Global Investing Roundups

Consumer Confidence Hits 5-Year Low; Citi to Offer $3 Billion in Common Stock; Denny's Satisfied by 1Q Earnings; IBM Bumps Dividend; Merck Drops on FDA Rejection; Airline Shares Take-off; MasterCard's "Priceless" Quarter; Gildan Shares Sacked for a 30% Loss

• The Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell to 62.3 in April, a five year low, Bloomberg News reported. The Conference Board's index dropped from a revised 65.9 reading in March that was higher than previously estimated.

• Citigroup Inc. (C) said it would sell about $3 billion of its common stock in a public offering yesterday (Tuesday). Citigroup Inc. says it is has already received "strong interest" in the issuance, the Associated Press reported.

• Denny's Corp. (DENN) reported first-quarter net earnings of $5 million (5 cents a share), up from 1.16 million (1 cent per share) a year ago. The increase came despite a $40.8 million drop-off in revenue. The stock closed up 1 cent at $3.17, Thomson Financial reported.

• IBM Corp. (IBM) increased its dividend payout 25% yesterday (Tuesday), reflecting the technology company's confidence that it can thrive even with an uncertain economy, according to the Associated Press. At IBM's annual shareholder meeting, the board of directors upped the quarterly dividend to 50 cents per share. For the past four quarters it had been 40 cents per share.

• Shares of pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK) shed 10% yesterday (Tuesday) with a decline of $4.30 to close at $37.14. On Monday, the Food and Drug Administration rejected Merck's cholesterol drug, Cordaptive, and analysts warned it could have an inverse impact on Merck's bottom line.

• Airline shares soared yesterday (Tuesday) as crude oil dropped below $116 a barrel after reaching a record high on Monday of almost $120 a barrel, Reuters reported. Northwest Airlines Corp. (NWA) had the biggest gain with an increase of almost 23%, adding $1.74 per share to close at $9.36.

• MasterCard Inc. (MA) shares gained 12% yesterday (Tuesday) after the world's second-largest credit card processing company announced first quarter earnings. First-quarter net income increased to $446.9 million, or $3.38 a share, from $214.9 million, or $1.57, a year earlier, Bloomberg News reported. The stock gained $31.48 to close at $273.98.

• Shares of Canada-based sportswear maker Gildan Activewear Inc. (GIL) plunged yesterday (Tuesday) after management lowered its outlook. The stock dropped $10.99, a decline of over 30%, to close at $24.93, after the company lowered both second-quarter and full-year estimates due to production shortfalls and slow sales, Forbes reported.

Strong Q4 results do not benefit Grasim Industries

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 387.76 points, or 2.38%, at 17406.56.

On BSE, 33,773 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 20,862 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 2734 and a low of Rs 2590.05 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 4074 on 29 October 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 2335 on 11 June 2007.

The scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 28 April 2008, falling 2.61% compared to the Sensex`s 3.94% gain. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, falling 12.27% compared to Sensex`s 5.95% fall.

The large-cap diversified firm has an equity capital of Rs 91.67 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 2605 discounts its Q3 December 2007 annualised EPS of Rs 241.59, by a PE multiple of 10.78.

The net profit of Grasim Industries rose 40.64% to Rs 667.37 crore on 12.10% rise in total income to Rs 2861.09 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

The company is engaged in manufacturing and marketing cement, fibre & pulp, sponge iron, textile, chemicals and other.

Reliance Capital capitalises on good FY 2008 numbers

The company announced the results during market hours today, 29 April 2008.

Meanwhile, BSE Sensex was up 350.58 points or 2.06% to 17,366.54

On BSE, 20.35 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 14.33 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1520 and a low of Rs 1452 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 2,925 on 15 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 696.25 on 30 April 2007.

India`s fourth largest finance & investment company in terms of total operating income had outperformed the market over the past one month till 28 April 2008, rising 4.15% compared to the Sensex`s return of 3.94%. However it underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 29.80% compared to Sensex`s decline of 5.95%.

The company`s current equity is Rs 245.63 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 1506.10 discounts its Q4 March 2008 annualized EPS of Rs 62.80, by a PE multiple of 23.98.

Reliance Capital`s total income rose 135.30% to Rs 2079.79 crore in the year ended March 2008 (FY 2008) over the year ended March 2007. The company posted 23.90% rise in net profit to Rs 386.49 crore on 96.20% jump in total income to Rs 799.29 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

The company posted 23.90% rise in net profit to Rs 386.49 crore on 96.20% jump in total income to Rs 799.29 crore in Q3 March 2008 over Q3 March 2007.

Reliance Capital`s board of directors recommended a dividend of Rs 5.50 per share on equity share for the financial year ended March 2008.

Reliance Capital provides corporate advisory services like project finance, management of issues for raising capital and managing exposure to currencies and interest rates. It is also involved in custodian and depository activities, asset management, insurance, and real estate development.

Market gives thumbs up to RBI`s decision to hold interest rates steady

The market which had declined yesterday ahead of the Reserve Bank of India`s annual monetary policy review, bounced back today after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged. Rate sensitive banking, auto and realty stocks surged. IT stocks surged after the Finance Minister extended tax exemption for the IT sector by a year. Metal stocks rose. The market breadth was strong.

The central bank raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 25 basis points and the stance of its monetary policy was hawkish. The market had witnessed a bout of volatility earlier in the day ahead of monetary policy announcement.

Asian markets which opened before Indian market were mixed. European markets which opened after Indian markets were mixed.

The 30-share BSE Sensex provisionally ended up 356.40 points or 2.09% at 17,372.36. Sensex hit a high of 17,424.94 in late trade. At the day`s high, Sensex rose 408.98 points. Sensex hit a low of 17011.60 in mid-morning trade. At day`s low Sensex fell 4.36 points.

The turnover on BSE stood at Rs 7262 crore as compared to a turnover of Rs 5544.33 crore on Monday, 28 April 2008.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 104.25 points or 2.05% at 5,193.90 as per provisional figures.

The CRR is the percentage of banks` deposits which they must keep as cash with the central bank. It may be recalled that RBI had earlier this month announced a two-stage rise in CRR to 8%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said managing liquidity would continue to receive priority in its policy objectives and warned it would act swiftly to curb any signs of adverse developments in inflation expectations.

RBI has forecast economic growth of 8% to 8.5% in the fiscal year that began this month, after an estimated 8.7% growth in 2007/08. RBI said it aims for inflation of around 5.5% this fiscal year with the goal of lowering it close to 5% as soon as possible.

The market breadth was strong on BSE with 1600 shares advancing as compared to 1101 that declined. 64 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 1.17% to 7149.81 and BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.77% to 8,776.47.

Realty stocks surged in late trade. Indiabulls Real Estate (up 3.6% to Rs 560.25), DLF (up 9.04% to Rs 729) and Unitech (up 9.05% to Rs 320.05) rose.

IT stocks surged. Satyam Computer Services (up 8.22% to Rs 479.35), Infosys (up 5.15% to Rs 1,750.75), Wipro (up 4.7% to Rs 479.20) and Tata Consultancy Services (up 3.15% to Rs 910.80) edged higher.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram extended by a year a tax holiday scheme for export-driven software companies as he outlined some changes to the federal budget for 2008-09. The scheme for facilities based in technology parks was set to expire in March 2009.

Metal stocks rose. Tata Steel (up 4.01% to Rs 808.90), National Aluminium Company (up 4.37% to Rs 458.70), Hindalco Industries (up 6.44% to Rs 198.20), Steel Authority of India (up 2.08% to Rs 179.40), Sterlite Industries (up 4.77% to Rs 898.85) edged higher.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said government will impose export tax on basmati rice and some steel products, and cut import duties on key inputs like ferro alloys and metallurgical coke. He said the measures were being taken to improve domestic supplies and to moderate prices.

Banking stocks surged after the RBI`s policy announcement. State Bank of India (up 3.27% to Rs 1,793.50), HDFC Bank (up 1.95% to Rs 1,547.50) and ICICI Bank (up 0.71% to Rs 901.30) edged higher.

Auto Stocks edged higher. Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.17% to Rs 642.70), Tata Motors (up 1% to Rs 639.95) Maruti Suzuki India (up 1.24% to Rs 731.30), Hero Honda Motors (up 5.34% to Rs 861.85), rose.

HDFC (up 5.95% to Rs 2881.45), Larsen & Toubro (up 2.09% to Rs 3007.40) Jaiprakash Associates (up 5.95% to Rs 266.10), Ambuja Cements (up 1.32% to Rs 114.85), Bharat Heavy Electricals (up 1.29% to Rs 1891.85), Reliance Industries (up 2.35% to Rs 2,653) edged higher from Sensex pack.

Hindustan Unilever rose 1.48% to Rs 250.85. Net profit of Hindustan Unilever declined 3.04% to Rs 380.95 crore on 19.14% rise in sales to Rs 3793.94 crore in Q1 March 2008 Q1 March 2007. The board of the company has approved the change in the financial year to April-March.

Reliance Communications declined 1.73% to Rs 574.70 while Bharti Airtel fell 2.67% to Rs 904.50. Reliance Communications said on Monday, 28 April 2008, it would offer unlimited national long distance calls within its network for a fixed rental with immediate effect. Earlier yesterday, sector leader Bharti Airtel slashed long distance and roaming tariffs by 43% effective 30 April 2008.

Aban Offshore declined 2.43% to Rs 3,495. The company`s net profit rose 16.97% to Rs 34.54 crore on 40.2% rise in total income to Rs 215.3 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

GL Hotels rose 4.73% to Rs 371. The company`s board has announced stock split of Rs 10 each in to 5 equity shares of Rs 2 each.

Bhushan Steel rose 1.81% to Rs 810.95 after the company`s net profit rose 24% to Rs 135 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

It its latest report on macroeconomic and monetary developments in 2007/08 released on Monday, 28 April 2008, RBI has said that the global food prices were likely to remain firm as supply side pressures did not appear to be abating. The central bank said steps takes by the government to rein in prices should help curb inflation. It, however, said the inflation risks on account of oil prices remain incipient.

RBI has noted that freely priced fuel items such as naphtha had increased substantially since February 2007 alongside rising global oil prices, while prices of petrol and diesel, which are government-controlled, had partially adjusted. But prices of kerosene and cooking gas had not been raised by the government for several years.

RBI felt there were some demand-side pressures. Domestic iron and steel prices saw a sharp increase in line with recent hardening in international steel prices, it said, while cement price rises could be attributed largely to strong demand from construction domestically. A survey of professional forecasters by the central bank showed that the Indian economy is expected to grow 8.1% in the 2008/09 fiscal year that began this month. In 2007/08, the gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 8.%.

A cause for concern is the fall in business confidence index. A survey of 392 companies by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), showed that concerns about an economic slowdown, inflation and rising costs hurt business confidence of Indian firms during October-December 2007 period. The FICCI business confidence index declined to a new five-year low of 55.3 points in the third quarter of 2007/08, from 61.2 in the previous quarter.

On the flip side, a pointer to the fact that the long term India growth story remains intact is the outcome of the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, according to which, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is slated to pass the Finance Bill 2008-09 today, 29 April 2008.

The two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting ends on Wednesday, 30 April 2008. The market expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2% and then signal that its rate-cutting cycle may be over for now in the face of mounting global energy and food inflation pressure.

US stocks ended flat on Monday, 28 April 2008, as a $23 billion takeover of Wm Wrigley Jr Co, the world`s largest chewing gum maker, by Mars Inc, the maker of M&Ms candy, helped offset downbeat comments by influential investor Warren Buffett about the economy. Buffett said US could be mired in a longer and deeper recession than most people think.

Asian stocks were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and China were up by between 1.05% to 1.4%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.64% to 2.07%. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

European markets were mixed. France`s CAC 40 and Germany`s DAX and were down between 0.35%-0.56% while UK`s FTSE 100 rose 0.4%.

Nirma reports net profit of Rs 37.87 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Nirma reported net profit of Rs 37.87 crore in the quarter ended March 2008 as against net loss of Rs 93.45 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2007. Sales declined 1.10% to Rs 629.48 crore in the quarter ended March 2008 as against Rs 636.49 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2007.

For the full year, net profit rose 106.56% to Rs 223.93 crore in the yearended March 2008 as against Rs 108.41 crore during the previous year ended March 2007. Sales rose 3.05% to Rs 2312.69 crore in the year ended March 2008 as against Rs 2244.28 crore during the previous year ended March 2007.

Cairn India reports net loss of Rs 8.74 crore in the March 2008 quarter

Cairn India reported net loss of Rs 8.74 crore in the quarter ended March 2008 as against net loss of Rs 8.54 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2007. Sales rose 78.00% to Rs 0.89 crore in the quarter ended March 2008 as against Rs 0.50 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2007.

Market turns volatile

The market witnessed a bout of volatility ahead of Reserve Bank of India`s monetary policy review scheduled at 12:00 IST. Rate sensitive banking and auto stocks edged higher while realty stocks were mixed. Metal stocks rose. The market breadth was positive. Asian markets which opened before Indian market were mixed.

At 11:28 IST, the 30-share BSE Sensex was up 63.05 points or 0.37% at 17,078.94. Sensex hit a high of 17,114.56 in early trade. At the day`s high, Sensex rose 98.6 points. Sensex lost 4.36 points at the day`s low of 17011.60 hit in mid-morning trade.

The broader based S&P CNX Nifty was up 11.3 points or 0.22% at 5,100.95.

The market breadth was positive on BSE with 1180 shares advancing as compared to 1098 that declined. 62 remained unchanged.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.16% to 7078.60 and BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.23% to 8,729.77.

Metal stocks rose. Tata Steel (up 2.77% to Rs 799.25), National Alluminium Company (up 2.05% to Rs 448.50), Hindalco Industries (up 0.46% to Rs 187.05), Steel Authority of India (up 0.45% to Rs 176.60) edged higher.

Banking stocks rose. State Bank of India (up 0.62% to Rs 1,747.50) and ICICI Bank (up 0.68% to Rs 900.50) edged higher. India`s second largest private sector bank by net profit HDFC Bank declined 0.47% to Rs 1,510.

Auto Stocks edged higher. India`s largest tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra (up 0.12% to Rs 636), Maruti Suzuki India (up 0.02% to Rs 722.50), Hero Honda Motors (up 2.06% to Rs 835) , Tata Motors (up 0.06% to Rs 634) edged higher.

Realty stocks were mixed. Indiabulls Real Estate (down 0.71% to Rs 536.95) and Unitech (down 1.41% to Rs 289.35) edged lower. Lanco Infratech (up 1.7% to Rs 496.40) and DLF (up 0.4% to Rs 671.45) edged higher.

Infosys (down 1.11% to Rs 1,646.50), Bharat Heavy Electricals (down 1.05% to Rs 1,848), Tata Consultancy Services (down 0.66% to Rs 877) edged lower from Sensex pack.

Jaiprakash Associates (up 2.25% to Rs 256.80), HDFC (up 1.84% to Rs 2772.90), Ranbaxy Laboratories (up 1.75% to Rs 487.10) edged higher from Sensex pack.

Hindustan Unilever declined 0.12% to Rs 246.75. Net profit of Hindustan Unilever declined 3.04% to Rs 380.95 crore on 19.14% rise in sales to Rs 3793.94 crore in Q1 March 2008 Q1 March 2007. The board of the company has approved the change in the financial year to April-March.

Reliance Communications declined 0.35% to Rs 582 while Bharti Airtel fell 2.36% to Rs 905.95. Reliance Communications said on Monday, 28 April 2008, it would offer unlimited national long distance calls within its network for a fixed rental with immediate effect. Earlier yesterday, sector leader Bharti Airtel slashed long distance and roaming tariffs by 43% effective 30 April 2008.

Berger Paints India rose 8.1% to Rs 44.70. The company has acquired 100% equity of Bolix S.A. (Bolix), a leading provider of external insulation finishing system (EIFS) in Poland, from Advent International, a global private equity group for $38.6 million.

India Tourism Development Corporation hit 5% upper circuit at Rs 94.90. It hit a 52-week high of Rs 94.90 today.

The outcome of the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)`s annual policy review at 12:00 IST will set direction for the bourses which have witnessed a solid rebound over the past few days on the back of good Q4 March 2008 results and on the back of firm global markets. Given the high inflation, the central bank may hike key rates.

It its latest report on macroeconomic and monetary developments in 2007/08 released on Monday, 28 April 2008, RBI has said that the global food prices were likely to remain firm as supply side pressures did not appear to be abating. The central bank said steps takes by the government to rein in prices should help curb inflation. It, however, said the inflation risks on account of oil prices remain incipient.

RBI has noted that freely priced fuel items such as naphtha had increased substantially since February 2007 alongside rising global oil prices, while prices of petrol and diesel, which are government-controlled, had partially adjusted. But prices of kerosene and cooking gas had not been raised by the government for several years.

RBI felt there were some demand-side pressures. Domestic iron and steel prices saw a sharp increase in line with recent hardening in international steel prices, it said, while cement price rises could be attributed largely to strong demand from construction domestically. A survey of professional forecasters by the central bank showed that the Indian economy is expected to grow 8.1% in the 2008/09 fiscal year that began this month. In 2007/08, the gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 8.7%.

A cause for concern is the fall in business confidence index. A survey of 392 companies by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), showed that concerns about an economic slowdown, inflation and rising costs hurt business confidence of Indian firms during October-December 2007 period. The FICCI business confidence index declined to a new five-year low of 55.3 points in the third quarter of 2007/08, from 61.2 in the previous quarter.

On the flip side, a pointer to the fact that the long term India growth story remains intact is the outcome of the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, according to which, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable.

The initial batch of Q4 March 2008 results have been good with the exception of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is slated to pass the Finance Bill 2008-09 today, 29 April 2008.

The two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting ends on Wednesday, 30 April 2008. The market expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2% and then signal that its rate-cutting cycle may be over for now in the face of mounting global energy and food inflation pressure.

As per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 38.33 crore on Monday, 28 April 2008. Domestic funds sold shares worth a net Rs 166.61 crore on Monday.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 455.13 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tue of Rs 214.86 crore and bought index options worth Rs 137.14 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 24.42 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 78.72 crore.

US stocks ended flat on Monday, 28 April 2008, as a $23 billion takeover of Wm Wrigley Jr Co, the world`s largest chewing gum maker, by Mars Inc, the maker of M&Ms candy, helped offset downbeat comments by influential investor Warren Buffett about the economy. Buffett said US could be mired in a longer and deeper recession than most people think.

Asian stocks were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and China were up by between 1.11% to 1.86%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.71% to 2.07%. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

Telecom stocks may see action

Reliance Communications said on Monday, 28 April 2008 it would offer unlimited national long distance calls within its network for a fixed rental with immediate effect. Earlier yesterday, sector leader Bharti Airtel slashed long distance and roaming tariffs by 43% effective 30 April 2008.

Dwarikesh Sugar, Kernex Microsystems and Logix Microsystems will be placed in the Trade-to-Trade segment from 5 May 2008.

Indian Oil Corporation is planning to raise Rs 80,000 crore to reportedly fund a major acquisition in the exploration and production (E&P) sector.

Reliance Energy has changed its name to Reliance Infrastructure effective 28 April 2008.

Sesa Goa said on Monday, 28 April 2008 it would split its shares, giving shareholders 10 shares for each existing share, and after the split would make a one-for-one bonus issue of shares. Sesa Goa reported 216.37% surge in net profit to Rs 798.30 crore on 116.21% increase in sales to Rs 1669.97 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

Net profit of Hindustan Unilever declined 3.04% to Rs 380.95 crore on 19.14% rise in sales to Rs 3793.94 crore in Q1 March 2008 Q1 March 2007. The board of the company has approved to change the financial year to April-March; annual accounts this year will be for 15 months ended March.

Net profit of State Trading Corporation of India rose 125.04% to Rs 44.67 crore on 14.28% rise in sales to Rs 4255.98 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007.

Titagarh Wagons reported net profit of Rs 60.57 crore in the year ended March 2008. Sales reported to Rs 559.64 crore in the year ended March 2008.

Net profit of Finolex Cables rose 13.14% to Rs 9.99 crore on 44.83% increase in sales to Rs 423.21 crore in Q4 March 2008 Q4 March 2007.

Net profit of Celestial Labs rose 222.78% to Rs 2.55 crore on 56.33% rise in sales to Rs 4.94 crore in Q4 March 2008 Q4 March 2007.

Net profit of Shiv-Vani Oil & Gas Exploration Services rose 109.25% to Rs 19.23 crore on 118.42% rise in sales to Rs 137.19 crore in Q4 March 2008 over March 2007.

Aban Offshore, Cairn India, Grasim, IFCI, Nagarjuna Fertilisers & Chemicals, Nalco, Reliance Capital, Alstom Projects, Bang Overseas, Bartronics India, Bharati Shipyard, Bhushan Steel, Bosch Chassis, Castrol India, Ceat, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Maharashtra Seamless, Mirc Electronics, Nestle India, Raymond, SEAMEC, Bank Of Rajasthan, UTV Software, and Vishal Retail, among others will declare their March 2008 ended results today.

FIIs in buying mode

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth net Rs 348.80 crore on Friday, 25 April 2008, compared to their selling of Rs 526.10 crore on Thursday, 24 April 2008.

FII inflow of Rs 348.80 crore on 25 April 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 3414.90 crore and gross sales Rs 3066.10 crore. Sensex spurted 404.90 points or 2.42% at 17,125.98 on that day.

FII inflow in April 2008 totaled Rs 648.20 crore (till 25 April 2008). FII outflow in calendar year 2008 totaled Rs 10,784.60 crore (till 25 April 2008).

There are a total of 1,331 FIIs registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Bio Green Industries to issue equity shares

The board of Bio Green Industries has approved the issuance of equity shares on preferential basis and decided to call for an EGM on 27 May 2008.

Further, the board approved the appointment of V Jagdish as additional director on the board. Hitherto V Jagdish is with the company as the chief executive officer.

This was approved at the board meeting held on 28 April 2008.

Deals try to boost US Market but fail

US Market posted losses today, Monday, 28 April, 2008 with only the Nasdaq managing to eke out little gains. There were no important economic reports for the day. Merger related news and earning news dominated the headlines for the day. Five economic sectors finished the session in the green. Financial, technology, energy, materials, and utilities sectors ended in the red.

It was quite a lackluster day in the market today. Among major earning reports, Humana and Sysco topped expectations, while Verizon reported in-line earnings.

The market traded flat for entire day today. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended with a loss of 20 points at 12,871.85. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 1.5 points at 2,424.4. S&P 500 finished lower by 1.4 points at 1,396.37.

Seventeen out of thirty Dow components ended in the red today. AIG, Du Pont and Microsoft were the main Dow laggards. Verizon and General Motors were the top winners.

Among major deal news during the day, privately held snack food company, Mars is going to acquire Chicago-based Wrigley for roughly $23 billion, or $80 per share in cash, representing a 28% premium over Friday`s closing level. Warren Buffet said that Berkshire Hathaway will provide $6.5 billion in financing.

Also, shares of Ford got a lift on word activist investor Kirk Kerkorian`s Tracinda Corp is increasing his 4.7% stake in Ford to 5.7%.

Crude prices closed little higher today after reaching an all time high during intra day trading. Prices rose after BP shut a North Sea pipeline and a strike and rebel attacks in Nigeria disrupted production. Crude oil futures also stemmed from a strike called at a refinery in Scotland, forcing a key pipeline to be closed. The weaker dollar also spurted up crude prices.

Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for June delivery closed at $118.75/barrel (higher by $0.23/barrel or 0.2%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched an all time high of $119.93 during intra day trading.

BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40% of the U.K.`s oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland cut power supplies. Further, a walkout by Exxon Mobil workers entered a fifth day in Nigeria, where production has dropped substantially in the last couple of days.

In the currency market today, the dollar fell slightly supporting gold`s gains, as traders weighed the odds of the Federal Reserve further reducing benchmark U.S. interest rates. The dollar index, which tracks the value of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.1% to 72.61.

For tomorrow, the only item on the economic calendar is the Conference Board`s consumer confidence index for April. Other than that, there will be a number of earning reports on the dock.

Outcome of RBI policy review to set direction

The outcome of the decision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)`s annual policy review at 12:00 IST will set direction for the bourses which have witnessed a solid rebound over the past few days on the back of good Q4 March 2008 results and on the back of firm global markets. Given the high inflation, the central bank may hike key rates.

It its latest report on macroeconomic and monetary developments in 2007/08 released on Monday, 28 April 2008, RBI has said that the global food prices were likely to remain firm as supply side pressures did not appear to be abating. The central bank said steps takes by the government to rein in prices should help curb inflation. It, however, said the inflation risks on account of oil prices remain incipient.

RBI has noted that freely priced fuel items such as naphtha had increased substantially since February 2007 alongside rising global oil prices, while prices of petrol and diesel, which are government-controlled, had partially adjusted. But prices of kerosene and cooking gas had not been raised by the government for several years.

RBI felt there were some demand-side pressures. Domestic iron and steel prices saw a sharp increase in line with recent hardening in international steel prices, it said, while cement price rises could be attributed largely to strong demand from construction domestically

A survey of professional forecasters by the central bank showed that the Indian economy is expected to grow 8.1% in the 2008/09 fiscal year that began this month. In 2007/08, the gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 8.7%.

A cause for concern is the fall in business confidence index. A survey of 392 companies by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), showed that concerns about an economic slowdown, inflation and rising costs hurt business confidence of Indian firms during October-December 2007 period. The FICCI business confidence index declined to a new five-year low of 55.3 points in the third quarter of 2007/08, from 61.2 in the previous quarter.

On the flip side, a pointer to the fact that the long term India growth story remains intact is the outcome of the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, according to which, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable.

The initial batch of Q4 March 2008 results have been good with the exception of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha is slated to pass the Finance Bill 2008-09 today, 29 April 2008.

The two-day US Federal Reserve policy meeting ends on Wednesday, 30 April 2008. The market expects the Fed to cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 2% and then signal that its rate-cutting cycle may be over for now in the face of mounting global energy and food inflation pressure.

As per provisional data, FIIs sold shares worth a net Rs 38.33 crore on Monday, 28 April 2008. Domestic funds sold shares worth a net Rs 166.61 crore on Monday.

FIIs were net buyers of Rs 455.13 crore in the futures & options segment on Monday. According to data released by the NSE, FIIs were net buyers of index futures to the tune of Rs 214.86 crore and bought index options worth Rs 137.14 crore. They were net buyers of stock futures to the tune of Rs 24.42 crore and bought stock options worth Rs 78.72 crore

US stocks ended flat on Monday, 28 April 2008, as a $23 billion takeover of Wm Wrigley Jr Co, the world`s largest chewing gum maker, by Mars Inc, the maker of M&Ms candy, helped offset downbeat comments by influential investor Warren Buffett about the economy. Buffett said US could be mired in a longer and deeper recession than most people think.

Asian stocks were mixed today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong and China were up by between 1.36% to 1.39%. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were down by between 0.6% to 0.7%. Japanese markets were closed for a national holiday.

FICCI survey says business confidence dips to five-year low in Q3 December 2007

A survey of 392 companies by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), showed that concerns about an economic slowdown, inflation and rising costs hurt business confidence of Indian firms during October-December 2007 period. The FICCI business confidence index declined to a new five-year low of 55.3 points in the third quarter of 2007/08, from 61.2 in the previous quarter.

Regarding the outlook for January-June 2008 period, 38% of the companies predict net profit to decline while 26% expect higher profits, FICCI said. About 58% of the firms expect higher sales, and 10% forecast a decline during the first half of 2008.

Companies from across sectors have reported rising prices of industrial raw material as a serious concern with regard to their business performance, FICCI said. The only silver lining was that nearly 54% of the firms reported that their investments are likely to increase in the coming six months, it said.

US firms remain bullish on India

As per the latest 2008 US-India Business Council (USIBC) survey, India is, and will continue to be, a premier destination for investment by US firms, with a large number of respondents rating future economic growth in India as highly sustainable. USIBC, formed in 1975 at the request of the Government of India and the US Government to advance US-India commercial ties, is hosted under the aegis of the US Chamber of Commerce. The US Chamber of Commerce is the world`s largest business federation representing more than 3 million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.

Economy expected to grow 8.1% in 2008/09: RBI survey

A survey of professional forecasters by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed that the Indian economy is expected to grow 8.1% in the 2008/09 fiscal year that began this month. In 2007/08, the gross domestic product is estimated to have grown 8.7%.

RBI announces its annual monetary policy review tomorrow, 29 April 2008.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its latest report on macroeconomic and monetary developments in 2007/08, has said that the global food prices were likely to remain firm as supply side pressures did not appear to be abating. The central bank said steps takes by the government to rein in prices should help curb inflation. It however said the inflation risks on account of oil prices remain incipient.

RBI has noted that freely priced fuel items such as naphtha had increased substantially since February 2007 alongside rising global oil prices, while prices of petrol and diesel, which are government-controlled, had partially adjusted. But prices of kerosene and cooking gas had not been raised by the government for several years.

RBI felt there were some demand-side pressures. Domestic iron and steel prices saw a sharp increase in line with recent hardening in international steel prices, it said, while cement price rises could be attributed largely to strong demand from construction domestically.

RBI announces its annual monetary policy review tomorrow, 29 April 2008

RBI to announce Annual Policy statement today

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will announce the Annual Policy statement for the year 2008-09, today (April 29). As a back drop, RBI has released a report on Macroeconomic and Monetary Developments in 2007-08.

According to it, the Indian economy continued to expand at a robust pace during 2007-08 for the fifth consecutive year. Quoting Central Statistical Organisation figures, the RBI placed the real GDP growth rate at 8.7% in 2007-08 as compared with 9.6% in 2006-07.

The report said the index of industrial production and the manufacturing sector grew by 8.7% and by 9.1% respectively. It further says the total foodgrains production is slated to reach an all-time high at 227.3 million tons, recording an increase of 4.6% over the previous year.

The services sector maintained its double-digit growth at 10.6% during 2007-08 despite some moderation in pace.

Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Q4 earnings soar 2.46 times

Welspun-Gujarat Stahl Rohren disclosed a phenomenal rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 2008 but below the analysts` expectation.

During the quarter, the profit of the company zoomed 2.46 times to Rs 1,022 million from Rs 415 million in the same quarter, last year. The analysts` polled by Bloomberg had estimated earnings of Rs 1,229 million.

The company posted earnings of Rs 5.95 a share during the quarter, registering 95.08% growth over prior year period. The analysts` had predicted earnings of Rs 6.9 a share during the quarter.

Net sales for the quarter surged 68.59% over previous year period to Rs 12,275 million, while the analysts` had estimated net sales at Rs 13,171 million. Total income for the quarter jumped 69.37% to Rs 12,383 million compared with the prior year period.

Dividend
The board of directors has recommended dividend of 30%, or Rs 1.50 a share of face value of Rs 5 each.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.8, or 0.18%, to trade at Rs 450.8. The total volume of shares traded was 494,709 at the BSE. (2.25 p.m., Monday)

Finolex Cables Q4 earnings rise 13.14%

Finolex Cables reported a steady growth in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 2008. During the quarter, the profit of the company climbed 13.14% to Rs 99.90 million from Rs 88.30 million in the same quarter last year.

The company posted earnings of Rs 0.65 a share during the quarter, registering 8.33% growth over previous year period.

Net sales for the quarter surged 44.83% to Rs 4,232.10 million, while total income for the quarter jumped 43.06% to Rs 4,232.10 million, when compared with the prior year period.

During the quarter the company disclosed a fall in operating margin by 157.23 basis points to 4.88% on higher input cost. On the other hand, there has been increase of 33.51% in interest charge to Rs 49.40 million and decrease of 1.02% in depreciation charge to Rs 68 million over previous year period.

Shares of the company declined Rs 0.6, or 0.87%, to settle at Rs 68.4. The total volume of shares traded was 114,427 at the BSE (Monday).

Morning market brief

Asian markets declined in the initial session of trade on Tuesday (April 29), led by airlines and shipbuilding companies, on concern that the rising fuel and steel prices will hurt earnings. The major indices, however, recovered to trade in the positive terrain, but not with much gain.

Korean Air Lines declined by the most in two weeks after oil prices touched the record high.

The world`s biggest shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, declined after Credit Suisse Group cut the company`s profit estimates.

Hong Kong`s index Hang Seng rose 78.09 points, or 0.30%, to trade at 25,744.38.

China`s Shanghai Composite rose 41.36 points, or 1.19%, to trade at 3,516.08.

Taiwan`s Taiex index declined 15.80 points, or 0.17%, to trade at 9,063.80.

South Korea`s KOSPI lost 9.65 points, or 0.53%, to trade at 1,813.52.

Singapore`s Straits Times lost 27.13 points, or 0.85%, to trade at 3,174.50. (8.12 a.m., IST)

Japanese markets are closed today.

US stocks ended flat on Monday (April 28) as investors turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve`s two-day policy meeting, which starts today (April 29).

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 20.11 points, or 0.16%, to 12,871.75. The NASDAQ composite index rose 1.47 points, or 0.06%, to 2,424.40.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite to its price, fell to 3.82% from 3.87% late Friday.

Majority of Indian ADRs ended on a negative note barring Sterlite, MTNL, Tata Communications and Patni Computers that ended marginally higher 2.13% at USD 21.60, 0.36% at USD 5.65, 0.40% at USD 24.90 and 0.39% at USD 12.78, respectively.

Losers:

Company	USD	% Decline
ICICI Bank	45.38	3.86
Wipro	12.69	0.63
Infosys	42.29	1.92
HDFC Bank	111.59	2.86
Satyam	24.35	1.06
Tata Motors	15.88	1.24
Dr Reddy`s	15.44	1.22

Indian stock markets on Tuesday are likely to trade volatile ahead of credit policy today (April 29). Participants are of the view that there can be a quarter percentage (25 bps) hike in Repo rates. Nifty was trading in a range and the participants were sitting on sidelines ahead of credit policy tomorrow (April 29). Participants are of the view that there can be a quarter percentage (25 bps) hike in Repo rates which was previously hiked on Mar. 31, 2007.

India interest rate hike uncertain; high inflation, slow growth seen key

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is likely to unveil Tuesday a slew of measures to tackle inflationary pressures and the economic slowdown in its annual monetary policy report for 2008-2009.

India's wholesale price index (WPI), the most widely watched indicator for gauging inflationary trends, was at 7.33 percent on April 12, almost 200 basis points higher than the 5 percent limit set by the central bank, due to higher food and fuel prices.

Most economists feel that the central bank will leave the bank rate and cash reserve ratio (CRR) untouched, but will raise the repo rate and reverse repo rate to suck liquidity from the banking system.

The central bank hiked the CRR by 50 basis points on April 17 to be implemented in two stages on April 26 and May 10, in order to drain about 185 billion rupees ($4.6 billion) of excess liquidity from the system. This increase will take the CRR to 8 percent on May 10 from 7.75 percent now.

Tushar Poddar, economist at Goldman Sachs said he expects the central bank to continue its tightening measures, given the huge political importance of inflation and continuing demand pressures.

'We expect a repo rate hike by the RBI in its policy meeting on April 29. We think that the RBI will go for a 25 basis points (bps) increase in repo rate. The guiding principle would be to arrest inflationary expectations and further slow demand. We expect the cash reserve ratio (CRR) hike will increase pressures on the domestic currency to appreciate as rupee liquidity will tighten,' he said in a note.

On the other hand, Lehman Brothers expressed doubts the RBI will raise rates in response to inflation caused by surging global commodity prices, especially when growth is slowing.

Lehman Brothers in a note said rather than hike rates it expects the policymakers to continue using trade and fiscal policies to contain inflation and allow moderate rupee appreciation.

'At present, the nature of inflation in the economy is supply side-driven. The monetary tightening measures by the regulator would rather hurt the other economic segments like real estate, consumer durables, automobiles,' said Venugopal N Dhoot, president, Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham).

The repo rate is a rate at which the central bank injects short-term liquidity into the system by buying government securities, while the reverse repo rate is the process of absorption of short-term liquidity from the system through the sale of government paper.

Dresdner Kleinwort, however, said measures such as a CRR hike are unlikely to have any material impact on the current inflation trend, as the trend is being driven by global prices. It expects inflation to peak during the first half and moderate during the latter part of the year, as the G7 economic downturn has an impact on world demand.

According to the advance estimates by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), the real GDP growth rate was 8.7 percent in 2007-08 as compared with 9.6 percent the previous year, reflecting moderation in growth in all three sectors -- agriculture and allied activities, industry and services.

Last week Crisil Ltd., a unit of Standard & Poor's, cut its GDP growth forecast for India to 8.1 percent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2009, from its earlier forecast of 8.5 percent, in view of rising inflation, interest rates and the global growth outlook.

Indian money supply has been growing by 20 percent for the past 16 months, significantly higher than the 17 to 17.5 percent envisaged by the central bank. On April 11, the broad money growth (M3) was 21.2 percent at 7.01 trillion rupees, according to the RBI data.

Edelweiss Securities Ltd. in a note said it expects a 25 bps hike in the repo rate, taking it to 8.0 percent. The reverse repo rate and CRR are likely to stay unchanged at 6.0 percent and 8 percent respectively, it said.

Smita Gupta, economist with Union Bank of India said he expects the RBI to maintain a neutral stance, thus keeping the repo and reverse repo rate at 7.75 percent and 6.00 percent respectively.

Dresdner Kleinwort in a research note said the commodity price increases have adversely affected India's trade balance, which is turning into a large deficit because of the rising import bill.

Food prices have had only a secondary impact on the Indian economy though, as the main impact has come from minerals, oil and other raw materials, Dresdner Kleinwort said. For this reason, inflation is spreading out to broader core categories, faster than in other countries.

Any significant reduction in inflation rates will be dependent on how effective the fiscal steps have been, and monetary policy will not have any immediate impact on the headline number but can soothe inflationary expectations, said V Vaidyanathan, executive director, ICICI Bank Ltd.

Goldman Sachs also warned that there is a significant threat of second-round effects from higher commodity prices being built into higher inflationary expectations, which could lead to even greater interest rate increases if these were to get embedded.

Sachidanand Shukla of Enam Securities in a note said the RBI may raise the reverse repo rate by 25 basis points, signalling its hawkish intent.

'A reverse repo hike will tighten liquidity in the short run and narrow the differential between the short-term lending and borrowing rates that stands at an unusually high 175 bps. Also, the hike may nudge inter-bank rates higher and yet avoid an outright tightening,' he added.

Gokul Refoils & Solvent Ltd.

43 - Shreemali Co-op.", Housing Society Limited, Opp. Shikhar Building, , Ahmedabad - Gujarat
Phone: 380009, 66304555 Fax: , 66304543
Public Issue of 71,58,392 equity shares
of Rs 10 each for cash at a
premium of Rs 185 per share.

Issue details

Issue open	Issue close
08 May, 2008	13 May, 2008

Issue price (Rs)	Total size (Rs)
195.00	139.59 Crores

QIB	Non-Institutional	Retail	Employee
35,41,696	10,62,508	24,79,188	75,000

Lead Managers	Registrar
ANAND RATHI FINANACIAL SERVICES LTD. INTENSIVE FISCAL SERVICES PVT. LTD.	INTIME SPECTRUM REGISTERY LTD C-13, PANNALAL SILK MILLS COMPOUND, LBS MARG. KANTILAL MAGANLAL INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, BHANDUP (W), Mumbai, Maharashtra - 400078 Phone: 25960320 (9 lines) Fax: 25960329/28

Bharti Airtel net profit rises 39.28% in Q4

Bharti Airtel reported a 39.28% growth in its fourth-quarter earnings at Rs 17,923 million compared with Rs 12,868.40 million in the corresponding quarter, a year ago.

Net sales rose 42.06% to Rs 74,137.30 million for the fourth quarter ended Mar. 31, 2008 as against Rs 52,187.30 million in the corresponding quarter, a year ago.

Total income also rose 41.82% to Rs 74,468.20 million, up from Rs 52,507.70 million in the fourth quarter, a year ago.

The basic EPS after extraordinary items stood at Rs 9.44 for the quarter ended March 2008.

Annual Results:

Bharti Airtel reported 54.82% increase in net profit to Rs 62,442 million for the year ended March 2008 as against Rs 40,332.20 million, a year ago.

Net sales rose 44.45% to Rs 257,035.10 million for the year ended Mar. 31, 2008 as against Rs 177,944.30 million in the previous year.

Total income also rose 45.01% to Rs 259,393.70 million as against Rs 178,879.90 million in the last year.

The basic EPS after extraordinary items stood at Rs 32.91 for the year ended March 2008.

Commenting on the results and performance, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel, said, ``This has been another year of record growth for the telecom industry and Bharti Airtel. The Indian telecom story is now entering the second wave of growth, which will come from rural India. The coming year will be an exciting one for the company as we launch our services in new segments such as DTH and go live with our operations in Sri Lanka. Going forward, we see another year of strong demand in all business segments and we will continue to build on our organisational strengths.``

Shares of the company were last trading up Rs 62.8, or 7.44%, at Rs 907. The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 638,983. (10.26 a.m., Friday)

Goldman Sachs acquires 8.16% stake in NDTV

Goldman Sachs acquired 8.16% stake in New Delhi Television (NDTV), last week, reports Business Lines.

The global firm has acquired the stake when an open offer by the company is going to start shortly. It was scheduled to start on February 12 and close on Mar. 3, 2008 but has been delayed.

At the end of last year, Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika Roy, promoters of NDTV, announced an open offer to acquire 20% equity stake of the company for Rs 438.98 a share, worth Rs 5.50 billion.

The open offer followed the promoters` acquisition of 7.73% stake from GA Global Investments in December. Prannoy Roy bought the stake of 4,836,000 shares from the PE Fund. This increased the stake of the promoters to 61% from 53.3% the company.

Shares of NDTV declined Rs 4.25, or 1.01%, to end at Rs 416.5. The total volume of shares traded was 33,270 at the BSE. (Thursday)

ACC tumbles on flat Q1 numbers

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 22.71 points, or 0.16%, at 16725.24, as some Asian markets got a lift after a stamp duty cut to slash dealing costs gave the flagging Shanghai index in China a boost, while a modest dollar rebound supported exporters.

On BSE, 2.34 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 1.52 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 855 and a low of Rs 800 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1314.85 on 16 October 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 615 on 22 January 2008.

The scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 23 April 2008, gaining 3.54% compared to the Sensex`s 2.96% gain. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, rising 12.29% compared to Sensex`s 3.04% fall.

The mid-cap cement maker has an equity capital of Rs 187.64 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 804.85 discounts its Q4 December 2007 EPS of Rs 91.82, by a PE multiple of 8.76.

The net profit of ACC rose 0.53% to Rs 357.54 crore on 7.68% rise in total income to Rs 1861.37 crore in Q1 March 2008 over Q1 March 2007.

The company said while the outlook for demand and supply is positive, the industry faces challenges of meeting steep cost escalations which exerts pressure on margins.

ACC manufactures ordinary portland cement, fly ash and slag-based cement.

Healthy Q4 numbers boost Nicholas Piramal

The company announced the results during trading hours today, 24 April 2008.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 9.97 points, or 0.06%, to 16,708.01, as some Asian shares got a lift after a stamp duty cut to slash dealing costs gave the flagging Shanghai index in China a boost, while a modest dollar rebound supported exporters.

On BSE, 73,880 shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 55,855 shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 347 and a low of Rs 335 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 383 on 19 December 2007 and a 52-week low of Rs 231.25 on 21 August 2007.

The mid-cap scrip had outperformed the market over the past one month till 23 April 2008, gaining 11.21% compared to the Sensex`s return of 2.96%. It had also outperformed the market in the past one quarter, gaining 17% compared to Sensex`s decline of 3.04%.

The company`s current equity is Rs 41.80 crore. Face value per share is Rs 2.

The current price of Rs 341 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 14.13, by a PE multiple of 24.13.

Nicholas Piramal India`s net profit rose 60.12% to Rs 301.48 crore on 18.18% growth in total income to Rs 1,938.07 crore on FY 2008 over FY 2007.

On 15 April 2008, Nicholas Piramal signed an agreement with Khandelwal Laboratories for the purchase of its anti-spasmodic Anafortan and antibiotic CEFI brands for a total consideration of Rs 116 crore.

In January 2008, the company acquired pharmaceuticals business of Healthline, Bangalore for a consideration of Rs 15 crore.

Nicholas Piramal India is one among the top ten pharmaceutical contract-manufacturing firms in the world.

HDFC Bank banks on good Q4 numbers

The bank announced the results during trading hours today, 24 April 2008.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 3.97 points, or 0.02%, to 16,702.01, as some Asian markets got a lift after a stamp duty cut to slash dealing costs gave the flagging Shanghai index in China a boost, while a modest dollar rebound supported exporters.

On BSE, 1.72 lakh shares were traded in the counter. The scrip had an average daily volume of 1.21 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock hit a high of Rs 1475 and a low of Rs 1411 so far during the day. The stock had a 52-week high of Rs 1825 on 14 January 2008 and a 52-week low of Rs 976.05 on 24 April 2007.

The large-cap scrip had underperformed the market over the past one month till 23 April 2008, gaining 1.76% compared to the Sensex`s return of 2.96%. It had also underperformed the market in the past one quarter, declining 4.27% compared to Sensex`s decline of 3.04%.

The bank`s current equity is Rs 354.51 crore. Face value per share is Rs 10.

The current price of Rs 1454 discounts its Q3 December 2007 EPS of Rs 48.50, by a PE multiple of 29.98.

HDFC Bank`s net profit rose 39.31% to Rs 1,590.18 crore on 51.86% growth in total income to Rs 12,398.15 crore in FY March 2008 over FY March 2007.

HDFC Bank is one of the leading private sector banks in India.

Hero Honda Q4 performance beats estimate

Hero Honda Motors reported a substantial rise in standalone net profit for the quarter ended December 2007, beating analysts` expectations by a wide margin. Despite marginal growth in sales, India`s biggest two-wheeler maker managed to post better increase in earnings mainly with the helped of improvement in operating efficiency.

During the quarter, the profit of the company rose 31.47% to Rs 2,750.10 million compared with Rs 2,091.80 million in the same quarter previous year. The analysts` polled by Bloomberg had forecasted earnings of Rs 2,362.46 million for the quarter.

The company reported earnings of Rs 13.77 a share during the quarter, registering 6.88 times growth over prior year period, while the analysts` had estimated earnings of Rs 11.01 a share.

Net sales for the quarter rose marginally 2.89% over previous period to Rs 27,430.70 million, which was closely in line with the analysts` estimate of Rs 27,525.24 million. The total income for the quarter climbed slightly 3.54% to Rs 27,951.70 million compared with the prior year period.

During the quarter the company reported a rise in operating margin of 262.33 basis points to 13.95% on lower input cost. On the other hand, there has been increase of 57.17% in interest charge to Rs 86.60 million and rise of 8.57% in depreciation charge to Rs 408 million over previous year period.

For the financial year 2008, the company posted a 12.82% rise in net profit over fiscal 2007 to Rs 9,678.80 million above analysts` forecast of Rs 9,017.20 million. Net sales for the year climbed marginally 4.36% over previous period to Rs 103,318 million, which was below the analysts` estimate of Rs 104,075.24 million, while total income in the year rose slightly 4.23% over last year to Rs 1,05,172.20 million.

The board of the directors has recommended a dividend of 950% i.e. Rs 19 a share of Rs 2 each for the financial year 2007-08.

Shares of the company gained Rs 20.15, or 2.69%, to settle at Rs 769.85. The total volume of shares traded was 39,937 at the BSE. (Thursday)

Reliance Communication acquires WiMAX operator eWave World

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications acquired a controlling stake in UK-based eWave World, a telco focused on the rapidly developing market for wireless telephony services using the WiMAX technology standard.

The acquisition was done through Reliance Infocom BV, a division of Reliance Globalcom and wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Communications.

Over, the next 2-3 years, Reliance Globalcom, through the acquired company eWave World, would invest around USD 500 million (Rs 20 billion) to build and acquire WiMAX networks in emerging markets in Asia, Europe, Latin America and Africa.

Recently, eWave World had entered into a joint venture in China to invest in nationwide broadband operations. The company holds WiMAX licenses and has received spectrum to commence WiMAX services in several countries.

``The 4G WiMAX network in 50 countries would enable us to offer the most diverse and unmatched suite of services to over 75% of global population in combination with Reliance Globalcom`s 115,000 km fully IP enabled optic network spread across 6 continents``, said Punit Garg, CEO, Reliance Globalcom.

Last Year, Reliance Globalcom had acquired US-based ethernet service provider Yipes Holdings for USD 300 million (Rs 12 billion).

Reliance Globalcom is investing USD 200 million (Rs 8 billion) to more than double the metro coverage in the U.S. to over 35 top metros.

Shares of Reliance Communications declined Rs 15.85, or 2.89%, to settle at Rs 532.8. The total volume of shares traded was 968,216 at the BSE. (Thursday)

Tata Power get financers for 4,000 MW Mundra Ultra Mega Prower Project

Tata Power announced the completion of signing of financial agreements for 4,000 MW ultra mega power project (UMPP), coming up at Mundra, Gujarat under the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Coastal Gujarat Power (CGPL). The cost of the project is estimated at Rs 170 billion (USD 4.2 billion) with the first of the five units to be commissioned in September 2011. The entire plant is expected to be commissioned by end of 2012.

A consortium of banks including leading multilateral agencies and Exim Banks are participating in the financing of this project. The financing comprises of equity of Rs 42.50 billion, external commercial borrowings (ECB) of upto USD 1.8 billion (nearly Rs 72.22 billion) and loans of upto Rs 55.50 billion. The ECBs include lendings from The Export-Import Bank of Korea, International Finance Corporation, Korea Export insurance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, BNP Paribas and Rupee lenders include SBI (Lead bank for rupee lenders), India infrastructure Finance, Housing and Urban Development Corporation, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Vijaya Bank, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Indore. SBI Caps are the financial advisors and mandated lead arranger for rupee loans.

Speaking on the occasion, Prasad N Menon, managing director, Tata Power said, ``The signing of the financing agreements for Mundra UMPP is an important milestone. The good response demonstrates the faith of the lenders in our execution capabilities and expertise to complete the project in time. The terms of debt financing provides us long tenure of loans supporting our competitive bid price assumptions.``

The 4,000 MW Mundra ultra mega power project (UMPP) is the first of the UMPP which heralds the entry of super critical boiler technology in India for the first time which is significantly environment friendly than the conventional ones using sub-critical boiler technology, the company said. The project site, nearly 1,000 hectares is located south of Tunda Wand village in Mundra Taluka, Kutch district of Gujarat. The project consists of 5 units, each of 800 MW which will generate saleable power of 3,800 MW to be supplied to five states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The super-critical technology and the choice of unit sizes will help the project achieve higher efficiency thus saving fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions vis-à-vis conventional technology prevailing in the country.

The site preparatory works are in progress and orders for all major equipments have been placed. The company has signed the contract for complete Boiler island scope on EPC basis with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, Korea and contract for supply of Steam Turbine Generators with Toshiba Corporation. The project has been comprehensively covered by a seamless insurance cover by Oriental Insurance.

Shares of the company gained Rs 33, or 2.49%, to settle at Rs 1358.8. The total volume of shares traded was 123,337 at the BSE (Thursday).

Where Will Tomorrow’s Oil Come From?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the world’s leading petroleum exporter. Officially, it has reserves of about 260 billion barrels of crude oil - approximately 24% of the world’s total proven petroleum reserves.But Saudi Arabia has a problem. And it’s the same one that every oil-producing nation will face someday: Its oilwells are drying up.

Saudi Arabia’s largest and most productive field, the Ghawar field, produces about five million barrels a day - accounting for more than half of the kingdom’s total production and 6% of total world output. But Ghawar was discovered in 1948 and has required large-scale injections of seawater to artificially pressurize the well since the 1970s. There’s no telling when the last drop of oil will be purged from the biggest oil find of the 20th century, but there’s no doubt Ghawar has seen better days.

Saudi Arabia has claimed to have the same amount of oil it did 20 years ago, but logic seems to run contrary to that assertion.Saudi Arabia has announced for 20 years in a row that they have 260 billion barrels of oil in reserve. It’s astonishing. The figure never goes up and it never goes down. They have produced dozens of millions - billions - of dollars of oil in that period of time.

About 75% the Kingdom’s revenue and 90% of its export earnings come from the oil industry. The oil industry accounts for 45% of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product, compared with 40% from the private sector. Without oil, Saudi Arabia would be little more than a desert. So its absolutely imperative the Kingdom find a way to maintain its high production levels.

With all of the most productive, most accessible and most cost-efficient reserves already tapped, Saudi Arabia has undertaken one of the largest industrial projects being executed in the world today. It is spending an estimated $15 billion on a vast network of pipes, treatment facilities, horizontal wells, and water-injection systems for its Khurais complex - a reserve expected to yield 1.2 million barrels a day.

Originally discovered in 1957, Saudi officials hoped the field would turn out to be another Ghawar but were vastly disappointed. The reserve lacks natural pressure, a key component in getting oil out of the ground. It was put into limited production in 1959 before being sidelined. It was brought back online when oil prices spiked in the 1970s and hit a brief peak of 150,000 barrels a day in 1981 before being shut down again.

"It was mainly token production, enough to help power the city of Riyadh and keep the king’s palace cool," Jack Zagar, a reservoir engineer who worked on Khurais in the 1970s, told The Wall Street Journal.

In 2001, reservoir engineers launched an investigation into the field’s potential and found that injecting massive amounts of seawater would be the only way to generate any significant output from the field. But Khurais is located about 120 miles inland from the Persian Gulf, and more than 60 miles west of Ghawar. Hundreds of miles of pipes will be needed to transport highly filtered saltwater from the Gulf and carry oil back from the middle of the desert.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Saudi Arabian Oil Co., otherwise known as Aramco, spent 20 months shooting 2.8 million three dimensional images of the field’s geological makeup. The company then built models to simulate how the field might respond to water injection. The water injection program will require125 injection wells and dozens of electric submersible pumps to drive 2.4 million barrels of seawater a day into the reserve. That’s two barrels of water for every barrel of oil the company hopes to extract.

It will be a very risky procedure as the water will have to be filtered down to minute particles to avoid clogging the Khurais’ dense layers of rock and blocking the oil. Aramco also runs the risk of flooding the well.When you’re injecting water into the periphery [of a field], if you hit fissures in the rock and aren’t managing it well, you can have water flow in and kill a well. And a dead well doesn’t flow.

At $15 billion, the well will also be very expensive, but costly endeavors like these are the future of the oil industry. While in even the latter part of the 1990s it may have cost Aramco $4,000 to add one barrel of daily production capacity, analysts believe it now costs $16,000 for the same production increase.

Could Brazil be the "New Saudi Arabia?"

Rising global demand is a big reason reserves are running low and prices are shooting higher. The International Energy Agency estimates that demand could climb to 99 million barrels a day by 2015, up from the 87 million barrels this year.

But the fact that there hasn’t been a significant oil discovery in the last half century hasn’t hurt either.

And while there may be no stemming the rise in demand, the possibility of another significant discovery, the discovery of a deposit large enough to significantly alter the world’s energy landscape can’t be ruled out.

In fact, just such a discovery may already have been made. Not in the Middle East or Russia, but in Brazil.

Just last week, Haroldo Lima, the head of Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency, revealed the unofficial figures from a new reservoir, known as Carioca, which could hold 33 billion barrels of oil and gas. If true, Carioca would be the world’s largest discovery in at least 32 years. Upon hearing the news, brokers and analysts rushed to tell their clients that Brazil, as one minister put it just months ago, was about to become the "new Saudi Arabia."

Of course, both Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive officer of Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PBR), or Petrobras, and Energy Minister Edison Lobao said at a press conference at Petrobras headquarters Thursday that they couldn’t confirm Lima’s estimate and reiterated that further drilling was needed before any estimate on volumes could be made.

Even if Lima is exaggerating, experts say even 10 billion recoverable barrels of oil (worth about $1.2 trillion at today’s prices) would be a remarkable find and enough to catapult Brazil into the world’s oil-producing elite. Brazil currently has about 12 billion barrels of proven reserves, and could soon find itself nestled between Nigeria (with 36 billion barrels) and Venezuela (80 billion).

However, Petrobas has a history of playing down its discoveries and is infamous for leaking discovery data. The company downplayed the discovery of the Tupi oil field before announcing last November that the reserve contained between 5 billion and 8 billion barrels of light oil and gas.

Still the only certainty that comes with the Carioca discovery is that the oil, no matter how much there is, will be very hard to reach. The field is 170 miles offshore, more than 6,000 feet under the surface of the water trapped beneath a shelf of salt 500 miles long and 125 miles wide.

A decade ago, gaining access to such a field would have been a pipe dream (no pun intended). Just like Khurais, extraction will be a very costly process, even with today’s technology.

Petrobas will have to ante up quite a bit of cash to expand its use of drilling rigs, which are in short supply. Right now, there are only 40 rigs on the planet capable of drilling into massive deep-sea salt deposits.

Petrobas has already awarded Norway’s SeaDrill Ltd. contracts of up to $4.1 billion for deepwater rigs and signed a letter of understanding with Texas’ Noble for drilling contracts worth as much as $4 billion.

Companies like Transocean Inc. (RIG) Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. (DO), and Pride International Inc. (PDE) could also be taking orders soon, as another big Brazilian discovery and record high oil prices could lead to a massive rush on deep-sea drilling equipment. In addition to the coast of Brazil, sub-sea salt layers are also present off the coast of Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Asian and US markets Surge, Indian market to see substantial gains

Asian markets opened on positive note on Thursday (April 24), on speculation that technology companies will post better-than-expected earnings and a cut in trading tax by China will boost investor confidence.

Samsung Electronics advanced after Broadcom reported first-quarter profit better than the analyst estimates. Qualcomm advanced after it raised its earnings forecast.

Japanese benchmark index Nikkei rose 51.71 points, or 0.38%, to trade at 13,630.87.

Hong Kong`s index Hang Seng rose 570.42 points, or 2.26%, to trade at 25,859.66.

China`s Shanghai Composite advanced 294.94 points, or 9%, to trade at 3,573.27.

Taiwan`s Taiex index rose 37.08 points, or 0.41%, to trade at 9,045.57.

South Korea`s KOSPI rose 9.98 points, or 0.55%, to trade at 1,810.77.

Singapore`s Straits Times rose 39.87 points, or 1.25%, to trade at 3,233.71. (8.10 a.m., IST)

Indian ADRs gain as US markets rebound

US stocks ended with a moderate advance on Wednesday (April 23) after a better-than-expected profit report at Boeing and a up-and-down day in the energy markets.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 42.99 points, or 0.34%, to 12,763.22. The NASDAQ composite index added 28.27 points, or 1.19%, to 2,405.21.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite to its price, rose to 3.74% from 3.69% late Tuesday.

Majority of Indian ADRs ended on a positive note on Wednesday barring HDFC Bank that ended marginally lower 1.16% at USD 106.83.

Gainers:

Company	USD	% Gain
Sterlite	20.98	1.60
ICICI Bank	43.63	0.05
Wipro	12.27	3.81
Infosys	42.19	2.08
Satyam	23.53	1.12
Tata Motors	16.03	2.69
MTNL	5.59	1.64
Tata Communications	24.04	1.65
Dr Reddy`s	15.68	2.48
Patni Computers	12.94	3.11

Earning reports bring down US Market

A number of disappointing earning reports took US market lower today, Tuesday, 22 April, 2008. Dow plunged by triple digits. An earning disappointment from Banc of America took US market lower today, Monday, 21 April, 2008. Meanwhile, crude oil spiked to lifetime highs. Only energy and telecom finished the day in positive territory. Each of the remaining economic sectors finished with losses.

The technology sector was hammered today after Texas Instrument reported earnings beating expectation but issuing a disappointing outlook. There was another disappointing results coming from UnitedHealth. The company also lowered its full year 2008 earnings guidance. However, Dow components McDonald`s and DuPont topped their earnings estimates, while AT&T met expectations.

The market traded in red for almost entire day. Dow was down by almost 162 points at one point. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended with a loss of 105 points at 12,720. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished lower by 31 points at 2,376. S&P 500 finished lower by 12 points at 1,376.

Twenty-three out of thirty Dow components ended in the red today. Du-Pont, AT&T and Mc Donalds were the main Dow laggards today.

Du Pont shares were off 4% after the chemicals company forecast weakness in the U.S. construction and automotive markets to dent growth. On the other hand, McDonald`s said first-quarter profit climbed 24%, but same-store sales in March were slightly negative. The stock ended 1% down today.

The only economic data for the day was March existing home sales data. March existing home sales fell 2.0% to an annualized rate of 4.93 million from the prior reading of 5.03 million. This was slightly better than the expected reading of 4.92 million. Compared to last year, sales are down 19.3%. Prices have fallen 7.7% versus last year.

Crude prices reached another new high today due to supply related concerns and also as the dollar fell to new lows. Lower dollar prompts investors to purchase commodities as an inflation hedge. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $119.37/barrel (higher by $1.9/barrel or 1.6%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched a high of $119.9/barrel during intra day trading. Crude prices ended 6.2% higher last week and 88% higher on a yearly basis. For the year, crude is up by 22.3% till date. The May contract expires tomorrow and the June contract was up $1.93 to $118.56 a barrel.

In the currency market today, the dollar sank to a new record low against the euro, pressured by surging oil prices and hawkish talk from European Central Bank officials. The dollar index, which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other currencies, fell 0.4% to 71.38.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange hit 3.8 billion shares, with declining stocks outpacing those on the rise by a more than 2-to-1 count. On the Nasdaq, 1.9 billion shares exchanged hands, with decliners also running ahead of advancing stocks, 3 to 1.

Boeing and UPS are scheduled to report their earnings prior to Wednesday`s open. Tomorrow`s primary economic release is the weekly oil inventory report from the Department of Energy.

FIIs continue buying

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth net Rs 277.40 crore on Monday, 21 April 2008, compared to their buying of Rs 699 crore on Thursday, 17 April 2008.

FII inflow of Rs 277.40 crore on 21 April 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 2893.40 crore and gross sales Rs 2616 crore. Sensex was up 258.13 points or 1.57% at 16,739.33 on that day.

FII inflow in April 2008 totaled Rs 695.70 crore (till 21 April 2008). FII outflow in calendar year 2008 totaled Rs 10,737 crore (till 21 April 2008).

There are a total of 1,330 FIIs registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

Asian markets open positive

Asian markets opened on positive note on Wednesday (April 23), led by commodities companies, after oil and metals prices rose.

Mitsui & Co, which depends on trading in raw materials for more than half of its profit, touched five months high.

South Korea`s third-largest maker of the alloy, Dongkuk Steel Mill touches two-month high after it announced to raise prices of ship plates by 23%.

Japanese benchmark index Nikkei rose 92.83 points, or 0.69%, to trade at 13,640.65.

Hong Kong`s index Hang Seng rose 139.36 points, or 0.56%, to trade at 25,078.51

China`s Shanghai Composite advanced 47.89 points, or 1.52%, to trade at 3,195.68.

Taiwan`s Taiex index fell 44.79 points, or 0.50%, to trade at 8,992.46.

South Korea`s KOSPI rose 14.96 points, or 0.84%, to trade at 1,802.45.

Singapore`s Straits Times rose 6.94 points, or 0.22%, to trade at 3,194.17. (8.20 a.m., IST)

Crisil revises Indian GDP forecast to 8.1% in 2008-09

Rating agency Crisil has revised downwards the Indian GDP growth forecast for FY'09 to 8.1 per cent, from the earlier 8.5 per cent, in view of the high inflationary conditions, interest rate and global growth outlook.

However, despite the growth deceleration, Crisil expects inflation to stabilise at an average 5.5 per cent in 2008-09 in a normal monsoon scenario, the agency said here in a release. "Our earlier GDP forecast of 8.5 per cent had assumed a cut in the poli cy interest rate by the central bank in response to the slowing economy. This is now ruled out since current inflation and inflationary expectations are way beyond the RBI's comfort zone of 4.5 to 5 per cent," said the Principal Economist of Crisil Mr Dh armakirti Joshi said.

Inflation is expected to remain high in the next few months due to a continuation of global pressures and an unfavourable base effect. However, Crisil expects it to soften towards the end of the year and stabilise at an average of 5.5 per cent in FY'09.

"If monsoons are sub-normal and agricultural production falters, inflation scenario could worsen," it warned. Not withstanding the moderation, the overall growth scenario is expected to remain strong with investment as the main driver.

"Domestic private consumption demand will also provide some support to the economy against slowing external demand," it said.

More short covering expected before expiry

Market ended on a positive note amidst choppiness. Sensex was up 44 points at 16783 while Nifty ended at 5049 up by 12 points. IT index underperformed due to below than expected results by TCS.

Buying was visible in stocks like Ansal Infrastructures, Unitech, DLF and GMR Infrastructures. We expects markets to open positive on Wednesday and is bullish on infrastructures stocks. Stock specific action likely to happen in the next few trading sessions.

Stocks to be watched out include Tata Teleservices Maharashtra, Ankur Drugs, Ranbaxy, Glenmark Pharma, Unitech and Ansal Infrastructures.

Nifty rollover figures are encouraging and we may see some more short covering before expiry. We had seen huge short positions in Tech stocks and the trend will continue for some more time.

Nifty may face minor resistance at 5075 and 5100 and above that it will test 5135. The ongoing rally will be terminated either on Thursday evening or on Friday afternoon. So investors should take cautious approach especially while Nifty trading above 5129.

Short term long positions can be initiated in IVRCL Infra, Escorts, IDBI and Nagarjuna Fertilizers & Chemicals.

Tata Steel not to raise prices in next 2-3 months

Tata Steel announced that the company will not hike steel prices for the next two to three months, reports Economic Times.

The world`s sixth-larger steel maker, has decided to hold prices due to the rising input costs.

The government has urged the steel makers to cut the prices, due to the rising inflation level. In March end inflation touched 7.4%, its level since November 2004.

Shares of the company gained Rs 4.1, or 0.53%, to end at Rs 780.9. The total volume of shares traded was 761,909 at the BSE. (Tuesday)

Reliance Power to expedite clearances of hydro projects

The hydro power business of Reliance Power (RPower), which is set to invest about Rs 105 billion in three projects with total capacity of 2,100 mw, is in the process of expediting clearances and also achieve financial closure by the first half of 2009, reports Business Line.

The company, which is executing 700 mw project at Tato II in West Siang District of Arunachal Pradesh, 1,000 mw of Siyom project at West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh and 400 mw at Urthing Sobia in Pithorgarh district of Uttaranchal, is planning for some more projects coming up for competitive bids. The focus of the company is on expediting the process of implementation of these projects.

With the government`s recent hydel policy, which also provides for merchant power sales, that is a big boost for such hydel projects, these are now well poised to achieve financial closure. Siyom project will allow the company to market about 40% of the power generated as merchant power sales.

Shares of the company closed up Rs 3.6, or 0.96%, at Rs 377.35. The total volume of shares traded at the BSE was 1,677,636. (Tuesday)

Indiabulls outbids Gammon for Rs 6.76 b

Indiabulls Real Estate, through its subsidiary Citra Developers, acquired 134 acres of land in Dombivili, Mumbai for Rs 6.76 billion, reports Economic Times.

The company has acquired the land after outbidding Gammon India`s bid of around Rs 6.75 billion.

The auction was conducted on Tuesday by the high court receiver and Citra Developers have been asked to deposit 25% of the bid amount within 15 days from the auction day.

Apart from Indiabulls and Gammon, other local firms also participated in the auction.

Shares of the company gained Rs 5.65, or 1.14%, to end at Rs 501.25. The total volume of shares traded was 631,673 at the BSE. (Tuesday)

RIL may gain on good Q4 numbers

After trading hours on Monday, 21 April 2008, Reliance Industries (RIL) reported 24% growth in net profit to Rs 3912 crore on 36.2 % growth in total income to Rs 37575 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. Higher refining margins offset fall in margins in the petrochemicals business. The gross refining margin stood at $15.5 a barrel compared to $13 a barrel in Q4 March 2007.

With the commercial production of gas slated to being in the next quarter, RIL expects oil & gas to account for higher share of revenues going forward.

After trading hours on Monday, 21 April 2008, TCS reported 7% growth in net profit as per US GAAP at Rs 1256 crore on 18.4% growth in revenue at Rs 6095 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q4 March 2007. The company`s management sounded positive on growth prospects despite worries that a weak US economy would hurt outsourcing deals.

The company said the deal pipeline is encouraging and client ramp-ups have started happening

Brokerage Motilal Oswal Financial Services said on Monday, 21 April 2008, its board has approved splitting each share into five. Ahead of the news, the stock rose 1.48% up at Rs 752.55 in a firm market.

Axis Bank said on Monday, 21 April 2008, derivatives contracts it had helped structure for its corporate clients to hedge risks had caused notional losses of Rs 674 crore ($169 million) to the clients. Axis Bank further said 113 of the transactions were foreign exchange derivative deals and had notional losses of Rs 548 crore. Axis Bank said none of the transactions could be termed as non-performing assets. The private-sector bank said it had provided for mark-to-market losses of Rs 72 crore of two clients who had challenged the deals and filed lawsuits.

Engineering software services firm Geometric said on Tuesday, 22 April 2008, it has sold one of its properties located in Pune, for Rs 29.50 crore, to Digital Group Infotech.

FIIs step up buying

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth net Rs 699 crore on Thursday, 17 April 2008, compared to their buying of Rs 3.80 crore on Wednesday, 16 April 2008.

FII inflow of Rs 699 crore on 17 April 2008 was a result of gross purchases Rs 4067.50 crore and gross sales Rs 3368.50 crore. Sensex rose 237.01 points or 1.46% at 16,481.20 on that day.

FII inflow in April 2008 totaled Rs 418.30 crore (till 17 April 2008). FII outflow in calendar year 2008 totaled Rs 11,014.40 crore (till 17 April 2008).

There are a total of 1,327 FIIs registered with the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

US Market ends mixed as financials drag

An earning disappointment from Banc of America took US market lower today, Monday, 21 April, 2008. Oil prices reaching a all time high also led to some negative sentiments in the market. Technology was the only shining spot in today`s market. Five of the ten economic sectors finished in negative territory. The underperforming sectors included financials, healthcare, consumer discretionary, industrials, and utilities.

A larger than expected decline in profits at Bank of America was the main driving force behind today`s negative sentiment. In other earning reports, Merck beat estimates while Eli Lilly reported earnings that fell short of estimates.

The market traded in red for almost entire day. Dow was down by almost 91 points at one point. At the end, The Dow Jones industrial Average ended with a loss of 24 points at 12,824.35. The Nasdaq Composite Index, finished higher by 5 points at 2,408. S&P 500 finished lower by 2.1 points at 1,388.

Sixteen out of thirty Dow components ended in the red today. Bank of America and Caterpillar were the main Dow laggards today. General Motors was one of the main Dow winners.

Strength in technology sector helped offset weakness in the financial sector. Apple stock rose strongly today after RBC Capital Markets raised its price target on shares of Apple. The other sector that came to market`s rescue today was the energy sector.

Crude prices reached new highs today due to supply related concerns and also as the dollar fell to new lows. Crude-oil futures for light sweet crude for May delivery closed at $117.48/barrel (higher by $0.79/barrel or 0.7%) on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices touched $117.83/barrel during intra day trading. Crude prices are 6.2% higher last week and 85% higher on a yearly basis. For the year, crude is up by 20.7% till date.

In the currency market today, the dollar extended losses against most major counterparts, after Bank of America`s earnings shortfall reminded investors that the U.S. financial sector is not out of the woods yet. The dollar index, which tracks the greenback`s performance against a basket of other major counterparts, edged down 0.2% to 71.79. The dollar also fell to within a cent of a record low against the euro after European Central Bank officials reiterated concern inflation is accelerating, increasing chances interest rates will stay at a six-year high.

Volume on the New York Stock Exchange topped 3.3 billion, and for every seven stocks on the rise roughly nine declined. On the Nasdaq, more than 1.6 billion shares were exchanged, and decliners outdid advancers 5 to 4.

AT&T and McDonald`s are to report their earnings prior to the tomorrow`s open. Tuesday is light in terms of economic data. The day`s primary economic release is March`s Existing Home Sales data.

TCS seen reporting decent revenue growth in Q4 March 2008

As per earnings preview of five prominent brokerages, IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is seen reporting a between 3.1% fall to a 5.5% growth in its consolidated net profit as per US Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (GAAP) at between Rs 1290.10 crore to Rs 1403.60 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q3 December 2007. The five brokerage expect a between 3.3% to 5.3% growth in revenue at between Rs 6117.90 crore to Rs 6237 crore in Q4 March 2008 over Q3 December 2007.

Analysts say the key things to watch out is future outlook on pricing and volume growth that the TCS management may give at the time of announcing the Q4 results. TCS unveils Q4 results today, 21 April 2008.

Last week, IT bellwether Infosys said it saw significant growth opportunities in the medium to long term. It, however, may face short-term challenges due to global economic uncertainties