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Zardari passed out from London School of Economics: PPP

Lahore, March 12: Refuting reports appearing in a section of the international press doubting PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari`s academic records, party spokesman Farhatullah Babar has said that Zardari has completed his graduation from London School of Economics.

"He is a graduate from the London School of Economics and Business Studies. You can check it on our party`s website," the Daily Times quoted Babar as saying while responding to a question from a journalist last evening.

Earlier, a report published in the New York Times by Jane Perlez on Tuesday, said that in the early 1970s, Zardari went to London, attended London School of Business Studies and received a Bachelor of Education degree. But, according to his official biography says he attended a commercial college called Pedinton School, which is, however, not traceable in the list of tertiary educational institutions in London.

"While there he attended the London School of Business Studies and received a Bachelor of Education degree. His official biography says he attended a commercial college called Pedinton School. But a search of tertiary educational institutions in London showed no such school, and associates said he did not finish his studies," said the NYT report.

It quoted Zardari as saying: "I do have a degree. That is not an issue. I attended the London School of Business Studies much before I was married. I think it`s a B Ed degree. I haven`t really looked at it."

It further said: "The question of whether Zardari has a university degree is relevant because President Pervez Musharraf introduced a law in 2002 that made it compulsory for Parliamentary candidates to hold a degree in order to qualify for electoral office."

It is most likely that Zardari might run for Parliament so as to get installed as the country`s Prime Minister.

Oil nears USD 110 in Asian trade

Singapore, March 12: Oil prices hovered close to USD 110 in Asian trade on Wednesday, underpinned by the US dollar's dive to a new low against the euro and supply concerns, dealers said.

In early morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for April delivery traded at USD 108.42 a barrel, off its record closing high of USD 108.75 at the close of US trades Tuesday.

New York oil prices spiked to a new all-time high of USD 109.72 Tuesday, putting it to within touching distance of the psychological USD 110 mark.

Rupee rallies by 13 paise against US dollar

Mumbai, March 12: A sharp recovery in the Asian stock markets due to US Fed's new efforts to inject liquidity into strained credit markets helped the rupee to rally further by 13 paise to 40.32/33 against the greenback in late morning trade.

The move of the US Federal Reserve to lend up to USD 200 billion in credit markets from saving further damage to the ailing economy, however, led the dollar to notched sharp gains against major rivals yesterday in New York.

But the US currency rolled back gains against most of other currencies in Asian market today on concerns that the move will not resolve the current financial problems.

In dull trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the Indian unit opened strong at 40.34/35 a dollar against yesterday's close of 40.45/46 and improved further to Rs 40.32/33 in late morning deals.

Industrial growth slips to 5.3% in January

New Delhi, March 12: Industrial growth slipped to 5.3% in the month of January, compared to 11.6% in the same month last year as growth in all major sectors comprising manufacturing, electricity and mining declined.

Industrial growth, as measured by Index of Industrial Production (IIP), has moderated to 8.7% in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, against 11.2% during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, according to official figures released on Wednesday.

In January, all major sectors like manufacturing, mining and electricity registered a slide in production growth. In fact, consumer durables production registered a negative growth both in January and the first 10 months of this fiscal.

Output of consumer durables fell to 3.1% in the first month of this calendar year, against 5.3% growth in the same month last year. In the April-January period production declined to 1.7%, against 10.6% growth in the same period last fiscal.

Growth in manufacturing output, which has an overwhelming weight in the IIP, slipped to 5.9% in January, against 12.3%, electricity generation growth fell to 3.3%, against 8.3% and mining output growth moderated to 1.8% against 7.7%.

During April-January 2007-08, manufacturing output growth declined to 9.2% from 12.1% during the corresponding period of 2006-07.

Electricity generation growth slowed down to 6.3% during the period under review, against 7.6% in the same period last fiscal. Mining output growth during the 10 months declined to 4.6% against 4.8%.

Stocks Open Higher After Tues. Rally
Wednesday March 12, 9:38 am.................
Wall Street Opens Higher a Day After Big Rally; Investors Look for Catalyst to Continue Climb
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is up again, a day after a huge rally that sent the Dow Jones industrials up more than 400 points.
The modest rise Wednesday comes in the wake of a move by the Federal Reserve and other central banks to pump more liquidity into distressed financial markets. The ongoing credit crisis and the lack of available credit has helped send stocks plunging in recent months.

In early trading, the Dow is up 65 points at the 12,221 level.

Mahindra launches Alfa passenger, three-wheeler
12 Mar, 2008, 1746 hrs IST...............................

KOCHI: Mahindra and Mahindra Limited (M&M), one of India's leading automotive companies,on Wednesday unveiled an ergonomically designed Alfa Passenger, modern diesel three-wheeler, in the Kerala market.

Speaking to reporters here, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited Deputy General Manager, Marketing (auto sector), Hyder Khan said, the new Alfa Passenger three-wheeler is the first vehicle in its segment which is truly designed and developed for customers.

The vehicle is priced Rs 1.30 lakh, he said. The company will come out with the CNG and LNG versions in the first quarter and the price would be Rs 20,000 more than the diesel version.

The Alfa is one of the most successful brands from the commercial vehicle stable of Mahindra and Mahindra and offers features that are best in its class, he said.

He said Kerala is a favourable market for their product, adding the company expects to sell about 200 to 300 vehicles per month.

The several customer-centric features that the Alfa Passengers offers include spacious cabin for both the driver and passenger, sitting comfort, less vibration and low noise level and stylish look, he said.

The USD six billion Mahindra group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India and Mahindra and Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world.

Tata Motors plans to raise Rs 4,000 cr to finance J-LR deal
12 Mar, 2008, 0808 hrs IST..............
MUMBAI: Auto major Tata Motors plans to raise nearly Rs 4,000 crore by selling securities in the domestic and international markets to part finance its imminent acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor.

The Tata Motors board on Tuesday approved the fund raising proposal. “The funds are being raised to part-finance overall funding requirements to meet some of the strategic plans,” the company informed the stock exchanges. Tata Motors needs money to acquire the two Ford luxury brands as well as launch the world’s cheapest car, Nano, in October.

“The company has major growth plans for expanding its position in the domestic and global markets in both the commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle business. This will be achieved by upgrading and enhancing the company’s product portfolio, expanding manufacturing facilities in India and strategic acquisitions and alliances in India and abroad,” the company said in a statement.

The Tata Motors stock slipped 2.21% to Rs 659 on Tuesday after the announcement on selling securities. It may be mentioned that the company had passed a resolution in its 2006 AGM to raise long-term resources worth Rs 10,000 crore.

While the organic growth plan requires money over the next 3 to 4 years, the acquisition opportunities will have to be financed up front. A source close to the development said Tata Motors will borrow from financial institutions to finance the Land Rover-Jaguar deal. The proceeds from the proposed share sale will be utilised to repay the loan, he added.

The Tatas are likely to fork out over $2 billion for the acquisition of these marquee brands, which Ford has put on the block to shore up its balance sheet and reduce debt. ET had reported in its February 25 edition that Tata Motors had started the process of raising nearly $2.5 billion, mostly from the overseas markets, by giving the mandate to a battery of banks including Citi and JP Morgan, StandardChartered, BNP Paribas and SBI.

It is learnt that the funds is being raised against the balance sheet of Tata Motors. In other words, the borrowing will have an impact on the balance sheets of Jaguar and Land Rover.

Tata and Ford are expected to sign an MoU in the next few weeks. Ford had announced that Tata Motors was the preferred bidder on January 3. Later, Jaguar had said it is ‘relaxed’ over the prospect of acquisition by the Tatas.

Jaguar had shown Tata Motors its new model lines and found the Indian automobile giant ‘respectful’ of its plans. It is learnt that Ford managed to convince Unite, the union representing Jaguar and Land Rover workers, on its plan to sell these two brands in their entirety. Unite was earlier of the opinion that Ford should retain minority interest in these brands.

OPEC reference price basket above $100 for first time
12 Mar, 2008, 1610 hrs IST............

VIENNA: OPEC's basket price of crude oil, based on production in 12 different countries, has topped the 100-dollar mark for the first time, the cartel said on Wednesday.

The daily basket price, which is always published with a 24-hour delay and serves as the reference price for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, rose to 100.57 dollars on Tuesday from 99.48 dollars the previous day, OPEC said in a statement.

PPP decides to nominate Zardari for PM post: Report

Islamabad, March 12: The PPP, set to head Pakistan`s new coalition government, is understood to have decided in principle to nominate Asif Ali Zardari for the premiership, a post he will be eligible to occupy only after his election to the National Assembly.

The single largest party is also offering Makhdoom Amin Fahim, till recently the front-runner for office of Prime Minister, the position of PPP parliamentary leader in the National Assembly (NA) and his son the post of adviser to the premier with the status of a federal minister, a leading newspaper claimed in a report on Wednesday.

Zardari, the co-Chairman of PPP, "has assigned a senior party leader to convey this offer to Amin Fahim and return with a response soon," a source at Zardari House was quoted as saying by the paper. Meanwhile, names such as Fahmida Mirza; Azra Pechooho, the sister of Asif Ali Zardari; and Syed Khurshid Ahmed Shah are among those suggested for the post of interim Prime Minister pending Zardari`s election to the National Assembly, the report said.

"The offer has been extended to Fahim (for the post of Parliamentary leader) after the party`s own ranks and its would-be coalition partners expressed reservations over the nomination of the PPP senior vice chairman (Fahim) as the party`s nominee for the office of Prime Minister," the source at Zardari House said.

No plans to amend SEZ Act: Nath

New Delhi, March 12: Despite mounting pressure from Left allies, the government on Wednesday made it clear that it has no plans to amend the Special Economic Zone Act, saying it is "working well".

Replying to supplementaries to a host of questions on SEZs in Rajya Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Special Economic Zones have become important engines of economic growth.

"At the moment, there is no proposal to amend the SEZ Act. It has worked well, it is working well. It is providing growth in employment and is one of the important engines of economy," he said.

The minister`s reply triggered angry reactions from Left, BJP and some Congress members, who claimed that SEZs have become real estate business as norms are being violated and sought a special discussion on the matter.

Amidst the din, Nath said the government will look into specific instances of "misuse or abuse" of the act if pointed out, but that assurance did not cool down the tempers after which Chairman Hamid Ansari had to intervene.

The Chairman agreed to allow a special discussion on the matter as demanded by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury and asked members to inform the minister about specific cases of violation of SEZ norms.

Several members claimed that cinema halls and amusement parks are coming up in SEZs in violation of norms and in the pretext of setting up such zones land is being grabbed.

"SEZ Act is passed by the House and it is not a policy. If there is misuse or abuse, we will be very happy to look into it if specific cases are pointed out," Nath said responding to the concerns of members.