Breaking News & Stocks

it seems market is recovring a bit.

banking shares are impoving.

sbi announce rate cut by 0.25 % , some recovery seems on,still early days though

BSE SENSEX ON MONDAY FEB 11, 2.00 PM

At 2.00 PM, the BSE Sensex was down by 676.74 points, or -3.87 % at 16788.15 points.It opened with a downward gap of 37.55 points at 17427.34, touched an intraday high of 17427.34 & low of 16457.74.


The market breadth was extremely negative on BSE: 199 scrips had advanced, 2428 declined, while 29 remain unchanged.


The BSE mid cap Index was lower by 397.12 points, or -5.20 % at 7236.15 . The BSE small cap Index was down by 491.47 points, or -4.95 % at 9428.88 .


The BSE-100 Index (down 388.40 points, or -4.18 % at 8908.32), BSE-200 Index (down 94.26 points, or -4.29 % at 2101.86), BSE-500 Index (down 308.56 points, or -4.38 % at 6739.04).


Only three stocks were positive in BSE sensex. TCS (up 2.24% at Rs 920.15) Satyam Comp. (up 1.71% at Rs 417.00),Infosys (up 1.58% at Rs 1575.80)


Major losers of Sensex were Rel.Energy(down -15.34% at Rs 1662.00), Mah & Mah(down -6.99% at 599.90), HDFC(down -6.91% at 2603.00), BHEL(down -6.19% at 1889.00), ONGC(down -6.14% at 936.00).


Top gainers from BSE-500 were KEC Inter.(up 9.48% at Rs 776.05), Vsnl(up 6.54% at 472.35), Bajaj Hindustan(up 4.51% at 235.35), Guj.State Fert(up 2.87% at 235.05).


Top losers from BSE 500 were Bajaj Auto Fin.(down -18.09% at Rs 330.00), Zee News(down -17.09% at 49.50), Rel.Energy(down -15.34% at 1662.00), Torrent Power(down -15.05% at 142.00).


BSE IT Index (up 0.96% at 3880.10) was top gainer in all sectors index. Led by TCS (up 2.24% at Rs 920.15), Satyam Comp. (up 1.71% at Rs 417.00).


BSE Realty Index (down -7.01% at 9098.29) was top loser in all sectors index. Led by Housing Develop (down -11.01% at Rs 808.25), Akruti Nirman (down -9.95% at Rs 1090.00).


BSE Power Index (down -6.70% at 3485.94), Led by Rel.Energy (down -15.34% at Rs 1662.00), Torrent Power (down -15.05% at Rs 142.00).


BSE Oil & Gas Index (down -5.42% at 10061.61), Led by Gail (down -9.29% at Rs 384.30), Essar Oil (down -9.20% at Rs 190.00).


BSE Metal Index (down -4.44% at 14444.28), Led by Welspun Guj. (down -10.43% at Rs 383.00), Bhushan Steel (down -9.27% at Rs 904.95).


BSE Bank Index (down -4.40% at 9712.19), Led by Bank of Baroda (down -7.28% at Rs 358.00), State Bank (down -6.08% at Rs 2058.25).


BSE Capital Goods Index (down -4.18% at 15196.46), Led by Greaves Cotton (down -13.98% at Rs 256.25), Jyoti Struct. (down -7.94% at Rs 196.05).


BSE FMCG Index (down -3.44% at 2100.33), Led by Hind.Unil. (down -6.02% at Rs 199.00), Bata India (down -5.99% at Rs 157.05).


BSE Health Care Index (down -3.01% at 3524.18), Led by Matrix Lab (down -12.31% at Rs 142.50), Orchid Chem. (down -10.32% at Rs 222.05).


BSE Auto Index (down -2.94% at 4602.02), Led by Mah & Mah (down -6.99% at Rs 599.90), Escorts (down -6.85% at Rs 96.50).

2:26 PM - Bank of India cuts home loans rate by 25 bps to 9.75% and consumer loan rates by 2.5%, reports CNBC TV18

tanking again bse down -817 .really terrible day fckkk

AP
Many Believe US Already in a Recession
Sunday February 10, 5:50 pm ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Most People in Poll Believe Country Is Now in the Grips of a Recession


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Empty homes and for-sale signs clutter neighborhoods. You've lost your job or know someone who has. Your paycheck and nest egg are taking a hit.
Could the country be in recession?


Sixty-one percent of the public believes the economy is now suffering through its first recession since 2001, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll.

The fallout from a depressed housing market and a credit crunch nearly caused the economy to stall in the final three months of last year. Some experts, like the majority of people questioned in the poll, say the economy actually may be shrinking now. The worry is that consumers and businesses will hunker down further and pull back spending, sending the economy into a tailspin.

"Absolutely, we're in a recession," said Hilda Sanchez, 44, of Waterford, Calif.

Squeezed by high energy and food bills, "we can't afford the things that we normally buy," she said. "We are cutting corners in our spending. For our groceries, we are buying a lot of generic and we are eating out less."

For many, the meltdown in the housing and mortgage markets has proved especially disturbing. Record numbers of people were forced from their homes, unable to afford the monthly loan payments. People watched their single biggest asset fall in value, a reason to tighten the belt.

"Obviously the housing market is creating deep concern. And one of the real problems could be that if people, as a result of their value of their homes going down, kind of pull in their horns," President Bush said in a television interview aired Sunday.

Credit has become harder to get, thwarting would-be home buyers, adding to the glut of unsold homes and aggravating the housing industry's woes.

"For-sale signs are everywhere. In my area, 35 to 40 homes are standing there and aren't even complete. There aren't any buyers," said Jim Sims, 60, of Greer, S.C.

Nanette Dahlin, 52, of St. Louis Park, Minn., called the situation "very scary." She said friends in Madison, Minn., put their home up for sale recently and reduced the asking price more than $100,000 in just a week. "They are in bad shape," Dahlin said.

For all of 2007, the economy grew by just 2.2 percent. That was the weakest performance since 2002, when the country was struggling to recover from the last recession. The housing collapse was the biggest culprit in 2007. Builders lowered spending on housing projects by 16.9 percent on an annualized basis, the most in 25 years.

The job market is faltering -- a point driven home by a report showing that employers cut jobs in January for the first time in more than four years.

"The way things are, people are afraid of losing their jobs," Sanchez said.

Employment concerns are contributing to darker feelings about the economy and people's own financial well-being. Consumer confidence, as measured by the RBC Cash Index, dropped to a mark of 48.5 in early February. It was the worst reading since the index began in 2002.

A cooling job market along with high energy and food prices are taking a toll on paychecks. Workers' average weekly earnings, adjusted for inflation, fell 0.9 percent last year. In 2006, earnings grew by a solid 2.1 percent.

Wall Street is unsettled and as a result, people's nest eggs are not what they once were.

In fact, that was the top economic worry in the AP-Ipsos poll. Fifty-nine percent said they were worried "a lot" or "some" about seeing the value of stocks and retirement investments drop.

"I really dread opening my (financial) statements," Sims said.

By one rough rule of thumb, a recession occurs when there are two consecutive quarters -- six straight months -- when the economy shrinks. That did not happen in the last recession, though. The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2001, turned positive in the second quarter, shrank in the third quarter and turned up again in the final quarter of that year.

The National Bureau of Economic Research, the recognized arbiters for dating recessions, uses a more complicated formula. It takes into account such things as employment and income growth. By that measure, the last recession was in 2001, starting in March and ending in November.

Bush, citing some experts, said the U.S. was not in a recession, although he acknowledged "that the signs are troubling enough" to justify the $168 billion economic rescue plan that passed Congress this past week. The measure he intends to sign on Wednesday includes tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses.

To bolster the economy, the Federal Reserve embarked on a rate-cutting campaign in September, with two big reductions last month. In just eight days in January, the Fed slashed rates by 1.25 percentage points. The hope it that the lower rates will induce people to buy more and revive the economy.

So if the poll figure of 61 percent is right -- that the country is now in recession -- then those relief efforts will help ease the effect of a downturn.

"People are both depressed and anxious about the state of affairs. The anxiety is going to persist because we are in an uncertain season economically and politically," said Terry Connelly, dean of Golden Gate University's Ageno School of Business.

The poll was based on the responses from 1,006 adults surveyed Monday through Wednesday about their attitudes on personal finance and the economy. Results of the survey had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

***** to Reject Microsoft Bid: Reports

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*****! Finance


In a bid to remain independent, ***** plans to reject Microsoft Corp.’s unsolicited takeover offer, according to reports on the Wall Street Journal’s web site.

Quoting sources familiar with the situation, the Journal reports that *****’s board feels the offer of $31 per share “massively undervalues” the company. A letter spelling out the position is expected to be sent Monday. ***** also expressed concern that Microsoft’s offer does not account for risks to ***** should the deal be overturned by regulators.

The Journal source said the company would be unwilling to consider an offer below $40 per share, which would represent a $12 billion increase over Microsoft’s original $44.6 billion bid. It is unclear if Microsoft would be willing to increase its bid by such a significant amount.

A ***** representative said the company would not comment on rumor or speculation and reiterated that the board is evaluating all its strategic options.

The two companies have been in discussions about an alliance or merger for more than a year. ***** has long hoped to remain independent, believing it can reverse its fortunes and lift its flagging stock price.

In the summer of 2007, investors believed it was possible as well. ***** co-founder Jerry Yang replaced Terry Semel as CEO and announced he would unveil a new strategic plan for the company within 100 days.

“There will be no sacred cows and we need to move quickly,” he said. But, after the 100 days – and then some – passed, investor patience wore thin, driving the stock lower.

In late January, the slumping Internet pioneer reported a fifth-consecutive quarter of lower profits and warned of “headwinds” for 2008. *****’s battered stock fell to a four-year low, below the $20 per share level, and Microsoft pounced.

***** shares are currently 51 percent above their pre-bid value. In contrast, Microsoft shares have dropped about 13 percent since the bid was announced, far worse than the Standard & Poor’s 500’s loss of 4 percent.

The second-guessing about Microsoft's unsolicited bid is typical for large acquisitions. Investors are debating whether the benefits outweigh the potential management distractions, sagging employee morale and other headaches that can arise after the deal is done.

Should Microsoft decide to increase its offer, it could still turn up the pressure by drawing upon its $21 billion in cash and lofty market value of $265 billion to raise the bid.

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell said the software company may issue some debt to finance the cash portion of its 50-50 stock and cash offer for *****, instead of drawing down its entire $21 billion cash pile.

"It's likely we're actually going to borrow for the first time," said Liddell in an annual strategy meeting with analysts before *****’s apparent decision. "It's going to be a mixture of the cash we have on hand plus debt.”

Since Microsoft’s initial bid, there has been a significant amount of discussion about antitrust concerns. Google’s chief legal officer David Drummond, writing on the company’s blog, said “Microsoft's hostile bid for ***** raises troubling questions. This is about more than simply a financial transaction, one company taking over another. It's about preserving the underlying principles of the Internet: openness and innovation."

Microsoft made similar comments when Google CEO Eric Schmidt reached out to ***** about a potential partnership following the bid.
While some investors held out hope for a white knight bidder, none surfaced after Microsoft’s initial bid. News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch ruled out a bid during a Feb. 4 conference call. Other potential suitors, such as Comcast and AT&T, opted against going against Microsoft’s deep pockets, as well

Gold regains peak of Rs 11,920
Press Trust of India
Saturday, February 09, 2008 (New Delhi) Gold prices on Saturday rose by Rs 150 per 10 gram to regain its peak of Rs 11,920 in the bullion market here on aggressive buying by jewelers, sparked by reports of firming trend in the international market.

The record level was first reached on January 29.

Market sentiment turned bullish after reports that gold futures rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange as crude oil rallied boosting demand for the metal as a safe-haven, traders said.

They said even general investors parked their funds in bullion in view of some uncertainty in other financial markets.

April gold rose by 12.30 dollar to 922.30 dollars an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In the bullion market in New Delhi, standard gold and ornaments maintained its rising trend for the third consecutive day by gaining Rs 150 each at Rs 11,920 and Rs 11,770 per ten grams respectively. Sovereign gained Rs 25 at Rs 9,450 per piece of eight gram.

A similar rising trend was seen in silver prices, as silver ready rallied by Rs 300 to set a new peak of Rs 21,300 per kg and silver weekly-based delivery by Rs 315 at Rs 21,910 per kg.

Silver coins also traded higher by Rs 100 at Rs 25,800 for buying and Rs 25,900 for selling of 100 coins.

***** Rejects Microsoft's $44.6B Bid
Monday February 11, 11:25 am ET
By Michael Liedtke, AP Business Writer
***** Board Formally Rebuffs Microsoft's $44.6 Billion Takeover Bid


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- ***** Inc. spurned Microsoft Corp.'s $44.6 billion takeover bid as inadequate Monday, betting that it can elicit a higher offer from the world's largest software maker or find another way to deliver a comparable payoff to its shareholders.



The rebuff by the slumping Internet pioneer had been widely anticipated after word of *****'s intention was leaked during the weekend.

In its formal response, ***** said its board had concluded Microsoft's unsolicited offer "substantially undervalues" the Sunnyvale-based company.

***** indicated it could be lured to the negotiating table if Microsoft ups the ante, without mentioning the price it has in mind.

"The board of directors is continually evaluating all of its strategic options in the context of the rapidly evolving industry environment and we remain committed to pursuing initiatives that maximize value for all stockholders," ***** said in a statement.

Investors appeared confident that Microsoft wants ***** badly enough to raise the stakes. ***** shares rose 34 cents to $29.54 in Monday's morning trading while Microsoft shares fell 46 cents to $28.10.

If Microsoft doesn't raise its offer, ***** Chief Executive Jerry Yang assured employees in a Monday e-mail that the company is poised to rebound on its own and become a "must buy" in the $45 billion online advertising market.

"We have accomplished a great deal in a very short time," wrote Yang, a company co-founder who promised things would get better after he became CEO eight months ago. "***** is a faster-moving, better organized, more nimble company well on its way to transforming the experiences of its users, advertisers, publishers and developers."

Just two days before Microsoft made its bid, Yang had warned ***** faced "headwinds" that made it unlikely the company's performance would improve significantly until 2009.

*****'s stock price had dropped by more than 40 percent in the three months leading to Microsoft's bid, valued at $31 per share when it was announced Feb. 1. The offer was 62 percent above *****'s market value at the time.

Many analysts believe Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft will eventually raise its bid to $35 to $40 per share, sweetening the pot by $5 billion to $12 billion in an effort to negotiate an amicable sale.

Microsoft was prepared to pay at least $40 per share for ***** a year ago, according to a person familiar with the talks between the two companies a year ago. ***** wasn't interested then because it was confident in its own strategy, said the person, who didn't want to be identified because Microsoft's 2007 offer was never publicly disclosed.

But a higher bid now could hurt Microsoft's own stock price, which has been slipping amid concerns that a ***** takeover could be more trouble than its worth. Microsoft's market value has plunged by more than $40 billion, or 14 percent, since the bid was made public.

Microsoft representatives didn't immediately respond to requests for comment Monday morning.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Jordan Rohan predicted *****'s board will have little choice but to sell the company if Microsoft raises its bid to $35 or $36 per share. "***** management has already exhausted the patience of its largest, longest-suffering shareholders," Rohan wrote in a Monday note.

If it doesn't want to pay more money, Microsoft could take its original bid directly to *****'s shareholders. Microsoft's management began preparing for that possibility last week by meeting with some of *****'s major shareholders to rally support for its offer.

In a more extreme tactic, Microsoft could try to override *****'s board by trying to oust the current directors later this year -- a risky maneuver that would likely create hard feelings that would make it more difficult to cobble the two businesses together if a deal were consummated.

***** also could fend off Microsoft by exercising an antitakeover device, known as a "poison pill," that would issue more company shares to make a buyout too expensive to pull off.

Although its profits have been dwindling during the past two years, ***** still possesses one of the Internet's biggest audiences and most valuable franchises. Microsoft believes it can build on those assets to become a more formidable competitor to Google Inc., which now holds a commanding lead in the lucrative online search and advertising markets.

***** has reportedly been exploring an advertising partnership with Google as one way to boost its profits and remain independent. The company also has been looking for other suitors that might be interested in countering Microsoft's bid, but so far no one has stepped forward.

By rejecting Microsoft's initial offer, *****'s board is running the risk that the company's stock will plunge below $20 per share again if its suitor decides to walk away.

That scenario would probably unleash a flood of shareholder lawsuits, intensifying the pressure on *****'s management team to deliver on a long-awaited turnaround that has been in the works for the past 18 months.