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World Bank echoes India`s call to stem food prices

Washington, April 14: Echoing a call by India, finance ministers from around the world have sought urgent action to stem rising food prices, warning that social unrest will spread unless the cost of basic staples is contained.

'We have to put our money where our mouth is now, so that we can put food into hungry mouths. It is as stark as that,' World Bank President Robert Zoellick said at the end of a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank's Development Committee Sunday.

Earlier addressing the committee, Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had asked the global community to collectively deliberate on immediate steps to reverse the unconscionable increases in the price of food, which threatens to negate the benefits to the poor nations.

'It is becoming starker by the day that unless we act fast for a global consensus on the price spiral, the social unrest induced by food prices in several countries will conflagrate into a global contagion leaving no country - developed or otherwise -unscathed,' he said.

Zoellick again cited growth in India and China to advance what he called a 'One Percent Solution to build equity investment in Africa so that it can become a complementary growth pole in 10-15 years, just as China, India, and others are complementary poles today.'

'The allocation of even one percent of the assets of Sovereign Wealth Funds to equity investment in Africa could draw $30 billion to African growth, development and opportunity,' he said, reporting a 'very positive feedback on this idea.'

Zoellick said the Development Committee Ministers had endorsed his proposal for a 'New Deal for Global Food Policy' and had also called on donors to fill the $500 million feeding gap identified by the World Food Programme.

Noting that high commodity prices and their impact on growth and development will be a topic for the G8 finance ministers in Japan in June, he said: 'This is important and can help build towards that New Deal. But, frankly speaking, the G8 meeting is in June and we cannot wait for that.'

Zoellick estimated that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty. 'This is not just a question about short-term needs, as important as those are. This is about ensuring that future generations don't pay a price too.'

The Development Committee endorsed the overall World Bank Group (WBG) objective of contributing to an inclusive and sustainable globalisation - to overcome poverty, and enhance growth with care for the environment.

A communique issued at the end of the meetings noted: 'While the balance of risks to the global outlook has become more negative, emerging and developing economies have so far been less affected by financial market developments.'

Strongly supporting intensified and decisive efforts to agree on an ambitious pro-development Doha Round that improves access to markets, the committee stressed the need to integrate trade and competitiveness within national development strategies.

At the same time it called for stepping up support for Aid for Trade, including assistance for countries' efforts to strengthen trade logistics and ensure competitive access to services since these are central to improving poor countries' competitiveness and ability to benefit from trade opportunities.

RIL could buy BG, Chevron, Exxon stakes

New Delhi, April 14: Reliance Industries is in talks with global energy majors, including British Gas of the UK, Chevron Corp of the US, Exxon and shell for a possible stake sale in its Krishna-Godavari basin gas fields.

RIL is looking for a strategic partner for its KG-d6 gas block to get deep sea exploration technology, industry sources said.

India`s corporate conglomerate has mandated Goldman Sachs for its possible stake sale that may happen after the block, that contains over 50 trillion cubic feet of gas reserve, is hived off into a special purpose vehicle.

The percentage of stake to be divested has not been firmed up and may depend on the value that the strategic partner was bringing in.

Sources said at least five companies, including BG, Chevron Corp, Exxon, Shell and ENI of Italy has visited the data room set up in New York.

Total of France, BG of UK and Petrobras of Brazil are also believed to be interested in Reliance`s block that is to begin gas production from third quarter this calendar year.

FTSE drops 1 pct as U.S. recession fears hit banks
Mon Apr 14, 2008 4:13am EDT

LONDON, April 14 - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE fell for a fifth session early on Monday, tracking steep losses in Asia and the U.S. as investors dumped financials on a growing conviction that the United States was tipping into recession.

Banks were standout losers and all traded lower, with Alliance & Leicester (ALLL.L: Quote, Profile, Research) down 2.9 percent, while Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research) both lost 2.3 percent.

Bradford & Bingley (BB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) fell about 3 percent after the bank said on Sunday it was not intending to raise cash through a rights issue or any other method, rejecting a report that it was looking to strengthen its balance sheet. [ID:nL13342438]

By 0749 GMT the leading share index was down 56.3 points at 5,839.2 as shares across Europe fell about 1 percent.

U.S. shares slumped on Friday after a nasty earnings surprise from General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and a 26-year low in U.S. consumer sentiment provided investors with further evidence that a U.S. recession was looming. Asian equities lurched on Monday, with Japan's Nikkei .N225 ending down more than 3 percent.

U.S. banks JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research), Merrill Lynch (MER.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) are also set to report first-quarter earnings this week.

"Sentiment at the moment is pretty awful," said Neil Parker, a strategist at Royal Bank of Scotland.

"Potentially a push back higher is on the horizon now as we head later into the second quarter, but I don't think we'll get the full beginnings of a recovery across all of the equity markets until we...start getting half-year results out of a lot of the major U.S. companies," he said.

"Because they are the ones that are leading sentiment and the rest of the western world is riding along on the wave."

U.S. retail sales, due at 1230 GMT, will provide a further gauge of the strength of the world's largest economy. Economists in a Reuters survey expected the reading to be unchanged versus a 0.6 percent fall in February.


DOWNGRADE HITS BA

British Airways (BAY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) dropped 3.7 percent after Morgan Stanley cut its rating on the airline stock to "underweight" from "equal weight," and reduced its price target to 120 pence from 245 pence.

Sage Group (SGE.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Britain's biggest software company, shed more than 3 percent despite saying it was on track to hit analysts' forecasts for the year.

On average, analysts expect the Newcastle-based firm to report a full year pretax profit of 266 million pounds ($525.4 million) on revenue of 1.25 billion, according to a company poll of 19 investment banks.

Among midcaps, Mitchells & Butlers (MAB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) rose 0.9 percent after it said a number of private equity firms had offered to take a stake in it and it was interested in buying Punch's (PUB.L: Quote, Profile, Research) Spirit managed pub division. Punch gained 2.2 percent. [ID:nL14498635]

Endonis (ENO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) added 5.3 percent after Manitowoc Co Inc (MTW.N: Quote, Profile, Research), a U.S. maker of cranes and restaurant equipment, said it had agreed to acquire the British food equipment maker for around 948 million pounds ($1.9 billion).

(editing by Elizabeth Fullerton)


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Petronet to buy 15 more spot LNG lots this fiscal
14 Apr, 2008, 1240 hrs IST............

NEW DELHI: Petronet LNG will buy 15 more spot LNG cargoes this fiscal year as it doubles the capacity of its liquefied natural gas plant in western India to 10 million tonnes from December, Chief Executive P Dasgupta said on Monday.

"We will be sourcing an additional 15 cargoes between October and March, as we will be processing 7.5 million tonnes of LNG at Dahej compared with 6.5 million tonnes last year," he told reporters.

Dasgupta said, however, that domestic pricing of regassified LNG will play a crucial role in its gas sourcing plans. "From January, the pricing of gas for our clients will change as new pricing will come into force for our RasGas gas."

If in doubt, speak out


Even after a year since Ananth was handed over a new role, he continues to bother about his colleague Raghav.

Ananth was added into that role as the management was not fully satisfied with the latter’s performance. However, Raghav was not relocated and continues to work in the same department.

There’s no clarity on how the two are supposed to function. This is giving Ananth nightmares as he doesn’t want to cause any heart burns to his colleague.

All he wants to do is avoid any kind of conflict for the fear of causing further distress between them. Yet nothing has worked.

Dhoni sends Rs 10,000 to Green Park pitch curator after win

Kanpur, April 14: A grateful Mahendra Singh Dhoni sent a note of thanks and Rs 10,000 to Green Park stadium`s pitch curator for preparing the turning track that helped the hosts clinch the series-levelling win over South Africa in the third Test here.

Curator Shiv Kumar said he was pleasantly surprised to receive a personal note of thanks and the cash reward from the stand-in Test skipper after the hosts beat the Proteas inside three days on a crumbling pitch to level the series 1-1.

Kumar said regular Test skipper Anil Kumble, who missed the decider due to a groin injury, also came down to meet and thank him for preparing the "spinner-friendly" pitch after the match.

Off spinner Harbhajan Singh, who won the man of the series award for scalping 19 wickets, also met Kumar to praise and thank him.

However, Kumar maintained that the Green Park wicket was a sporting one and it was unfair to say that it only aided the slower bowlers.

"The South African batsmen just couldn`t get used to it (the pitch) and were unsure of how the ball would behave," he said.

IOC losing Rs 320 cr per day on fuel sales

New Delhi, April 14: Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) today said it is losing Rs 320 crore per day on fuel sales and if the situation continues for more than a year, its project may get impacted.

"Right now we are able to manage, but if this continues for one more year, we will see investment in our project getting impacted," IOC chairman S Behuria told reporters here.

The company, he said, is losing Rs 320 crore per day on sale of petrol, diesel, LPG and kerosene.

"Our borrowings as of March 31, 2008 have risen to Rs 34,000 crore," he said

IOC plans to invest Rs 7,500 crore in refinery and pipeline projects in 2008-09.

Indian FMCG industry grow by 16% in 2007-08: Ficci

New Delhi, April 13: Indian FMCG industry, valued at Rs 746.5 billion in 2006-07, has grew by 16 per cent in 2007-08, compared to 14.5 per cent growth in the previous fiscal, a survey by industry body Ficci said.

The high growth in the sector is backed by the rising demand, fiscal incentives provided by the government like tax exemptions in some states and improved performance by leading companies, the chamber said in a statement.

Driving the growth of the sector, the 'deodorant' segment of the industry has achieved the highest growth of 40 per cent followed by hair dye at 30 per cent and chemical segments including cleaner and repellents at 23 per cent, the survey pointed out.

Although, there has been some deceleration in the soap and toiletries segment, it said.

The industry has been able to achieve growth despite of rising prices, increase in costs of various inputs such as petroleum products and packaging materials, the chamber said.

According to the study done by Indian market research bureau, the industry has witnessed launch of over 251 new products including 223 variants of existing products during the first 10 months of 2007, compared to 191 products including 173 variants in the same period in 2006.

The on-going retail boom in the country has forced the FMCG companies to re-work strategies and making arrangements with retail majors for sales promotion, the chamber said.

Arjun Singh for Rahul as PM candidate

New Delhi, April 14: Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh said on Monday he didn’t see anything wrong in projecting Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next Lok Sabha, saying that the young leader has all the qualities of his father.

"Why not," he shot back in an interview to agencies when asked whether a young leader should be projected for the top job as like it happened in 1984 when Rajiv Gandhi took over as the youngest Prime Minister after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.

"He (Rahul) has all the qualities of his father. He is making sincere efforts in acquiring the information and knowledge that is required", the HRD minister said when specifically asked about the MP from Amethi, who is being depicted as the youth icon by the party.

He steered clear of NCP chief Sharad Pawar`s view that Manmohan Singh be projected as the Prime Ministerial candidate and that the UPA should fight the elections collectively.

"These are individual views....It is for the UPA to decide. I have no view. Whatever is the party view, is my view", he said on the Prime Ministerial candidate.

On the issue of UPA contesting the election collectively, Singh said it is a suggestion (by Pawar). UPA will decide whether or not it is feasible.

On whether Congress should fight the next elections in a coalition or should fight it on its own to regain its lost ground, he avoided a direct answer. "This question you should put to others. I am not competent enough to answer that," he said.

Replying to a question on price rise on which the government has come under attack from all insides, he admitted it would have an impact on future elections.

At the same time, he insisted that the government is giving full attention to check the price spiral but no one has any magic wand for any instant results.

Some steps have been taken and the results would be visible in the coming days, he said, adding the procurement of rice and wheat would start, leading to improvement in the stocks and there would be no environment of scarcity.

The price rise would be a thing of the past by the time the country goes to polls, Singh said.

Singh, who had played a proactive role on the OBC reservation issue, said that UPA coordination committee would meet soon after the reconvening of parliament session on April 15 to sort out differences among allies on the creamy layer issue.

He said without confronting the apex court, the government would examine the suggestions from allies.

The HRD minister said a communication would be sent to the institutions, including IIMs, this week on the admission process

Satyam Computers wins awards in five categories

Hyderabad, April 14: Leading global consulting and IT services provider, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, has retained its eminent position in MZ Consult's 2008 Investor Relations Global Rankings for the Asia, Pacific, and Africa Region.

The organization won awards in the categories of IR Website:Top 5 in region, Corporate Governance Practices:Top 5 in region. Financial Disclosure Procedures:Top 5 in region; First in Technology; and First in India.

The organization has been in the Top 5 in the Earnings release and Financial Disclosure category in the Asia, Pacific, and Africa region for three consecutive years, and in the Top 5 of the region's Corporate Governance category for two straight years, a Satyam release said here today.

"The company's continuous pursuit of excellence in corporate governance practices and financial disclosure procedures was recognized by the 10th annual edition of the IR Global Rankings, in which it was victorious in all categories," said MZ Consult CEO Rodolfo Zabisky.

"At Satyam, we are committed to simplifying and solving complex business problems," said Srinivas Vadlamanl, Satyam's Chief Financial Officer.

New Campus

Satyam also said it will set up a new campus at the Geelong Technology Precint in Australia.

The new 25-acre campus in Victoria would accommodate 2,000 employees over the next few years, highlighting Satyam's commitment to Australia and nurturing the local ICT talent in Victoria and throughout Australia.

"Satyam is well established in Australia and Monday's announcement reinforces our ongoing commitment to the local ICT market," Satyam's co-founder and managing director Rama Raju said, adding that "The Geelong campus is an important component of our long-term initiative to built new centers of excellence, in strategic locations, around the globe".

The Satyam Campus would house a software development center and facilities for training, research and development among other things, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"Economic modelling estimates that the Satyam Technology and Learning Center will significantly boost Victoria's economy", Premier of Victoria John Brumby said.

As part of this initiative, Satyam will engage in a range of collaborative activities with Deakin including staff exchange, a work integrated learning program for students, a graduate employment programme, joint research activities apart from scholarships and prizes.

Today, Satyam Australia has significant presence across the major cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra with a diverse workforce of over 1400 associates serving Australia.