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Marg Constructions to raise about Rs 938 cr
5 Mar, 2008, 2048 hrs IST..................MUMBAI: Marg Constructions on Wednesday said it will raise about Rs 938 crore through issue of securities to promoters and institutional investors.

The firm would allot 97 lakh warrants worth Rs 437.71 crore to five promoters; G R K Reddy, G Raghava Reddy, Marg Capital Markets Ltd, Global Infoserv Ltd and G R K Reddy and Sons (HUF).

Each warrant would be given at a price of Rs 415.25, it said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Further, the company would raise up to Rs 500 crore by way of allotment of shares to Qualified Institutional Buyers.

These proposals were approved by the shareholders during the Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on March 5.

Shares of the company closed at Rs 359.25, down five per cent on the BSE.

ACC to invest Rs 3,600 cr by 2010 for capacity expansion

New Delhi, March 08: ACC cement has lined up Rs 3,600 crore investment to augment its capacity to 32 million ton (MT) from 22 MT per annum currently by 2010.

"We would take our capacity to 32 MT per annum by 2010 entailing an investment of Rs 3,600 crore. All the investment would be done through internal accruals," ACC cement managing director Sumit Banerjee told agencies.

The capacity expansion of the Mumbai-based firm would be carried out in the existing plants of the company.

About Rs 1,400 crore would be invested in expansion of its Chanda unit from 1 MT per annum to 4 MT per annum. It also includes a captive power plant of 25 MW per annum.

The expansion of the New Wadi plant to 4 MT per annum from the current 1 MT per annum would account for another investment of around Rs 1,500 crore.

The expansion of the company's Bargarh plant by 1.18 MT per annum would entail an investment of Rs 523 crore. The capacity augmentation of ACC's grinding units at Madukkarai and New Wadi would together require about Rs 110 crore of investment.

Banerjee, however, ruled out possibility of an association with or acquisition of any cement manufacturer overseas.

"There is tremendous opportunity within the country. We first want to exploit that," Banerjee said.

The company is also in the process of setting up a bulk cement terminal in Pune of a capacity of 7,00,000-ton capacity per annum. It would be later increased to 1 MT per annum later.

Reliance eying petrochem project in Qatar

Dubai, March 08: Reliance Industries is keen to set up a petrochem complex in Qatar especially for polymer production.

The company is "definitely interested in establishing a world-scale petrochemical complex here with Qatar Petroleum," R P Sharma, President (LNG business) of Reliance Industries who was in Qatar to attend the Middle East Gas Summit, said.

Sharma said India had a huge market for polymers.

"India consumes a lot of polymer and is a huge market," he was quoted as saying by Gulf Times daily.

Earlier, making a presentation on "Emerging trends in India and China" transnational pipelines and LNG at the summit, Sharma said domestic gas production in the two countries was expected to increase rapidly over the next 15 years.

Consumption was expected to be growing even faster, making gas imports necessary for both India and China. India also plans to import some 22.5mn tonnes to meet its demand in 2011 and 2012.

The development of gas transmission and distribution networks in China and India is opening greater export opportunities for Russian and Middle Eastern gas, he said.

"Over a period of time, China and India may move from the role of a price-taker to price-maker in the Asia-Pacific region," Sharma said.

US blocks military imaging on Google

Washington, March 07: Citing security risks, the Pentagon banned Google teams from making detailed street-level video maps of US military bases after images of a Texas base ended up on the popular Internet site.

A message sent to all Defense Department bases and installations around the country late last week told officials not to allow the mapping Web site to take panoramic views inside the facilities. Google said taking such pictures is against its policy and that the incident was a mistake.

Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, chief of the US Northern Command, said Thursday that that the decision to issue a formal ban was made after at least one Google crew requested and then was permitted access to a base, identified in the message as Fort Sam Houston. He said he was concerned that allowing the 360-degree, street-level view could provide sensitive information to potential adversaries and endanger base personnel.

It`s a worry, Renuart said, because such views can show "where all the guards are, it shows how the barriers go up and down, it shows how to get in and out of buildings, and I think that poses a real security risk to our military installations."

Google spokesman Larry Yu said a Google crew mistakenly asked for access to a base.

"It is against our policy to request access to military bases for the purpose of capturing imagery in Street View," he said, adding that when Google was contacted, the imagery was taken off the site within about 24 hours.

Street View is a feature on Google Map pages that allows viewers to click on a location and see a panoramic view of that spot.

The issue emerged just a few days after published reports suggested that protesters used Google Earth to help plot their access to the roof of the Parliament building in London.

Renuart stressed that this was not an attack against the Internet giant, and that it was more a concern about secondary effects of an otherwise good technology.

Military officials talked to representatives at Google, Renuart said. "Google was very appreciative of us letting them know that we had a concern," he said. "They understand the security implications, and they have given us no indication that they would not be helpful to us if we asked."

According to the message sent by US Northern Command to military installations around the country, Google representatives requested access to Fort Sam Houston and were granted permission.

"Once given access they took panoramic images of the area with roof-mounted recording equipment," the message said. "These images were placed on the Internet for public access." The imagery included views of entry gates, barriers, the headquarters and other facilities.

The message ordered that military bases prohibit such photography, report any vehicles that may have surveillance capabilities and report any incidents where such access was granted.

Pranab rules out early polls; downplays threat from Left New Delhi, March 08:............... Notwithstanding the hardening of stance by the Left, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday ruled out early elections and sought to downplay the threat from the allies on the Indo-US nuclear deal as a "known position".

"I don`t think so, because we want to have elections in due time (in 2009)," Mukherjee told when asked about the possibility of early polls.

While noting that "many unforeseen things happen" in coalition politics, he said "but the things you have referred to are not unforeseen because the position of Left parties is well known to us."

He was responding to the threat issued by the Left parties of withdrawal of support if the government went ahead with operationalising the Indo-US nuclear deal.

"I do not visualise that anybody is thinking of early elections. None of the coalition partners or coalition supporters are talking of early elections," Mukherjee insisted.

The Left parties, which provide crucial outside support to the government, have lately hardened their stance against operationalisation of the deal, triggering speculation of early polls.

FIIs invest in shares worth Rs 513 cr on bourses

Mumbai, March 07: Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) were net buyers in equities on Friday as the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index, Sensex, ended 566 points down.

FIIs made gross sale of equities worth Rs 4,366.77 crore and gross purchase of Rs 4,879.81 crore, resulting in a net investment of Rs 513.04 crore.

Domestic institutional investors, however, were net sellers in shares worth Rs 66.79 crore, provisional data available on the BSE show.

Among other categories, non-resident Indian entities and proprietors sold shares worth Rs 5.91 crore and Rs 49.42 crore respectively. Brokers also sold shares worth Rs 2.80 crore for their clients or retail investors.

According to the information available on the SEBI website, FIIs sold shares worth Rs 129.70 crore on Wednesday.

The Sensex ended the day at 15,975.52, a fall of 566.56 points or 3.42 percent.

Centre only clearing debts to farmers

Kundrakudi, March 08: Claiming that the Centre was only clearing the debts the nation owed to farmers by writing off loans to the tune of Rs 60,000 crore, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday said he would soon explain in parliament how funds for the purpose were to be mobilised.

Inaugurating the 2,956th branch of the Bank of India here, he said the government had taken this decision as it realised that farmers were too burdened with the loans they availed of and that they might quit farming altogether.

"By writing off farm debts, we have made their slate clean. They can start new accounts with banks and borrow money, not seeking loans from usurers at exorbitant rates of interest."

He also wondered why the opposition, which was all along demanding waiver of farm loans, now wanted to know how the government would mobilise money for the purpose.

He pointed out that farmers were mostly honest in their dealings and tried to repay debts, even if they pledged their jewels. For example, if they avail of a ten year loan, they normally repay it in nine years. The one year for which they could not do so was invariably due to crop failure or some other reason, resulting in mounting debts, he said.

"Farmers have been working for people from time immemorial, especially after 1947. We are all indebted to them," he said.

Chidambaram said that besides himself, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh believed the hard work of the people would bear fruit and expressed confidence that the GDP would touch 9 percent this year.

In an apparent launch of his campaign for Sivaganga seat for the coming polls, he sought to invoke the blessings of Lord Muruga, the presiding deity of Kundrakudi village.

Thousands Drop Out of Labor Force


WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dangerous cracks in the nation's job market are deepening. Employers slashed jobs by the largest amount in five years and hundreds of thousands of people dropped out of the labor force -- ominous signs that the country is falling toward a recession or has already toppled into one.
For the second straight month, nervous employers got rid of jobs nationwide. In February, they sliced payrolls by 63,000, even deeper than the 22,000 cut in January, the Labor Department reported Friday.

The grim snapshot of the country's employment climate underscored the heavy toll the housing and credit debacles are taking on companies, jobseekers and the economy as a whole.

"It sounds like the recession bell is ringing for the U.S. economy, although it is still faint," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group.

On Wall Street, stocks tumbled. The Dow Jones lost 146.70 points, a little more than 1 percent to close at 11,893.69. The Dow was down 370 for the last two days of the week.

The worsening situation will prompt the Federal Reserve to cut a key interest rate deeply -- perhaps by as much as three-quarters of a percentage point -- at its next meeting March 18, or possibly sooner, to help brace the teetering economy, analysts predicted.

The shower of pink slips was widespread. Factories, construction companies, mortgage brokers, real-estate firms, retailers, temporary-help firms, child day-care providers, hotels, educational services, accounting firms and computer designers were among those shedding jobs. All those cuts swamped job gains at hospitals and other health care sites, bars and restaurants, legal services and the government.

"Losing a job is painful, and I know Americans are concerned about our economy; so am I," said President Bush. "It's clear our economy has slowed."

The big question: Just how much? The weak employment report pushed an increasing number of private economists into believing the economy is probably shrinking now. Under one rough rule, the economy would have to contract for six months for the country to be considered in a recession.

The unemployment rate actually dipped slightly from 4.9 percent to 4.8 percent, as 450,000 people left the labor force for any number of reasons. Economists thought many people probably gave up looking for work.

"It stands to reason that a large share of the people left because they didn't feel like anything was there for them -- that the market was too weak to be searching for a job at this point," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com.

To relieve persistent credit problems, the Federal Reserve announced Friday that it will increase the amount of loans it plans to make available to banks this month to $100 billion. The Fed already has provided a total of $160 billion in short-term loans to cash-strapped banks since December. The Fed, in another step, said it will make $100 billion available to a broad range of financial players through a series of separate transactions.

Crumbling employment conditions are feeding fears the economy will fall victim to all the stresses. Until recently, the positive forces of job and wage growth have helped to offset the negative forces hitting people from the housing and credit crises. Now people and businesses alike are more cautious, spelling more trouble for the economy.

"The debate should no longer be about whether there is or is not a recession, only about how deep it will be," said Nigel Gault, chief economist at Global Insight.

The elimination of 63,000 jobs in February was the most since March 2003 and marked the second month in a row of job losses. The last time the economy suffered two consecutive months of job losses was in May and June 2003, when the labor market was still struggling to recover from the blows of the 2001 recession.

"Businesses got cold feet, and when that happens the easiest thing to do is to put hiring on hold and wait until the dust clears," said Ken Mayland, economist at ClearView Economics.

Economic growth slowed to a near standstill of just a 0.6 percent pace in the final quarter of last year. Before Friday's employment report, many thought growth would weaken further -- around a 0.4 percent pace. Now, however, a growing number think the economy is contracting.

Bush's top economic adviser, Edward Lazear, acknowledged Friday that the economy may dip into negative territory in the current quarter. Lazear's comment was the most pessimistic assessment heard out of the White House. He would not discuss whether the White House believes the economy will actually fall into a recession.

The Bush administration was hoping the government's speedily enacted economic stimulus package -- including tax rebates for people and tax breaks for businesses -- will help bolster the economy in the second half of this year.

"I know this is a difficult time for our economy, but we recognized the problem early and provided the economy with a booster shot," Bush said. "We will begin to see the impact over the coming months," the president predicted.

Democrats, however, said more relief is needed now.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., spoke of charting a "new direction for our economy." Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, called for action to stem record-high home foreclosures.

The Democratic presidential contenders, Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, blamed the job losses on what they believe are failed Bush policies. "The news should put to rest any doubts that our economy is in deep trouble," Clinton said. Obama said the employment news meant "more heartache and struggle" for Americans.

On the employment front, workers with jobs saw modest wage gains.

Average hourly earnings for jobholders rose to $17.80 in February, a 0.3 percent increase from the previous month. Over the last 12 months, wages were up 3.7 percent. With lofty energy and food prices, though, workers may feel like their paychecks are shrinking.

Spreading fallout from the housing and credit troubles are the main factors behind the economic slowdown. People and businesses alike are feeling the strains and have turned cautious. Adding to the stresses on pocketbooks, budgets and the economy: skyrocketing energy prices. Oil prices, which have set a string of record highs in recent days, now top $105 a barrel. Gasoline prices have marched higher, too.

All those problems are putting consumers in a gloomy state of mind.

Consumer confidence sank to a new low of 33.1 in early March, according to the RBC Cash Index. That was the worst since the index began in 2002.

To help shore up the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signaled last week that the central bank is prepared to lower interest rates again. Economists are now predicting a deep rate reduction by the Fed on or before its regularly scheduled meeting March 18. The Fed, which has been slicing the rate since September, recently turned more forceful. It slashed the rate by 1.25 percentage points during just eight days in January -- the biggest one-month reduction in a quarter-century.

Is it time to buy?
Dinesh Thakkar
Saturday, March 08, 2008 (Mumbai)
This question may come as a surprise, but I believe yes! This is the right time to build your lifetime portfolio. Remember the sage advice from our market’s experienced and successful players: “Tops are made in exuberant times; conversely, bottoms are made in turbulent times.” I am sure we are near the bottom, but in our market it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict with 100% accuracy where the market will go in next few days or weeks. But the fundamentals of our market are suggesting an upswing in the near future. Firstly, it is the first time in a long period that the Sensex’s yield is approaching the yield of bank deposits i.e. 7%.(post taxes).

Second, and, one of the most important factors, is that leveraged positions are at a minimum. Third, the degree of risk aversion is high, hence the low volumes at lower prices.

Finally, the budget, which is perceived populist will actually boost consumption, hence it will benefit corporate earnings.

Durable investors are advised to start the process of buying in this ensuing correction. I feel the Sensex at 15,500-16,000 is worth buying, but this does not guarantee immediate appreciation or experiencing the pain of the market going to still lower levels.

This may happen; no one can predict the exact bottom or the time of reversal. Having said this, I feel the risk-reward ratio is skewed in favor of the buyer, and that the real risk at these levels is minimal, although the perception in the market may be otherwise. This is one more factor that points towards a bottom formation i.e. the real risk is far less than the perceived risk, exactly the reverse of the feeling we had at the top few weeks ago.

I would recommend traders stay away from trading for the very same reason, as you would be tempted to go short, and may even be successful on one or two more occasions. However, the day the markets reverse will not only wipe out all your gains, but will also leave you with short positions in appreciating markets and incite a bearish mindset in you. Hence, wait for the markets to turn and be on the long side”.