant and confident Sahil at this young age works around 80 hours a week.

"But it never feels like work," stated the young entrepreneur, who has never been to TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) Silicon Valley, a non-profit global network of entrepreneurs and professional conference.

He said: "I was invited to speak at the next one and I think I will go." So does the computer geek, CEO of Gumroad, have time for friends and family?

Sahil said: "I have friends that I hang out with everyday, because I get to work with them. I also hang out with other friends on the weekends if I'm not too tired. I try to read before I sleep but that rarely happens. Normally I think about how lucky I've been so far."

Source : Rediff

Asian stock market, economy and companies update

General weakness across the region today. Chinese banks were under pressure after Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek announced it was selling down its stake in China Construction Bank and Bank of China by HK$9.33B in each. China non manufacturing PMI also fell several points to 56.1 from 58.0 prior, adding to the mixed outlook on China. Sub-index for new orders and input prices also fell. Copper and silver futures were weaker in the session while corn and wheat gained.

Indian stock market and companies daily report

The Indian markets are expected to open flat to negative tracking negative cues from Asian markets. Asian stocks fell as growth in China’s services industries slowed and employment reports from Europe to the U.S. and New Zealand fueled concern the global economy is faltering.

Indian stock market daily morning report

Indian markets edged lower in the first trading session of the month and closed on negative note yesterday as auto makers such as Tata Motors fell because of disappointment over their April sales, while banks suffered from profit-taking after recent gains. Investors were betting that sales will improve after an interest rate cut was seen bringing down the cost of vehicle financing loans. The downward movement was mainly led by selling pressure in auto, power, capital goods and oil & gas stocks while consumer durable, IT, bank and FMCG stocks witnessed some buying activities which gave some support to the markets. IT stocks were mostly higher on positive economic data in US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. India's second largest software services exporter by revenue, Infosys gained 0.35%. India's largest consumer goods company Hindustan Unilever advanced 1.77% after reporting a better-thanexpected 21% rise in quarterly profit. Bharti Airtel rose 2.47% after the company said that its consolidated net profit fell 28.19% to Rs.1006Cr on 15% growth in total revenue to Rs.18729Cr in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Revenue growth in Q4 was fuelled by increased customer additions and strong minutes growth in India. Despite a national strike for 9 days in Nigeria, Africa revenues continued its growth trend. The bottom line was adversely impacted by higher costs on account of 3G license fee amortisation (Rs.106Cr), 3G interest costs (Rs.84Cr), forex fluctuation losses (Rs.132Cr) and tax provisions (Rs.198Cr).

Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Parkway Life, Ascendas, Optus)

The manager of Parkway Life REIT (PLife) announced on 3 May 2012 that the trust had registered fair growth across all indicators during the first quarter of FY12. After recording steady growth in its FY12 report card, the manager of Ascendas REIT intends to raise fresh funds through a private placement of around 150 million new units. SingTel Australian unit, Optus has announced that it had signed a binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) and Vodafone Network on 3 May 2012.

European stock market, economy and companies update

Following yesterday's May day holiday, the continental European bourses opened higher across the board, as US equities hit 4-yr highs on yesterday's session. Additionally, the FTSE 100 opened slightly lower following yesterday's gains. Equity indices have since pared gains, amid the release of disappointing EU manufacturing PMI and employment data.

World's richest CEOs

They dared to dream. They dared to think out of the box and they dared to follow their gut. Today, they are the world's richest people.

In this complied list by CNBC, the world's 10 richest CEOs spans across four generations -- the youngest was born in 1984 and the oldest in 1930.

According to the study, the ranking is based on net worth figures from Wealth-X, a research firm that provides information on ultra high net worth individuals to private banks and consulting firms.

Carlos Slim, 72
Net worth: $70 billion

Mexican tycoon, Carlos Slim is the richest person in the world for the third year in a row.

This immigrant son of Lebanese descent is the chairman and CEO of telecommunications companies Telmex and America Movil (AMX) and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through Grupo Carso SAB.

Warren Buffett, 81
Net worth: $44.7 billion

Warren Buffet, the director and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world.

He has also been consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people.

Lawrence Ellison, 67
Net worth: $35 billion

Lawrence "Larry" Ellison is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Oracle Corporation, one of the world's leading enterprise software companies. As of 2012, he is the third wealthiest American citizen.

Eike Batista, 56
Net worth: $31.6 billion

A Brazilian tycoon, Eike Batista is the owner and president of EBX Group. As reported by Forbes, Batista vows to one day overtake Carlos Slim of Mexico as the world's richest man.

Charles G Koch, 76
Net worth: $24.7 billion

Charles Koch is co-owner, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries, the second-largest privately held company by revenue in the US according to a 2010 Forbes survey.

Koch provides financial support for a number of public policy and charitable organisations, including the Institute for Humane Studies and the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He also co-founded the Washington, DC-based Cato Institute.

Sheldon Adelson, 78
Net worth: $24.6 billion

Sheldon Adelson is an American business magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, the parent company of Venetian Macao.

It is reported that Adelson vastly increased his net worth upon the initial public offering of Las Vegas Sands in December 2004.

Lakshmi Mittal, 61
Net worth: $19.1 billion

Lakshmi Mittal is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steelmaking company.

Mittal is the richest man in India, Asia and the UK and second in Europe and is presently the 6th richest individual in the world.

Larry Page, 39
Net worth: $18.3 billion

Larry Page is an American computer scientist and internet entrepreneur, and is best known as the co-founder of Google.

After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the University of Michigan, Page decided to concentrate on computer engineering at Stanford University, where he met Sergey Brin, with whom he co-foudend Google.

Mark Zuckerberg, 27
Net worth: $18.1 billion

Mark Zuckerberg is best known for co-creating the social networking site Facebook, of which he is the chief executive.

In 2010, Zuckerberg was named Time magazine's Person of the Year. As of 2011, his personal wealth was estimated to be $17.5 billion, making him one of the world's youngest billionaires.

Aliko Dangote, 55
Net worth: $11.2 billion

Aliko Dangote, is a Nigerian business magnate, who owns the Dangote Group. Dangote started trading commodities more than three decades ago after receiving a business loan from his uncle. He then built the Dangote Group, which in addition to cement owns sugar refineries, flour milling and salt processing facilities.

The group now has operations in his homeland and several other countries in Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Zambia.

Source : Rediff

Translate your Gmail messages into your language

Gmail users will now be able to translate e-mails in foreign languages into the their own, with Google introducing a new feature.
Google on its official Blog has said a new 'Translate message' header will be soon introduced in Gmail.
"Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email.
"The next time you receive a message in a language other than your own, just click on Translate message in the header at the top of the message," Jeff Chin, Product Manager, Google Translate, said.
The idea mooted after Google introduced automatic message translation in Gmail Labs and prompted the labs team to go for a survey in which the teams found the necessity of Gmail message translation.
"Since message translation was one of the most popular labs, we decided it was time to graduate from Gmail Labs and move into the real world.
"Over the next few days, everyone who uses Gmail will be getting the convenience of translation added to their email," Chin added.
The feature also automatic translation feature.
Google had recently announced that it is increasing everyone's free storage in Gmail from 7.5 GB to 10 GB.

TCS replaced RIL as India’s most valued company in terms of market capitalisation

Tata group firm TCS on Wednesday replaced Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries as the country's most valued company in terms of market capitalisation, as investors rallied behind the shares of the IT giant.

At the end of Wednesday's trade, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) commanded a market value of Rs 2,48,116 crore (Rs 2,481.16 billion) -- higher than Reliance Industries' Rs 2,43,413 crore (Rs 2434.13 billion).

While RIL shares fell 0.25 per cent in an overall lacklustre market, TCS shares rallied smartly by 1.83 per cent on robust buying interest among the investors.

TCS has been steadily closing the gap with RIL in terms of market valuation for the last few trading sessions. The IT firm's lead over RIL in terms of market value is about Rs 4,703 crore (Rs 47.03 billion) or less than two per cent currently.

Way back in 2006, RIL had toppled ONGC to emerge as the country's most valued firm and has largely managed to stay on the top since then, except for a few brief periods in the last ten months.

However, a relatively weaker performance by other blue-chip stocks helped RIL today regain its position as the top-weighted stock on the Indian stock market's key indices, Sensex and Nifty, from the FMCG giant ITC.

At the market closing, RIL commanded a weight of 9.23 per cent, pushing ITC to the second spot with a 9.22 per cent weightage in the Sensex.

ITC had first replaced RIL as the most influential stock on Indian bourses on April 17, but the very next day the energy major regained the top-weighted stock status on the BSE benchmark index Sensex, pushing the FMCG giant down to the second slot.

However, from April 19 till April 30, ITC remained the most influential stock on both Sensex and Nifty, pushing Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) to second position. While the market weightage is determined by the free-float market capitalisation (value of non-promoter shares), the overall market value includes valuation of promoter shares as well.

RIL has been India's most valued firm for many years, till it lost the pole position briefly in August 2011 to Coal India (CIL). It regained the top slot later but was briefly overtaken by another state-run firm ONGC soon thereafter.

On August 17, 2011, CIL had toppled RIL as the country's most valued company, ending the corporate giant's over four-year rein at the top of the market valuation charts.

Later, India's biggest software services firm TCS pipped RIL to become the largest company by market value on the last day of trading in 2011. However, RIL soon regained its top position, but was overtaken by TCS again on Wednesday.

A company's market capitalisation is determined by multiplying its share price with total number of shares. At the end of today's trade, TCS was followed by RIL, ONGC, CIL and ITC among the five most valued companies.

Source : Rediff

Thriving Factories in United States and China During April

The factory sector performance in China and the United States is in stark contrast to the eurozone that is experiencing a recession. The ISM survey of April shows growth in US factories, with the composite index at 54.8 vs. 53.4 in March. Readings above 50 denote an expansion in factory activity, while numbers below 50.0 stand for a contraction in factory activity. The April mark of the composite index is the highest since June 2011. More importantly, the index tracking new orders increased to 58.2 in April from 54.5 in the prior month. This is the best mark in the past twelve months. The production index moved up to 61.0, the highest since March 2011. The index measuring export orders rose to 59.0 in April from 54.0 in March, another noteworthy aspect of today’s report as it is the highest since March 2011.

Russian stock market daily morning report

This morning the trade at Asian markets goes in the “green” zone, futures for the American indices are climbing up. We expect the Russian market to open with a gap upwards. This week the players get the reports of another 100 companies of S&P 500 list (as of today 78% of the 268 companies within S&P 500 reported better than expected), however the main attention will switch from the corporate reports to macroeconomic data and problems of Europe. Friday Employment report of U.S. (unemployment report is expected to be bad) is one of the most expected events. Additionally we expect the following: PMI index of China, UK and Eurozone, some FRB of the U.S., ISM MFG and non mfg on the U.S. and Europe. As for auctions, 10-year bonds of France, Spain and UK are expected. Members of FOMC are expected to make statements: in particular, representative of FED William Dudley, Mario Draghi are holding a press-conference Thursday. Significant risks are introduced by elections in Greece and France. Win of the socialist Olland with his program of tax and state spending raise and change of fiscal pact with Europe means a new conflict with the policy of Merkel, and a way too divided parliament of Greece might make the fractions unable to negotiate about anything.

Asian stock market, economy and companies update

***Markets Snapshot (as of 04:30GMT)***
- Nikkei225 +0.4%
- S&P/ASX +0.2%
- Kospi +0.8%
- Taiwan Taiex +2.0%
- Singapore Straits Times Index +0.5%
- Shanghai Composite +1.6%
- Hang Seng +1.1%
- Jun S&P Futures +0.1% at 1,402
- June gold -0.1% at $1,660/oz
- June Crude -0.2% at $105.95

***Overview/Top Headlines***
- With all markets open today there was strength across the region on the back of strong manufacturing numbers out of the key economies of China and the US. China April HSBC manufacturing at 49.3 was still in contraction territory but an improvement from 48.3 in March and another sign that China is heading for a soft landing. AUD/USD rose to session highs at $1.0343, where it continued to hold heading into the Aussie close. USD/JPY stayed around ¥80.20 before strengthening heading into the European open. Japan PM Noda concluded his visit to the US, though an uncharacteristically quiet day from Japan officials. Several Australia names affirmed their FY12 guidance, Singapore Telecom announced 750 job cuts in its Australian unit or 7.9% of employees, the unit has been struggling against larger competitor Telstra. Shares of APA fell after its largest shareholder sold its entire stake. Corn futures fell over 1% to $6.53 while silver gained slightly to $30.90 and copper fell over 0.5% to $3.81.

Just a reminder that Japan markets will be closed for the rest of the week for its Golden Week holiday, Friday US non-farm payrolls will report and Sunday there is leadership elections in both France and Greece.

***Speakers/Geopolitical/In the press***
- Asia Development Bank (ADB) President Kuroda: Believes worst of EU debt crisis may be over
- (CN) Shanghai new home sales w/w: -23.5% v -0.2% prior; new home prices +1.93% v +7.2% prior - UWIN
- (CN) China's 'Big Four' state-run banks issued CNY101.7B in new yuan loans in first 25-days of April - financial press
- (PH) Philippines Economic Planning Chief Paderanga: Sees Q1 GDP of 5.5% - financial press
- (HK) Hong Kong Property Dir: Apr property sales 8.03K, -30% m/m; Expecting 3,500 new homes to be put on the market in May v 1,000 in April - HK Press

***Equities***
- WPL.AU: Chairman: Labor demand is putting pressure on LNG cost and scheduling; Cost pressures risk hurting LNG project economics
- ORG.AU: Reaches large sales agreement with Gladstone LNG (GLNG); To supply 365 pj of gas over 10-yrs at Wallumbilla, starting 2015
- Samsung Electronics, 005930.KR: To convert some if its domestic DRAM production capacity into non-memory chip lines - Korean press
- SKM, 017670.KR: Reports Q1 Net KRW323.3B v KRW537.3B y/y; Op KRW452.3B v KRW614.3B y/y; Rev KRW3.99T v KRW3.91T y/y
- ANZ.AU: Reports H1 Underlying Net A$2.97B v A$3.0Be, Rev A$8.82B v A$8.6B y/y
- Wynn Macau, 1128.HK: Formal Gazette approval was granted for new Macau Cotai casino project

***US Equities***
- THOR: Reports Q1 $0.51 v $0.41e, R$126.8M v $112Me; +10.1% after hours
- RATE: Reports Q1 $0.18 (adj) v $0.19e, R$125M v $127Me; -11.4% after hours
- TRIP: Reports Q1 $0.38 v $0.33e, R$184M v $174Me; +17% after hours
- CHK: Reports Q1 $0.18 v $0.29e, R$2.4B v $2.8Be; -5.5% after hours
- OPEN: Reports Q1 $0.40 v $0.34e, R$33.7M v $40Me; -15.3% after hours
- PLX: FDA approves Taliglucerase Alfa as a treatment for Gaucher Disease; +22.6% after hours

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Forex***
- (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES CRUDE: +2.03M V +2ME; GASOLINE: -3.9M V -500KE; DISTILLATE: -4.18M V 0E; UTILIZATION: 83.9% V 82.9%W/W
- (KR) South Korea Food, Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Committee of National Assembly votes to halt imports of US beef products - Korean press
- USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.2670 v 6.3102 prior close (new yuan high since July 2005 revaluation)
- (AU) Australia sells A$700M of 5.5% 2018 bonds, avg yield 3.7155%; Bid-to-cover 2.97x
- GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings falls to 1,274.1 tons from 1,278.3 tons (lowest since 1,271.1 tons on Jan 27th)
- CME: To Expand CBOT Grain and Oilseed Trading Hours on CME Globex

***Economic Data***
- (CN) CHINA APR HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 49.3 V 48.3 PRIOR (6th month of contraction)
- (JP) JAPAN MAR LABOR CASH EARNINGS Y/Y: 1.3% V 0.2%E (highest since Jul 2010)
- (NZ) NEW ZEALAND APR ANZ COMMODITY PRICE: -4.5% V -1.7% PRIOR
- (KR) SOUTH KOREA APR HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 51.9 V 52.0 PRIOR
- (JP) JAPAN APR MONETARY BASE Y/Y: -0.3% V -0.2% PRIOR (2nd consecutive y/y decline)
- (TH) THAILAND APR CONSUMER CONFIDENCE ECONOMIC: 67.5 V 66.5 PRIOR
- (TW) TAIWAN APR HSBC MANUFACTURING PMI: 51.2 V 54.1 PRIOR
- (RU) RUSSIA APR MANUFACTURING PMI: 52.9 V 50.8 PRIOR
- (IN) INDIA APR MARKIT MANUFACTURING PMI: 54.9 V 54.7 PRIOR

Indian stock market daily morning report

Views on markets today

- Indian markets rose to an almost 1-1/2 week high on Monday, led by gains in software services exporters as valuations were seen more attractive after recent falls and on hopes for more monetary easing in the key U.S. market. Higher European markets also help the markets sentiments amongst the investors. However, volumes were muted ahead of a market holiday on Tuesday, while sentiment remains cautious, given the country's economic and fiscal challenges and uncertainty about recent government proposals regarding foreign taxation. Except consumer durable and pharma, all sectoral indices closed on positive note with IT, oil & gas, real estate and metal stocks were major gainers. Godrej Consumer Products rose 2.50% after the company announced that its consolidated net profit rose 36% to Rs.193Cr on 31% rise in net sales to Rs.1323Cr in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. India's biggest real estate developer DLF rose 2.6% after Goldman Sachs upgraded its rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral", citing optimism about profits on the back of improvements in commercial and residential property. Bhel fell 1.94% on reports Rajasthan state government has scrapped tenders worth Rs.12000Cr that were bagged by the company without specifying any particular reason.

- Maruti Suzuki India declined 1.95% after the company said that its net profit fell 3.03% to Rs.639.84Cr on 18.79% rise in total income to Rs.12023.86Cr in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. While adverse currency movements made a significant impact during Q4, the company was able to largely offset it through localization and internal cost control.

- Market breadth was lower at ~1.08x as investors bought large cap stocks. On provisional basis, FIIs bought equity of Rs.4.79bn while domestic institutions sold equity of Rs.2.46bn in cash segment.

- Asian markets mostly up today, though volatile tracking the cues from the US markets overnight. Weak yen helped Japanese markets to stay in positive territory while China's PMI data helped the Hang Seng's sharp rise.

Economic and Corporate Developments

- The European Union said it was expecting that negotiations for a comprehensive free trade pact with India would be completed by year-end though issues like duty concession on wines and automobiles were yet to be resolved.

Buzzing Stocks

- HCC bagged a contract worth Rs.800Cr from the National Highways Authority of India for the sixlaning project of Vadodara-Surat section of NH-8.

- The ongoing campus recruitment at Mysore’s National Institute of Engineering (NIE), if taken as a cue, indicates that IT companies are perhaps beginning to hire again. NIE has recorded an all-time high placement during the recent campus recruitment season 2011-12. The recruitment is likely to reach 100% as it is still in progress.

- Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) and three public sector oil companies — Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) — have entered into joint venture agreements for setting up three cross-country natural gas transmissionpipelines.

- Madhucon Projects Limited (MPL) won a tender for a mine-mouth, coal-fired steam power plant of 300 Mw (2X 150Mw) near its existing coal mine at Dawas village in South Sumatra, Indonesia.

US markets

U.S. stocks advanced Tuesday, propelling the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest close since late 2007, after a report indicated U.S. manufacturing expanded in April, offsetting concern about the economic recovery.

The Dow industrials finished at 13,279.32, up 65.69 points, or 0.5%. The S&P 500 climbed 7.91 points, or 0.6%, to 1,405.82. The Nasdaq Composite rose 4.08 points, or 0.1%, to 3,050.44.

Malaysia stock market and companies daily report

Deal Off For AirAsia-MAS Share Swap?
At the request of the companies, shares of AirAsia and Malaysian Airline System (MAS) have been suspended for trading this morning due to a ‘pending material announcement’. This heightened speculation that the proposed MAS’ US$364 million (RM1 billion) share swap with AirAsia is falling off the cliff. In recent weeks, speculation is rife that a deal-off is near the edge as it has encountered strong resistance from the 20,000-strong MAS union. The labour group fears that the deal is akin to a takeover by AirAsia, and is particularly unease with its founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and his brand of aggressive cost cutting. A source with direct knowledge noted that MAS would soon announce the cancellation of the deal.
Significance: MAS reported its worst ever results in February – a RM2.5 billion loss in FY11 – despite earlier restructuring efforts. The share swap proposal was floated in hopes to regain its lost competitiveness and help both carriers to compete against rivals like Tiger Airways and Singapore Airlines once the Southeast Asian open-sky policy comes into effect in 2015.

Scomi Engineering Eyes Oil And Gas Business In Brazil
Scomi Engineering, an integrated monorail system provider and oilfield services provider to the oil and gas industry, is looking beyond monorail projects in Brazil and has set sights on the oil and gas business of the country. The company has already two monorail projects in Brazil – in Sao Paulo and Manaus worth a combined RM5.2 billion – and is eyeing for its third that is estimated to be worth RM2.5 billion. According to Scomi Brazil country president Hilmy Zaini Zainal, the company has been exploring oil and gas opportunities in Brazil in the last one year. Though the company has no firm up undertaking, it is hopeful that due diligence that will complete within the next few months would help to decide the best partners for its venture.
Significance: Scomi Engineering highlighted that its next phase of growth in Brazil is the oil and gas segment. It intends to target oil and gas operators as well as drilling contractors in Brazil, and discussions are underway to set up a blending plant to develop the right fluids for the market.

Felda Global Boosting Productivity To Grow Earnings
Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH), the soon to-be-listed plantation company that filed its draft prospectus with the Securities Commission last week, will be boosting its productivity to grow its earnings. Slated for listing by the end of June, the company is expected to garner a market capitalisation of RM18 billion and raise proceeds of over RM12 billion. According to sources, half of the company’s 355,846 hectares of oil palm estates are past their prime at over 25 years old while another 17 percent are at their prime production between 20 and 25 years old. Together, these estates contribute approximately 85 percent of its net profit last year and their contributions are expected to grow in view of the planned replanting. Specifically, the company intents to harvest productivity gains by using its award-winning Yangambi oil palm seeds, which can boost oil extraction rate to 23 percent from the current 20 percent.
Significance: OSK Research noted that 52.8 percent of FGVH’s planted oil palm areas will have to be replanted in the immediate future up to the next five year – this represents a significant avenue for productivity gains and in turn a boost to its earnings. On its initial public offer, the house opined that a 12 to 13 times price earnings is achievable and issued a ‘Neutral’ recommendation.

Singapore stock market and companies daily report (Singtel, CapitaLand, SC Global Developments)

Singtel’s Australian Unit Undergoes Restructuring
Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) announced that its Australian unit, Optus, will undergo a major restructure of its business to drive greater efficiencies and give customers a stronger voice. The new structure will create a customer division for managing all aspects of Optus’ relationship with its customers throughout the lifetime of their service, supported by another new marketing and sales division as well as the centralisation of some key functions such as commercial and strategy. The restructuring will also rationalise a number of operational, back office and administrative functions. Hence, Optus will remove a number of areas of duplication, making approximately 750 roles redundant over the coming months with an associated one off charge of approximately A$37 million. Earlier, Singtel had divested its entire stake in Taiwan’s Far EasTone Telecommunications, recording a gain of for $118 million.
Significance: The restructuring will create a more efficient organisation with a renewed focus on Optus’ customers. Furthermore, the improvement in its cost structure will also enhance its competitiveness in its business, placing the company in a stronger position in the market.

CapitaLand’s 1Q12 Net Profit Rises 31.3%
CapitaLand reported a 31.3 percent jump in net profit for 1Q12 to $133.2 million from $101.5 million on the back of a 4.8 percent rise in revenue to $641.1 million from $611.5 million. The strong performance was commendable in spite of volatile economic conditions and was a result of higher portfolio gains and revaluations of its investment properties. Notably, CapitaLand’s overseas operations continued its growth momentum and contributed significantly to earnings before interest and tax, reflecting that the group is on the right track with its market asset strategy. Going forward, Singapore and China will remain as key focus markets for new investments as the company expects the longer term demand to remain healthy despite that both markets are adjusting to the official cooling measures. It will be launching several new projects in Singapore and China.
Significance: Notably, CapitaLand’s on-going capital recycling and prudent capital management initiatives will continue to aim at maintaining a healthy balance sheet. Its net debt equity ratio of 0.36 and a cash balance of $6.0 billion will also offer flexibility in the current volatile climate.

SC Global Developments Expects 1Q12 Results To Sink Into The Red
SC Global Developments (SC Global) forecasts a net loss of approximately $10 million for the first quarter ended 31 March 2012 compared to a net profit of $72.8 million in the previous corresponding period. The sharp decline is attributed to lower sales and revenue recognition from its development projects such as The Marq on Paterson Hill and Hilltops, which did not recognise significant profits. Meanwhile, SC Global pointed out that the new INT FRS 115 accounting standard prevents overseas contributions from being recognised till completion. Thus, SC Global’s subsidiaries, Kairong Developments in China and AVJennings in Australia, can have their contributions shown only upon handover of developments.
Significance: The sentiment in the residential market remained cautious following the latest property measures. Hence, the luxury property market could remain fragile and such sentiment may weigh on SC Global’s top and bottom lines.

Indian stock market and companies daily report

The Indian markets are expected to open in green tracking positive cues from Asian markets. Asian stocks gained as manufacturing in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded in April at the fastest pace in 10 months, boosting the outlook for the region’s exporters.

The US markets moved sharply up in the morning trade on Tuesday; however gave up some ground before closing for the day. The rally seen in morning trading came on the heels of the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing that activity in the U.S. manufacturing sector unexpectedly expanded at a faster rate in the month of April. The U.K. market got off to a positive start, but pulled back from its intraday high after the country's weaker than expected manufacturing report. The UK's manufacturing sector growth slowed in April amid sharp decline in new export orders.

Indian shares meanwhile ended Monday's session on a firm note, with hopes for more monetary stimulus from the U.S. Federal Reserve underpinning sentiment.

Markets Today

The trend deciding level for the day is 17,291 / 5,237 levels. If NIFTY trades above this level during the first half-an-hour of trade then we may witness a further rall up to 17,387 – 17,455 / 5,273 – 5,298 levels. However, if NIFTY trades below 17,291 / 5,237 levels for the first half-an-hour of trade then it may correct up to 17,223 – 17,127 / 5,212 – 5,177 levels.

IPO Note: Samvardhana Motherson Finance Ltd. – Avoid

Samvardhana Motherson Finance Ltd. (SMFL) is the principal holding company of the Samvardhana Motherson group with 18 subsidiaries, 19 Joint Ventures and 86 other consolidated entities catering to the domestic and global automotive industry. The principal investments of SMFL constitute a 36.1% stake in Motherson Sumi Systems (MSSL), 49% stake in Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec Group Holdings Ltd. (SMR, erstwhile Visiocorp) and 49% stake in Samvardhana Motherson Polymers Ltd. (SMPL). Together the three companies accounted for ~94% of the consolidated revenues in 9MFY2012.

MSSL: MSSL is the flagship company of the group and is the market leader in the domestic wiring harness segment with a market share of ~65%.

SMR: SMR, acquired in March 2009, is the world’s second largest exterior rear view mirror manufacturer with ~22% global market share.

SMPL: SMPL is engaged in the business of high quality plastic components and assemblies for exterior and interior trims for passenger vehicles through Peguform companies acquired in November 2011.

SMFL’s major customers include the Volkswagen group, BMW, Daimler, Renault Nissan, Ford India Private Limited, Volvo Car Corporation, Maruti Suzuki, Tata Motors, Honda Siel Cars India Limited, Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Limited and Fiat India Automobiles Limited.

Details of the issue

SMFL intends to raise Rs.1,665cr through the IPO which comprises a fresh equity issue of Rs.1,344cr and an offer for sale of Rs.321cr by promoter group entity, Radha Rani Holdings Pte Ltd.

Outlook and valuation

SMFL has posted a 123.6% and 63.4% CAGR in revenues and earnings, respectively over FY2008-11 driven largely by the acquisition of SMR. SMFL is the market leader in the domestic wiring harness (65% market share) and rear-view mirror markets (53% market share) and has a 22% share in the global exterior rear view mirrors segment. Further, acquisition of Peguform is expected to enrich its product portfolio and consolidate its in-house design, development and tooling capabilities.

We value SMFL’s 36.1% stake in MSSL based on our target price for the company (Rs.216 based on 15x FY2014E consolidated earnings). We value SMFL’s stake in SMR and SMPL on an EV/Sales basis instead of earnings based multiples as current earnings of these companies’ do not reflect their true potential. Currently the profitability at SMR and SMPL has been impacted due to significant start up costs in relation to new manufacturing facilities and due to one-time costs related to the acquisition and refinancing of Peguform Group. We have assigned EV/Sales multiple of 0.5x based on our analysis of SMFL’s global as well domestic peers.

Based on our SOTP methodology we arrive at a value of Rs.97/share against the IPO price band of Rs.113-Rs.118. Management expects to turnaround the financial performances of SMR and SMPL over the medium term. However, we believe that it is early to factor in the anticipated turnaround in these two subsidiaries and valuations in our view are not providing sufficient margin of safety to investors considering the execution risks involved in the turnaround process. Hence we recommend Avoid on the issue.

Auto sales numbers – April 2012

Tata Motors (TTMT)

TTMT registered a weak set of volumes during the month as total sales declined 7% yoy to 60,086 units. The performance during the month was impacted a commerical and passenger vehicle business registered a decline of 6% and 9% yoy, respectively. In the commercial vehicle space, M&HCV sales were the most impacted and it declined by 30% yoy during the month. In the passenger vehicle segment, Nano volumes declined 20% yoy, while Indica sales grew by robust 63% yoy, led by strong demand for diesel models

Maruti Suzuki (MSIL)

MSIL reported 3.4% yoy (down 20.3% mom) growth in total volumes to 100,415 units led by strong momentum in the recently launched Swift and Dzire sales. The domestic volumes increased by 3.6% yoy to 90,255 units and exports recorded 1.5% yoy growth to 10,160 units. While the compact and super compact segments posted a strong growth of 43% and 31.5% yoy, respectively; mini segment registered a decline of 26.4% yoy as lack of diesel variants continue to hurt the sales.

Mahindra and Mahindra (MM)

MM reported 26.9% yoy (down 14.3% mom) growth in automotive volumes to 40,719 units, driven by continued buoyancy in the four-wheeler pick-up and UV segments (led by XUV5OO) which posted a 36.9% and 31.9% yoy growth, respectively. However, the exports segment registered a decline of 18.4% yoy during the month.

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL)

HMCL posted a healthy 6.7% yoy (4.4% mom) growth in total volumes to 551,557 units led by momentum across the products. The company posted its highest ever monthly sales during the month surpassing the previous highest monthly sales of 5,49,625 units in September 2011

TVS Motor (TVSL)

TVSL posted a modest 4% yoy (down 4.4% mom) growth in total volumes to 174,455 units as motorcycle segment witnessed a decline of 2.3% yoy during the month. Even the scooters sales posted a moderate growth of 2.2% yoy. Threewheeler and exports too witnessed a decline of 18.4% and 11.9% yoy. Mopeds on the other maintained its strong run recording a 13.8% yoy growth.

Aditya Birla Nuvo to buy Pantaloons retail chain

Kishore Biyani-led Future Group will spin off the branded apparel business under Pantaloon Retail into a separate entity in which Aditya Birla Nuvo will infuse Rs.1,600cr to acquire controlling stake. As per the plan, Birla-owned Madura Garments will subscribe to some Rs.800cr of debentures issued by Pantaloon, which, on completion of the demerger process, will convert into equity in the format. This will give Madura Garments 50.01% stake in the demerged entity and bring down promoter shareholding in it to 25%. For debt-laden Pantaloon Retail, the proposed stake sale in its retail format to Aditya Birla Nuvo will help partially ease its debt concern as once the deal is completed; the company's debt will be pruned by Rs.1,600cr, or roughly 20% of its total debt. We do not have Pantaloon Retail under our coverage currently.

Result Reviews

HUL

HUL posted a 15.7% growth in its stand-alone net sales to Rs.5,660cr. The company’s domestic consumer business grew by 20.5% with a volume growth of 10.1%. OPM’s stood at 14.7% up 292bp on yoy basis. The company’s net profit rose by 20.5%yoy to Rs.686cr. We will be releasing a detailed result update shortly We continue to remain neutral on the stock.

Bank of India (CMP: Rs.353 / TP: Rs.383 / Upside: 8.5%)

For 4QFY2012, Bank of India posted a healthy set of numbers, with net profit growing by 93.0% yoy to Rs.953cr, which were above our estimates on account of higher sequential rise in NIMs and lower provisioning expenses than expected by us.

The bank’s balance sheet growth was healthy during FY2012, with advances growing by 19.5% yoy (up 7.5% qoq) and deposits growing by 21.7% yoy (up 2.7% qoq). On a qoq basis, current account deposits witnessed strong traction growing by 13.9% qoq (up 9.9% yoy), however savings account deposits growth was muted, growing by 0.1% qoq (up a reasonable 14.3% yoy). Domestic CASA ratio improved sequentially by ~40bp qoq to 32.8%. Domestic NIMs of the bank improved by 43bp qoq in 4QFY2012 to 3.3%, on back of uptick in yield on advances (up 33bp qoq) to 12.3% on back of shift to higher yielding corporate loans and due to higher interest accrual on back of higher upgrades and recoveries. Fee income performance was robust, growing by 14.4% qoq (up 28.3% yoy) during 4QFY2012, aided by higher forex income and interest income on refund of interest tax (Rs.108cr). The bank’s NPA levels improved during 4QFY2012 with both gross and net NPA levels declining by 7.7% and 10.7% sequentially, respectively. The provisioning coverage ratio continues to remain low at 64.2% (60.9% in 3QFY2012). We recommend an Accumulate rating on the stock with a target price of Rs.383.

Dabur (CMP: Rs.110/ TP: -/ Upside :-)

Dabur posted a 23% growth in its consolidated net sales to Rs.1,364cr, aided by a 12.4% volume growth. The sales of domestic business grew by 19.2% driven by strong growth in hair oil, home care and foods. OPM’s stood flat on yoy basis at 16.3%. The company’s net profit rose by 16%yoy to Rs.171cr. We will be releasing a detailed result update shortly. We continue to remain neutral on the stock.

GCPL (CMP: Rs.540/ TP: -/ Upside :-)

GCPL posted a 30.8% growth in its consolidated net sales to Rs.1,323cr aided by 21%yoy growth in Indian Sub continent business. The company’s international too posted a strong 27% yoy organic sales growth. OPM’s rose by 115bp yoy to 18.9%. The company’s net profit rose by 36%yoy to Rs.193cr. We will be releasing a detailed result update shortly We remain neutral on the stock.

Exide (CMP: Rs.129 / TP: Under Review)

For 4QFY2012, Exide Industries (EXID) registered a strong top-line growth of 16% yoy (16% qoq) to Rs.1,448cr driven by strong ~15% and ~26% yoy volume growth in the industrial and two-wheeler batteries segments, respectively. However fourwheeler OEM as well as the replacement segment registered a modearte 6.6% yoy growth during the quarter. On the operating front, EBITDA margin declined 403bp yoy to 14.7% led by significant increase in raw-material expenses. Raw-material cost jumped 28% yoy and accounted for 67% of sales as compared to 60% of sales in 4QFY2011. As a result, operating profit and net profit declined by 8.9% and12.9% yoy, respectively. However on a sequential basis, 147bp improvement in operating margin led to 36.6% jump in net profit to Rs.143cr. At Rs.129, the stock is trading at 14.5x FY2013E earnings. The stock rating is currently under review. We shall revise our estimates and release a detailed note post earnings conference call with the management.

OBC (CMP: Rs.230 / TP: Rs.296/ Upside: 28.7%)

Oriental Bank of Commerce reported its performance for 4QFY2012. Performance was disappointing, both on the operating and asset quality front. NIMs for the bank declined by 32bp qoq, leading to sequential NII de-growth of 6.3%. The bank’s asset quality moderated during the quarter with both gross and net NPA ratios improving by 25bp and 32bp qoq, respectively. However, noninterest income for the bank saw traction during the quarter growing by 16.4% qoq (14.6% yoy). Further, operating expenses for the bank increased by 8.2% qoq (39.9% yoy), leading the net profit to decline by 25.2% qoq (20.6% yoy) to Rs.265cr. We recommend a Buy on the stock with a target price of Rs.296.

United Phosphorus (CMP: Rs.114 / TP: Rs.182/ Upside: 59.6%)

United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) reported consol revenues of Rs. 2,119cr, registering a growth of 17.4% yoy. Volumes contributed 12% to growth while price increased by 4% with the balance 2% being contributed by favorable impact of exchange. Organic growth for the quarter stood at 8% yoy. According to the regions, the main growth came in from RoW where revenues increased by 24% mainly on account of acquisitions. Europe reported revenue growth of 24% while North American revenues increased by 14%. On the other hand, India registered a 23% decline due to poor demand.

On the operating front, company reported an EBITDA Margin of 19%, V/s 21% during the last corresponding period, on account of 26% yoy rise in other expenditure. Consequently the Net Profits came in at Rs240cr, registering a dip of 3%.

For FY2012, the company has posted sales of Rs.7,534cr, a rise of 33% yoy. The Margins for the year came in at 19% and the Net profit at Rs.606cr, registering growth of 2% yoy.

Going forward, the Management has guided for 15% revenue growth in FY2013 with EBITDA margins of 18-20%, mainly driven by the Europe & North America. Also, the Management is confident about domestic growth to rebound and has plans to launch 2- 3 new products. At current valuations the stock is valued at 6.1xFY2014E earnings, which is attractive. Though we would be reviewing our numbers, but at current juncture maintain a buy with a target of Rs.182

Punj Lloyd (CMP: Rs.54 / TP: - / Upside: -)

For 4QFY2012, Punj Lloyd (Punj) posted 32.2% yoy top-line growth to Rs.3,038cr. The company’s EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 8.4% against 10.7% in 4QFY2011. Interest and depreciation cost came in at Rs.187cr and Rs.70cr, respectively. Interest cost witnessed a jump of 37.0%/15.3% on a yoy/qoq basis, respectively. On the earnings front, Punj reported profit of Rs.9cr, registering a decline of 2.9% on a yoy basis. Order inflow for Punj in FY2012 was Rs.13,817cr, against Rs.9,978cr in FY2011, with an order backlog of Rs.27,276cr (2.6x FY2012 revenue). We maintain our Neutral view on the stock.

KPIT (CMP: Rs.85 / TP: Rs.98 / Upside: 15%)

KPIT Cummins Infosystems (KPIT) reported its 4QFY2012 results which were in-line with our estimates onteh revenue as well as operating front. The dollar revenues came in at US$95.4mn, up whopping 29.9% qoq because of revenues flowing from Systime acquisition (US$~9mn). In INR terms, revenues came in at Rs.480cr, up 26.7% qoq. EBITDA margin of the company improved by just 53bp qoq to 15.8% as the incremental growth came from Systime which has got EBITDA margin in single digits. PAT stood at Rs.33cr, down 17.4% qoq, impacted by loss on the other income front of Rs.11cr as against profit of Rs.11cr in 3QFY2012. The management has given guidance of 32-35% yoyo USD revenue growth for FY2013 which is in-line with our expectations as in FY2013 revenues from Systime will flow in all the four quarters. The stock is currently under review and will be releasing a detailed result update shortly.

TAJ GVK (CMP: Rs.58 / TP: 116 / Upside: 100%)

Taj GVK announced its 4QFY2012 results. Net sales grew by 2.3% yoy and 7.0% qoq to Rs.71cr. EBITDA was down 25.3% yoy on back of margin compression during the quarter. The company commissioned its new property at Begumpet in November 2011, and thus all pre operating expenses were charged to the P&L. Consequently, EBITDA margin took a hit during the quarter declining by 1,057bp yoy to 28.6% (39.2%). Other expenditure as a percentage to sales increased by 1,028bp yoy to 37.6% compared to 27.4% in 4QFY2011. PAT also declined by 46.2% yoy to Rs.7cr (Rs.13cr) while PAT margin declined by 882bp yoy to 9.8% (18.6%). Going ahead as the Begumpet property starts contributing to the top-line, we expect margins to come back to historical levels. We currently have a Buy recommendation on the stock. We may revise our estimates and target price post an interaction with the management.

Result Previews

Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel is slated to announce its 4QFY2012 results today. We expect the company to record revenue of Rs.18,973cr, up 2.7% qoq on the back of growth in 2.2% qoq growth in ARPM to Rs.0.46min and MOU remaining flat qoq at 418min. VAS as a share in mobility revenues is expected to move to 14.5% from 14.3% in 3QFY2012. Consolidated EBITDA margin of the company is expected to decline by 43bp qoq to 31.8%. PAT is expected to be at Rs.1,090cr. We maintain Neutral view on the stock.

Hero MotoCorp

Hero MotoCorp (HMCL) is slated to announce its 4QFY2012 results today. We expect the company’s top-line to grow by a healthy 12% yoy to Rs.5,984cr driven by 8.3% yoy growth in volumes and ~3% yoy increase in average net realization led by price increases. Operating margins (adjusted for change in accounting for royalty payments) are expected to expand 36bp yoy to 12.5% on account of softening of commodity prices. As a result, we expect the bottom line (adjusted) to post a 31% yoy increase to Rs.658cr. The stock rating is under review.

Economic and Political News
- Exports down 5.7% in March at US$28.7bn
- Power sector needs Rs.13.72 lakh cr for 12th Plan period: Government
- Bill to transfer RBI shareholding in NHB to Centre
- Engineering exports at US$58bn in FY2012, 19% short of target

Corporate News
- Vodafone ups price for Mumbai postpaid users
- HCC Concessions bags Rs.800cr contract from NHAI
- Punjab & Sind Bank cuts lending rate by 0.25%

Sun TV Network leads gainers in 'A' group

Titan Industries, MMTC, United Breweries and United Phosphorus are among the other gainers. Sun TV Network surged 5.12% to Rs 301 and topped the gainers in the BSE's 'A' group. The stock rose on volume of 1.39 lakh shares, higher than an average daily volume of 49,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month until 30 April 2012, falling 8.54% compared with the Sensex's 0.49% fall. The scrip also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 1.55% as against 2.70% rise in the Sensex. Titan Industries gained 4.25% to Rs 242.85 after net profit jumped 72.2% to Rs 144.28 crore on 28.3% growth in net sales to Rs 2281.42 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. It and was second biggest gainer in 'A' group. The company announced the results after market hours on Monday, 30 April 2012. Stock market remained closed on Tuesday, 1 May 2012, on account of Maharashtra Day. Titan Industries' net profit rose 39.4% to Rs 600.15 crore on 35.5% growth in net sales to Rs 8838.38 crore in the year ended 31 March 2012 over the year ended 31 March 2011. Consolidated net profit rose 38.8% to Rs 601.36 crore on 35.4% growth in net sales to Rs 8848.43 crore in the year ended 31 March 2012 over the year ended 31 March 2011. MMTC advanced 3.60% to Rs 804.90, extending two-day 14.94% surge. The stock rose on volume of 3.13 lakh shares, sharply higher against an average daily volume of 31,000 shares in the past two weeks. It was third biggest gainer in 'A' group. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month until 30 April 2012, falling 0.83% compared with the Sensex's 0.49% fall. The scrip also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 10.74% as against 2.70% rise in the Sensex. United Breweries gained 3.60% to Rs 555.20 and was fourth biggest gainer in 'A' group. The stock rose on volume of 1.20 lakh shares, higher than an average daily volume of 23,000 shares in the past two weeks. The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month until 30 April 2012, falling 0.97% compared with the Sensex's 0.49% fall. The scrip, however, outperformed the market in past one quarter, advancing 30.41% as against 2.70% rise in the Sensex. United Phosphorus rose 3.19% to Rs 119.75 after the company said its board of directors will meet on 7 May 2012 to consider share buyback proposal. The company made this announcement after market hours on Monday, 30 April 2012. Stock market remained closed on Tuesday, 1 May 2012, on account of Maharashtra Day. It was fifth biggest gainer in 'A' group.

Sensex provisionally down 47.35 points or 0.27%; market breadth turns negative

Key benchmark indices slipped into the red to hit fresh intraday lows in late trade as index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) weakened. The barometer index, BSE Sensex, was provisionally down 47.36 points or 0.27%, off about 170 points from the day's high and up close to 5 points from the day's low. The market breadth turned negative from positive in late trade. FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) scaled record high after strong Q4 results. Bharti Airtel gained after the company said its consolidated EBITDA margin was sustained at a robust level of 33.3% in Q4 March 2012, benefitting from scale and cost efficiencies. Capital goods stocks declined. Tata Motors declined on poor sales in April 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose after strong sales in April 2012. Maruti Suzuki India fell on reporting flat growth of sales in April 2012. Hero MotoCorp reversed intraday gains on profit booking after reporting good Q4 results. Bajaj Auto fell after company reported muted sales growth in April 2012. IT stocks were mostly higher on positive economic data in US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. The market edged higher in early trade to hit its highest level in more than one-week. The market trimmed gains in morning trade. The market regained strength in mid-morning trade. The market trimmed gains to hit fresh intraday low in early afternoon trade. The market regained positive zone after slipping onto the red to hit fresh intraday low in mid-afternoon trade. The market slipped into the red to hit fresh intraday low in late trade. As per provisional figures, the BSE Sensex was down 47.36 points or 0.27% to 17,271.45. The index fell 53.33 points at the day's low of 17,265.48 in late trade. The index jumped 113.52 points at the day's high of 17,432.33 in early trade, its highest level since 23 April 2012. The S&P CNX Nifty was down 17.60 points or 0.34% to 5,230.55, as per provisional figures. The Nifty hit a high of 5,279.60 in intraday trade, its highest level since 23 April 2012. The index hit a low of 5,226.45 in intraday trade. The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, turned negative from positive in late trade. On BSE, 1,472 shares declined and 1,316 shares rose. A total of 144 shares were unchanged. From the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 fell while the rest rose. Tata Power Company, Coal India and NTPC shed by between 1.75% to 2.82%. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries (RIL) fell 0.23% to Rs 743.45, off the day's high of Rs 750.90. RIL on 20 April 2012 reported 21.2% fall in net profit to Rs 4236 crore on 16.7% growth in turnover to Rs 87833 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The company reported GRM (gross refining margin), the difference between the price of petroleum products and crude oil, of $7.6 per barrel in Q4 March 2012 compared with GRM of $6.8 per barrel in Q3 December 2011 and $9.2 per barrel in Q4 March 2011. FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL) rose 2.02% to Rs 424.75 after the company said on Tuesday, 1 May 2012, its net profit rose 20.63% to Rs 686.61 crore on 16.05% rise in total income to Rs 5835.86 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The stock hit record high of Rs 433.90 today. Harish Manwani, Chairman, HUL commented: "Our performance through the year has been consistent, with broad based growth ahead of the market, driven by a relentless focus on innovation and in-market execution. In a year of competitive intensity and high volatility, a sharp focus on cost management helped the business to continue to invest behind our brands and capabilities while delivering an improvement in margins". Bharti Airtel rose 2.42%. The company said during market hours today that its consolidated net profit fell 28.19% to Rs 1006 crore on 15% growth in total revenue to Rs 18729 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Revenue growth in Q4 was fuelled by increased customer additions and strong minutes growth in India. Despite a national strike for 9 days in Nigeria, Africa revenues continued its growth trend. Consolidated EBITDA margin was sustained at a robust level of 33.3%, benefitting from scale and cost efficiencies, Bharti Airtel said. The company said the bottom line was adversely impacted by higher costs on account of 3G license fee amortisation (Rs 106 crore), 3G interest costs (Rs 84 crore), forex fluctuation losses (Rs 132 crore) and tax provisions (Rs 198 crore). In a statement, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said: "I am pleased that the year has ended with the company's customer base crossing 250 million across twenty countries, the twentieth country being Rwanda. Our launch of 4G LTE, the first in India, is testimony to our commitment to the broadband agenda. The recent regulatory developments in India will have significant implications on the future of telephony and broadband, as well as India's global competitiveness. The entire industry looks to the Government for a fair, transparent and sustainable telecom regime". IT stocks were mostly higher on positive economic data in US, the biggest outsourcing market for the Indian IT firms. India's second largest software services exporter by revenue, Infosys gained 0.04%. The stock had witnessed selling pressure recently on reports the company is under scrutiny from US authorities for likely errors in employer eligibility documents of its staff. Infosys has issued a weaker-than-expected revenue growth outlook for the current fiscal year. India's largest software services exporter by revenues Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) rose 1.3%, with the stock extending Monday's 3.49% gains. The company said during trading hours on Monday that Letshego Holdings (LHL), a leading consumer lending company based in Botswana, has selected the TCS BaNCS suite as the core banking system for its greenfield venture into retail banking in Africa. The integrated core banking solution will process loans and deposits across seven countries in Africa -- Botswana, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Namibia and Mozambique. The TCS stock had surged recently after the management issued a positive future outlook at the time of announcement of Q4 results on 23 April 2012. TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said that the company is well prepared to achieve balanced growth across the industries and markets it operates in, given its holistic portfolio of services which are now achieving significant scale across markets. TCS reported 3.3% growth in consolidated net profit at Rs 2895 crore on 0.4% growth in revenue at Rs 13259 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q3 December 2011. Net profit rose 15% to Rs 10413 crore on 31% growth in revenue at Rs 48894 crore in the year ended March 2012 (FY 2012) over the year ended March 2011 (FY 2011). HCL Technologies rose 0.98% after the company said during market hours today that BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), a leading global medical technology company, has signed an engineering and R&D services (ERS) engagement with HCL Technologies. (HCL). BD also officially inaugurated its first R&D facility in Chennai, Tamil Nadu today, 2 May 2012. This facility is a significant milestone for BD in its efforts to expand its R&D into Asia, and demonstrates its strong relationship with HCL, which began in 2007, HCL said. The new facility is part of BD's efforts to accelerate R&D innovation to develop new products and markets, achieve time-to-market advantage for its products and enhance operational efficiencies. This facility will be directly managed by BD Singapore. India's third largest software services exporter by revenues Wipro fell 0.36%, with the stock reversing initial gains. The company announced after market hours on Monday it has signed an agreement to acquire Promax Applications Group (PAG), a leading player in trade promotion planning, management, and optimization solutions space for a total purchase consideration of AUD 35 million. "Analytics is a key growth driver of Wipro's growth strategy. The acquisition of Promax Applications Group will strengthen Wipro's positioning and capability in management, analytics & optimization of trade promotions, and further extends our leadership in analytics and information management services. Combining PAG's deep industry expertise with Wipro's proven experience in delivering end-to-end large business solutions to global clients, will enable our clients to maximize the ROI of Trade Promotion spends", said K.R Sanjiv, Senior Vice President and Global Head, Analytics and Information Management, Wipro. The Wipro stock has been under selling pressure recently after the company's management projected flat IT services revenue in Q1 June 2012 at the time of announcement of Q4 March 2012 results on 25 April 2012. The company has projected a between 1.04% fall to 0.91% growth in revenue from IT services business at $1.52 billion to $1.55 billion in Q1 June 2012 over Q4 March 2012. Wipro's consolidated net profit as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) rose 8% to Rs 1481 crore on 19% growth in total revenue to Rs 9869 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. Meanwhile, the rupee edged lower at 52.95 against the dollar from Monday's close of 52.73/74 as oil importers' demand offsets positive stocks. A weak rupee boosts revenue of IT firms in rupee terms as the sector derives a lion's share of revenue from exports. Standard & Poor's Ratings Services last week said that it had revised the rating outlooks on Infosys, TCS and Wipro to negative from stable. At the same time, it affirmed 'BBB+' long-term corporate credit ratings on these entities. The outlook revisions follow a similar action on the sovereign credit rating on India. India's largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki India fell 3.2% on reporting flat growth in sales in April 2012. The company announced on Tuesday its total sales rose 3.4% to 1,00,415 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Domestic sales rose 3.6% to Rs 90,255 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Exports rose 1.5% to 10,160 units in April 2012 over April 2011 The stock had declined 1.95% on Monday after company said on Saturday, 28 April 2012, its net profit fell 3.03% to Rs 639.84 crore on 18.79% rise in total income to Rs 12023.86 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. While adverse currency movements made a significant impact during Q4, the company was able to largely offset it through localization and internal cost control, Maruti said. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) rose 0.82% after the company announced a 27% rise in its auto sales to 40,719 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Speaking on the performance, Pravin Shah, Chief Executive, Automotive Division, Mahindra & Mahindra said, "We are happy to have achieved a growth of 27% during the first month of the new financial year. We are particularly encouraged by the success of all our brands, especially Bolero, which figures in the top 10 selling passenger vehicles in India. Going forward, we will continue to work towards maintaining this growth momentum". Mahindra & Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector (FES), a part of the U.S. $14.4 billion Mahindra Group, maintained its leadership position in the tractor industry in April 2012. Domestic sales fell 9.53% to 16,049 units in April 2012 over April 2011. Total tractor sales (domestic + exports) in April 2012 stood at 16,797 units, as against 18,530 units for the same period last year. Exports for the month of April 2012 stood at 748 units. India's largest commercial vehicle makers by sales Tata Motors declined 3.71% after the company said its total sales (including exports) of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles fell by 7% to 60,086 units in April 2012 over April 2011. The company's domestic sales of Tata commercial and passenger vehicles for April 2012 were at 57,305 units, lower by 5% over 60,125 units sold in April last year. Bajaj Auto fell 1.79% after company reported flat sales in April 2012. The company said during market hours today that its total sales rose 4% to 3.81 lakh units in April 2012 over April 2011. The company's exports rose 7% to a record 1.69 lakh units in April 2012 over April 2011. India's largest motorcycle maker by sales Hero MotoCorp fell 0.89% to Rs 2215, off a record high of Rs 2,278.50 hit earlier in the day. The company said at the fag end of the trading session today that its net profit rose 20.33% to Rs 603.59 crore on 12.22% growth in total income to Rs 6139.90 crore in Q4 March 2012 over Q4 March 2011. The company said it has raised prices of most of its products by Rs 500 to Rs 1000 per unit with immediate effect, in order to partially offset rising input costs. TVS Motor Company rose 1.22% after company reported 4% growth in total sales to 1,74,455 units in April 2012 over April 2011. India's largest power equipment maker by sales Bhel fell 0.47%, with the stock extending Monday's 1.94% losses triggered by reports Rajasthan state government has scrapped tenders worth Rs 12000 crore that were bagged by the company without specifying any particular reason. The stock had hit 52-week low of Rs 222 on Monday, 30 April 2012. Among other capital goods stocks, BEML, L&T, ABB, Siemens and Thermax shed by between 0.92% to 1.64%. Shares of cable service providers rose after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued an order to allow Multi-System Operators (MSOs) to charge a carriage fee from broadcasters. Hathway Cable and Datacom, Den Networks and Wire and Wireless India (WWIL) rose by between 2.12% to 19.23%. According to TRAI's new norm, MSOs will have to offer a minimum of 100 free to air channels for Rs 100 as part of the basic service tier. Though the revenue share is based on mutual negotiations but in case of disagreements MSOs will get 65% of the revenues while the balance will be shared by local cable operator. The pace of growth in India's factory sector inched up in April, supported by bulging order books, but slower output growth and increasing price pressures dampened sentiment, a business survey showed on Wednesday. The HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, rose to 54.9 in April from 54.7 in March. The index has remained above the 50-mark that divides growth from contraction for more than three years. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth Rs 479.53 crore on Monday, 30 April 2012, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges. India's exports in March fell for the first time since the 2009 global financial crisis as demand weakened in the United States and Europe, further clouding the outlook for the country's balance of payments. Exports fell 5.7% to $28.7 billion in March 2012 over March 2011. Imports rose 24.3% to $42.6 billion in March. Investors are closely watching India Inc's Q4 March 2012 and year ending March 2012 (FY 2012) earnings. Focus is on the guidance provided by the management for the year ending March 2013 (FY 2013) to gauge the earnings outlook. Bank of Baroda unveils Q4 results on Friday, 4 May 2012. Grasim Industries announces FY 2012 results on Saturday, 5 May 2012. Housing finance major HDFC announces FY 2012 results on 7 May 2012. Hindalco and Asian Paints unveil Q4 results on 8 May 2012. Kotak Mahindra Bank announces FY 2012 results on 8 May 2012. Punjab National Bank and Ranbaxy Laboratories unveil quarterly results on 9 May 2012. NTPC announces FY 2012 results on 10 May 2012. Cipla announces Q4 results on the same day. Dr Reddy's Laboratories announces FY 2012 results on 11 May 2012. Bajaj Auto announces FY 2012 results on 17 May 2012. BPCL unveils FY 2012 results on 25 May 2012. Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) unveils FY 2012 results on 30 May 2012. Most European shares rose on Wednesday after a surprisingly strong reading for the US manufacturing sector. Key benchmark indices in France and Germany were up 0.27% and 0.81% respectively. UK's FTSE 100 was down 0.48%. Asian shares edged higher on Wednesday as gains on Wall Street and an improved reading of China manufacturing activity in an official survey underpinned sentiment. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea rose by between 0.56% to 2.31%. Data out on Tuesday showed the Chinese manufacturing sector steadily improving in April, rising for a fifth straight month. Separately, HSBC also released its own manufacturing survey results for April, which also showed an improvement, although the index still remained in contraction territory. Also helping Chinese stocks was news that the China Securities and Exchange Commission and the mainland stock markets would lower costs for stock transactions, while requirements for initial public offerings would be tightened, and unqualified firms would be forced to delist. Japanese financial markets will be closed for public holidays on Thursday and Friday. Trading in US index futures indicated that the Dow could fall 13 points at the opening bell on Wednesday, 2 May 2012. US factory activity grew in April at the strongest rate in 10 months, with the Institute for Supply Management's index rising to 54.8 from 53.4 in March, beating forecasts. ISM's gauge of employment also rose to its highest level since last June, coming ahead of the government's nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday, which is forecast to show the economy added 170,000 jobs in April.