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Eleven posts in 10 minutes.
I smell something !
Banned ?
lol

EU, India hope for key trade meeting soon

London, March 08: The European Union (EU) and India's top trade negotiators said on Friday they hoped ministers could meet soon to seek a breakthrough in global trade talks, but said positions were too far apart for them to meet now.

"I hope the WTO (World Trade Organisation) Ministerial Meeting is held in April, when the number of points of disagreement are lessened," Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said after talks in London with EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.

"At the moment, just in agriculture, they have 130 (disagreements). You can't sit in a ministerial with 130. These must be brought down to 15 or so for ministers to sit down and take a decision," Nath said.

"They are intensively negotiating and this is an important window of opportunity," he said.

India, as one of the biggest emerging market economies, is an influential player in the Doha Trade Round.

Mandelson said he hoped "in the coming month or so it will be possible to make the progress required in Geneva for a ministerial meeting to take place. We're not there yet, but it is doable".

"A successful outcome is not going to drop into our laps. We have to do it for ourselves," he said at a joint news conference with Nath.

The two men discussed the global trade talks and the state of negotiations between the EU and India on a trade and investment agreement.

In the global talks, the WTO is struggling to balance demands from rich countries, which are calling for greater access to developing world markets, and poor nations, which want lower US farm subsidies and an end to European barriers.

The WTO has been hoping to call Trade Ministers to Geneva in late March or April for a meeting that might produce a breakthrough after more than six years of talks.

Warning to EU and US

Nath said all countries' sensitivities must be respected in the trade talks and he fired a shot across the bows of the United States and 27-nation European Union, implying their demands could undermine poor countries' economies.

"Unless there is respect of sensitivities of all countries, we are not going to see convergence," he said, citing sensitivities on development and subsistence farming.

"The EU and the US must understand that it is necessary in their own interest to have healthy economies in Asia and Africa. That is better than any kind of tariff reduction," he said.

Mandelson said his greatest concern in the trade talks was over industrial goods, saying it had always been understood there had to be real cuts in import tariffs on industrial goods.

"If we surround our commitments with so many exceptions and flexibilities, we will end up emptying this part of the negotiation of its content, of its value," he said.

On the slow-moving negotiations on an EU-India trade agreement, under way since 2006, Nath said more work was needed, but voiced optimism there would be "substantial progress" by year-end. Mandelson said the talks were "inching forwards".

US Feb job losses no surprise: Paulson

Stanford, California, March 08: US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Friday that February job losses were unwelcome but not surprising, and urged major financial institutions to raise capital to keep lending taps open during a difficult period.

Paulson, who was visiting California to discuss the economy, spoke to reporters after the Labor Department reported that 63,000 jobs were lost last month, on top of 22,000 lost in January.

"Clearly these jobs numbers that came out today are not welcome, and not good news," Paulson told a news conference, adding, "To me it wasn't a surprise."

Many private-sector economists have said that recent gloomy data show that a recession is at hand and the question now is how deep it will be. Paulson has resisted a declaration that the economy would fall into recession, saying instead that the Bush administration and Congress anticipated the current weakness by enacting a $152 billion economic stimulus plan designed to jolt the economy back to life.

"This is a tough quarter, we know it. We did what we've done in anticipation of this," he said.

Tax rebate checks of $600 for most individuals and $1,200 for most couples will start to be distributed by early May.

Paulson said he would continue to resist calls in Congress for bolder government actions to prop up the housing market.

"Some in Washington are proposing big interventions. Most of the proposals I've seen will do more harm than good. I still have no interest in bailing out investors, lenders or speculators," he said.

His main effort is to promote a voluntary program among most mortgage lenders and servicers to work out new, more affordable loan terms for distressed borrowers who want to stay in their homes.

Paulson told reporters earlier on Friday that he wanted government-sponsored housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise capital so that they could keep lending despite stress in the market for mortgage-backed securities.

"I want them to raise equity. They can raise equity without legislation," Paulson said, adding that he also wanted Congress to pass legislation creating stronger oversight of the massive enterprises.

But he added that the House of Representatives and Senate were "very close to getting a compromise" on a bill that would modernize the Federal Housing Administration and raise lending limits for federally guaranteed loans. This would help an additional 300,000 distressed borrowers to refinance their mortgages, he said.

Still eyeing strong dollar

Paulson also reiterated his long-standing view that a strong dollar was in the United States' interest.

"Our economy, like any other has got its ups and downs. The long-term fundamentals are strong. And I'm confident they'll be reflected in currency market," he told the Stanford audience.

The dollar has declined in value as the U.S. economy has weakened under the strain of a housing crisis and financial market turmoil. Federal Reserve interest rate cuts also have reduced the dollar's value against major currencies such as the euro and the British pound, helping to push up oil prices.

But Paulson applauded the Federal Reserve's actions on Friday to add some $200 billion of new liquidity into the banking system by increasing term loan auction sizes and term repurchase transactions.

These steps were "really what the market needs," he told reporters after addressing employees at Bloom Energy, a Sunnyvale, California, company that makes alternative energy fuel cells to generate electricity.

Paulson said an earlier meeting with chief executives of California-based technology companies, including Apple Computer Inc, Intel Corp and Hewlett-Packard, painted another picture of uncertainty about the economy.

He said in most cases, the chief executives said their businesses outside the United States were strong, and their domestic businesses were "holding up" but they expressed concern about the outlook.

"I had people repeatedly say to me, "You know, it doesn't feel that bad to us, but we're concerned about confidence turning down and it going over and impacting what we do," he said.

check the post date & then get excited.........................

R Power names Chalasani as new CEO

New Delhi, March 08: Formerly with National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), J P Chalasani joined the Reliance group in 1995 and has over 27 years of experience in the power sector. Commissioning of the 2100 MW Ramagundam Thermal Power Station, the largest-sized thermal power project at the time, was the key highlight of his over 15-year stint with NTPC.

Chalasani has handled various assignments for Reliance ADA group, including the successful bidding for two ultra mega power projects.

Reliance Power Ltd is the flagship company of Reliance ADA group to develop, construct and operate power generation projects. The company is currently developing 13 power projects with a combined installed capacity of 28,000 MW.

Thomas Cook expands into India, Middle East

London, March 07: Travel firm Thomas Cook said on Friday it was spending up to 249 million euros (USD 384 million)on acquisitions in India and the Middle East as part of a drive to expand in fast-growing emerging markets.

Europe`s second-biggest travel firm, created last year from the tie-up of German group Arcandor`s travel unit and Britain`s MyTravel, said it was buying up to 74.9 percent of Thomas Cook India Limited (TCIL), India`s second-biggest travel group.

It will also buy Thomas Cook branded businesses in Egypt, as well as licences for the Thomas Cook brand in 15 Middle East countries.

All of the businesses are being bought from Dubai Financial Group LLC, and Thomas Cook will pay between 208 million euros and 249 million euros cash, depending on the size of the stake it takes in TCIL.

Thomas Cook said it would buy at least a 61.8 percent stake in TCIL.

"The acquisition of TCIL allows Thomas Cook to capitalise on the anticipated strong growth and development of the Indian economy, which we expect to be mirrored by even stronger growth in travel," Thomas Cook Chief Executive Manny Fontenla-Novoa said in a statement.

Thomas Cook shares closed at 297.75 pence on Thursday, valuing the business at about 3 billion pounds (USD 6 billion).

Market out look as bearish correction in further trading section.

it seems its bear time. bulls are on holidays.

whats the thought on the pent up petro dollar funds

it seems strong Gulf growth beyond petrodollars.look for boom.