Global - Economy and Market
Fed's Bullard: U.S. economic outlook is brighter
VANCOUVER - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said on Friday the U.S. economic outlook is righter and household confidence has improved, suggesting he sees no need for further steps to ease financial conditions.
Initial unemployment claims in U.S. hold near 4-year low, U.S. car sales reach highest level since February 2008
First-time jobless claims in the U.S. edged down after fluctuating near a four-year low for several weeks. The Labor Department said initial claims declined 2,000 last week, to a seasonally adjusted 351,000. The four-week rolling average dropped 5,500, to 354,000, the fewest since March 2008. Last month, Americans bought the most vehicles since February 2008, despite rising gas prices. Automakers weren't offering additional incentives. Analysts attributed the growth to pent-up demand by consumers who were delaying purchase as well as optimism about the economic recovery.
U.S. factory growth cools, spending stagnant, U.S. house prices reached 9-year low in December, index shows
WASHINGTON - U.S. manufacturing cooled in February and consumer spending was flat for a third straight month in January, suggesting the economy lost more steam early this year than expected. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price index sank in December to its lowest since 2002, suggesting the housing market remains a threat to the U.S. economic recovery. The index dropped 4% compared with December 2010
Eurozone ministers withhold some funds for Greece, to decide on firewall in March
Eurozone finance ministers released €58 billion to Greece as part of its rescue program to smooth the country's bond restructuring, but they withheld €71.5 billion. They plan to hold a conference call on March 9 and make a decision on March 12. Athens faces a March 20 deadline to make a €14.5 billion bond payment. the European Central Bank said its extraordinary support measures would not be repeated, putting the onus squarely back on governments to act.
Troika reviews Portugal's economic reforms
The European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank were expected to review Portugal's progress on fiscal reforms, paving the way for it to receive the next tranche of its rescue. Portugal continues to face significant challenges, and many economists expect that more emergency funding will be needed. European officials are striving to downplay Portugal's economic woes and differentiate its situation from that of Greece.
Risk of severe global downturn is fading, IMF says
The chances of Europe's financial problems triggering a sharp, worldwide downturn have fallen since the eurozone took several actions to deal with the sovereign-debt crisis, the International Monetary Fund said in a report. "The key risk remains that policies do not shift Europe toward a 'good equilibrium' and fail to break adverse feedback loops between real, fiscal, and financial sectors," the IMF said. The multinational development bank confirmed that the eurozone will soon enter a "mild recession."
Analysis: Stores fail to compete with online merchants
Conventional retailers are suffering because they aren't moving swiftly to compete with Internet merchants, according to The Economist. "To build a profitable online business retailers must integrate it seamlessly with their bricks-and-mortar operations," the magazine notes. "Many keep them separate, increasing the risk that they fail to communicate or work together properly." The Economist
Emerging nations want World Bank, IMF top jobs more contestable
Leaders of emerging economies called for an end to the longstanding practice of naming a U.S. citizen to head the World Bank and a European to helm the International Monetary Fund. The positions should be filled based on merit, rather than nationality, they said. Reuters
China boosts defence budget by 11.2 percent for 2012
BEIJING - China will increase military spending by 11.2 percent this year, a spokesman for the nation's parliament said on Sunday,building on a nearly unbroken succession of double-digit rises in the defence budget across two decades.
India - Economy and Market
Manufacturing PMI slips marginally to 56.6 in February
The seasonally adjusted HSBC PMI posted a reading of 56.6 in Feb, fractionally lower from January's 57.5, highest of past 8 mths.
Economy slumps to weakest growth in 3 years
NEW DELHI - India's economic growth slowed to 6.1 percent in the three months to December, the weakest annual pace in almost three years, as high interest rates and rising raw material costs constrained investment and manufacturing.
RBI deputy gov: options open on CRR cut
MUMBAI - Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor H.R. Khan said on Friday that options were open on a further cut in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) for banks before the central bank's policy review on March 15, but a view had not yet been taken.
January exports up 10 pct y/y
NEW DELHI - India's January exports rose 10.1 percent to $25.347 billion, while imports rose 20.3 percent to $40.1 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $14.8 billion, the government said on Thursday.
India carmakers post steady sales growth in Feb
Maruti, 54.2 percent owned by Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T), said it sold 118,949 vehicles in February, an increase of 6.5 percent from the year-ago period. Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) (TTM.N), which makes the Nano, the world's cheapest car, also posted a 19 percent jump in February sales. Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (MAHM.NS), India's largest maker of utility vehicles and tractors, said total vehicle sales for February jumped 29 percent to 43,087, while exports surged 86 percent.
Unemployment rate declined to 6.6% in 2009-10 from 8.3% in 2004-05
Government today said unemployment rate in the country has declined from 8.3 per cent in 2004-05 to 6.6 per cent in 2009-10 despite global slowdown.
India business team to visit Iran next week: Export group
An Indian trade delegation will travel to Iran next week to explore "huge opportunities" created by US-led sanctions over the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear programme, an export group says.
TMT (Technology, Media and Telecom) News
2G case: Sistema, Uninor moves SC seeking review of verdict
Sistema Shyam TeleServices Ltd and Uninor moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of the verdict canceling its licenses for 2G spectrum.
As revenues dry up, telcom companies target machine-to-machine apps
Bharti is aiming to convert its 2,000 customers who take enterprise services (such as broadband Internet) to M2M subscribers.
Huawei eyes 40 per cent revenue growth in India this year
Huawei said it expects about 40 per cent growth in revenues from India in 2012 on the back of large-scale 3G roll out.
Nokia Siemens bags Bharti Airtel's 4G network deal for Maharashtra
Bharti Airtel said it has appointed Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) for building and operating its 4G network in Maharashtra.
Government to auction 4G spectrum this year: Kapil Sibal
Sibal said the government will have enough radio waves for all operators after it is released from the defence services.
Idea Cellular expands managed services agreement with Ericsson
Networking gear maker Ericsson today said it has signed an agreement with Idea Cellular to provide managed services in five Indian telecom circles.
Government won't auction all 2G airwaves at one go;fears oversupply may depress prices
The department of telecom arrived at this conclusion after results of an audit revealed it would have 923.80 MHz of bandwidth.
Infosys selected technology partner for airtel money
Country's second largest software exporter Infosys today said it has been selected as the technology partner for 'airtel money', the mobile wallet service of telecom operator Bharti Airtel.
IT Industry should be bullish about growth: Partha Iyengar, Gartner's top analyst
Technology analyst firm Gartner's top researcher in India sees strong demand for IT services from the country in 2012.
TCS to set benchmark with 'non-linear' revenues
By deciding to make 'non-linear' revenue data public every quarter, India's largest software exporter could be challenging its rivals to do likewise.
Infosys to set up development centre in Nagpur
IT major Infosys will set up a software development centre in the city, its second in Maharashtra after Pune, with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore.
HCL Infosystems wins Aadhaar contract of Rs 2,200 crore from UIDAI
According to government sources, TCS bid about 6,500 crore for the contract while Mahindra Satyam backed out from bidding.
TCS bags deal from South Africa's Nedgroup Insurance
NIC is the first insurance customer for Tata Consultancy Services in Africa, though the company is already serving banks in the region, the statement said.
Wipro focusing on cloud, analytics and mobility solutions
Wipro is betting big on areas like cloud, analytics and mobility solutions to boost its business in the market here, a top company official said.
IBM takes `smarter cities' concept to Rio de Janeiro
Can IBM turn small government into big business? You could think of Rio as a high-level science project from the same company that built Watson, the computer that plays "Jeopardy."
DataWind bags UK's most innovative mobile company award for making $35 Aakash tablet
DataWind has won Smart UK Project award from UK for nation's 'Most Innovative Mobile Company', beating competition from blippar, P2i and QRpedia.
Ibibo eyes 50 pc share of India's social gaming market by FY'14
Online gaming company Ibibo aims to increase its market share in the country's social gaming space to 50 per cent in the next two years.
Intel partners India's Lava, others for smartphone push
Microchip maker Intel has tied-up with Indian start-up Lava to announce the first Intel-powered smartphone in India.
China's Huawei, ZTE target smartphone incumbents with cheap phones
The two vendors combined sold 35 million smartphones last year, around 7% of global market, and see 2012 sales rising to 90 million.
Global mobile industry to grow to $1.9 trillion by 2015
The global mobile industry is expected to grow to $1.9 trillion by 2015 from the current $1.5 trillion level.
HTC bets on cameras, music to recover smartphone mojo
Taiwan's HTC Corp has turned to advanced cameras and music functions for a new range of phones in a bid to recover from a rapid fall from grace.
Orange to offer smartphone with 'Intel Inside'
The "Intel Inside" logo on hundreds of millions of personal computers is finally making its way onto a smartphone. iPhones and iPads, use energy-efficient processors based on technology licensed to chip designers by Britain's ARM Holdings and made by Intel rivals like Samsung Electronics and Qualcomm Inc.
0 comments