GE Healthcare, on Tuesday, announced

GE Healthcare, on Tuesday, announced a tie-up with Hyderabad-based Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) to open 10 oncology centres in India at an investment of Rs 200 crore over next two years.

The first of such centre would come up at Vijaywada, followed centres in Visakhapatnam, Bhubaneswar, Thrishur, Raipur, Indore, Coimbatore and Patna.

Providing details of the facility, B Bhaskar Rao, managing director and chief executive officer, KIMS, said that these centres would also be capable of providing cardiology and neurology diagnostic services.

He said that “The idea is to cut costs. For example, we will set up only three cyclotrons for 10 centres and will depend on logistics planning to transfer the isotope.”

The medical technologies and services provider also announced its plans to invest $50 million (around Rs 231 crore) in developing a low-cost PET/CT scan system for diagnosis of various diseases, like early detection of cancer, heart diseases and brain disorders.

Speaking to pressperson(s), V Raja, president and chief executive officer (South Asia), GE Healthcare, and Managing Director, Wipro GE Healthcare, said that they plan to offer the facilities at around 40 percent less than the current market prices.

He said that GE Healthcare would carry out R&D on the new equipment at its existing facility in Bangalore and would be hiring another 30 people for the same, he said “the system should be ready in two to three years,” further adding that “GE Healthcare joined hands with Varian Medical Systems to provide turnkey assistance to equip the oncology centres.”

Varian Medical Systems is a California-based company engaged in manufacturing of medical devices for treating cancer.

Ms Terri S. Bresenham, Vice-President, Molecular Imaging, GE Healthcare, said that “The idea behind setting up the facility in India is that these medical equipment will cost about 30-40 per cent cheaper.”

“It is a high-end product. What we wish to do is design a product with the same capability but at a cheaper cost so that cancer detection and treatment becomes more affordable in India. We will be considering exporting some of the units we manufacture at the Bangalore facility to neighbouring markets,” said Raja

Push For Immigration Overhaul by Obama

It would be revitalization worthy of Lazarus; however, President Obama is making a rehabilitated push for an immigration overhaul, probably during a lame-duck session of Congress after the November election, when associates would no longer have to face a pending political risk for providing support to it.

Obama met with associates of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the State Dining Room on Tuesday and had discussions regarding a strategy for passing a bill that seemed to be lying dead for the year.

On Thursday morning, the President will place the problem before the American public. In a speech at American University, he intends to make the case for providing a path for the anticipated 11 million citizens who live in the U.S. without any legal sanction whilst strengthening border enforcement.

White House Press Secretary, Robert Gibbs said at his daily meeting on Tuesday that this continues to be an extremely significant national topic requiring Republican support.

Up to now, no Republican senators have consented to support an all-inclusive immigration bill. Nor has such a bill been brought in, in the Senate.

Farmville bestowed in iPhone

Zynga the game developer has offered its version of its virtual farming game Farmville for Apple's iPhone.

The iPhone game was publicized at the WWDC last month, and reports state that it has been specially tailored to work on Apple's new iOS 4 platform.

Farmville has gained fame on social networking platform Facebook, making it the most popular web-based game in the world. It allows user to create and manage virtual farms in real time, and has an estimated 70 million active users worldwide.

At the same time the company offers market items and gifts to iPhone and iPod Touch users who download the free application.

Google withdraws apps from Android phones

Google has withdrawn two applications from Android phones as they seem not to comply with Android Market terms and conditions.

The Android Security Lead, Rich Cannings, stated that the two removed applications were developed by security researcher for 'research purposes', were remotely removed from users' phones as they were virtually useless.

It still remains unclear as to why Google chose to publicize the matter. The industry insiders claim that company is aiming to demonstrate the level of security offered by its Android platform's enhanced application removal system, which can be used to remotely uninstall any application that poses a threat to user security.

IBM sues exec for joining Oracle

IBM has taken legal action against its ex-employee Joanne Olsen thus, trying to stop her from taking up a job with rival company Oracle.

According to company insiders it has been sated that Oracle pursued Olsen, who initially was general manager of IBM's services division, away from IBM after 31 years of service with the company.

It seems that the ongoing competition between the two companies is forming drastic figure, and supposed to have occurred following Oracle's acquisition of Sun Microsystems earlier this year.

IBM blames that Olsen has gone against the terms of an anti-competition agreement she signed in 2009, forbidding her from taking a job in a rival company for at least one year after leaving the company.

A representative from IBM, Doug Shelton, stated that Joanne Olsen has secretive knowledge about IBM and our operations. This means that she is deprived of taking part in any of the senior positions at Oracle without conflicting obligations towards IBM.

Buy BPCL With Stop Loss Of Rs 575

Stock market analyst Sanjay Surekha is of the view that investors can buy Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) to achieve a target that lies between Rs 650 and 700.

According to analyst, the investors can buy the stock with strict stop loss of Rs 575.

The shares of the company, on June 25, closed at Rs 621.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 658 and a low of Rs 410 on BSE.

Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 42.53 and 15.16 respectively.

While talking over the government's decisive step towards decontrolling fuel prices, Mr. Ashok Sinha, CMD, BPCL stated that the company will start making adjustments on diesel rates by the next 20 days.

He added that the administration has formally expressed to oil marketing firms that diesel has been de-regulated and it will be fully-priced by the next 1-2 months.

BPCL is one of the country's biggest PSU oil and gas companies, with Fortune Global 500 rank of 287 (2008).

The company's corporate office is situated at Ballard Estate, Mumbai. As the name indicates, BPCL is engaged in the refining and retailing of petroleum products.

Sensex, Nifty Hold Early Gains

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today was holding on to morning gains even as signals from Asian markets remained calm.

The Sensex, which belled the day at 17,577.66, was trading 87.46 points up at 17,661.99 as against its last closure at 17,574.53.

The Sensex gained more than 126 points during the morning trade.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broad-based Nifty stood at 5,296.35, up 0.52% as compared to its previous close at 5,269.05.

The BSE midcap index gained 0.59% and the BSE smallcap was up by 0.95%.

Oil and consumer durables scrips witnessed good buying activity.

On Friday (June 25), the Sensex ended the week 17,574.53 after falling 155.71 points. In contrast, Nifty shut the shop at 5269.05, down 51.55 points.

The BSE midcap index closed 0.7% down and the BSE smallcap index 0.54% lower.

Councils bid farewell

The Auckland City Council will be extinct after the new super city at Auckland. The council has been giving its last goodbyes and is expected to spend over $200,000 for their farewell bash which is staff only and their smaller departments. The council will also have a $120,000 book on the last 20 years of the council history.

The Weekend Herald reported that Local Government Minister Rodney Hide has proposed to speak to the council about cutting their costs to spend less of ratepayers’ money. Even the Auckland Regional Council with its district councils and its seven cities will also be throwing farewell parties at the cost of ratepayers’ money.

Manukau City's is throwing a $85,000 worth farewell party for the Manukau council. They are also expecting a letter from Rodney Hide strongly to watch party budgets.
Steven Ross of the Auckland City chief executive's office said over 2500 staff will be invited to the farewell at Town Hall with each of the smaller 32 departments throwing their own parties.

The Franklin District Council has a budget of $19,900 for their party along with an expected staff funded party also. The Rodney District Council said it planned a day for staff to volunteer with community groups which would not cost ratepayers anything.

iPlayer 3 arrives for PS3

BBC has proclaimed of release the latest edition of the iPlayer for the Playstation 3 in the near future. However no official date has come up as to when the BBC’s catch up service will be updated, but according to a BBC representative the rollout of the new version will be taking place before the end of the year.

It is further stated that the newest version has been pumped in with all new features, such as the application called “For You”.

It supposedly is a column that directs the user to programming they may be interested in, based to the user’s viewing history.

Music service to be offered by Google

This move is taken in lieu of entertainment content distribution and shall also add professional content on its YouTube video site and soon to roll out a digital bookstore this year.

Google's stepping in into the music and entertainment industry implies steadfastness relations between other entertainment channels.

It is stated that record companies will be benefitted with such a service as they have become increasingly worried about Apple's stranglehold on digital music sale.

Apple who recently has shown a 28% music purchase by U. S. consumers in the first quarter, has left Wal-Mart and Amazon far behind at 12% each.

It is considered as one of the first WSJ source and will apparently be linked to Google's search engine.

Sears, Sonic agrees on a deal

Giant retailer Sears have proclaimed of joint partnership with digital media company Sonic in a mutual trade of movies and TV shows online, via company's RoxioNow platform.

Sears proclaims of offering an online portal later in the year that will offer HDTV, Blu-ray player and smartphone users a chance to download the movies and shows for playback through their respective devices.

In lieu of this Adds Mark Ely, executive vice president of strategy for Sonic stated: "This is an opportunity for Sears to get their consumers up and running with digital content, and offset what is happening as consumers move from physical media to digital delivery."

Karen Austin, president of home electronics for Sears Holdings stated, "Teaming up with Sonic is a great opportunity for Sears and Kmart to quickly establish a position in digital video entertainment."

Orange UK preparing to roll-out nationwide HD Voice service

Mobile phone operator Orange UK is trailing high-definition (HD) voice technology in Reading, Southampton and Bristol. The HD voice technology is expected to herald a new era for mobile communications by offering crystal clear and superior sound quality.

The new "Orange HD Voice" service will put an end to distorted calls, virtually eliminating the distance between the callers that will makes calls sound as if they are in the same room. But, the new service will not cost anything extra.

The HD voice technology will provide greatly enhanced sound quality with same network resources by using Wideband Adaptive Multi-Rate speech codec. A wider speed bandwidth of 50-700 Hz will be used in HD Voice calls to provide superior sound quality as compared with current narrowband speech code of 300- 3400 Hz.

Initially, HD Voice service will be available on a few of the 3G enabled handsets, but eventually it will be extended to a range of handsets compatible to offer HD Voice service. The operator said it believed that the new HD Voice service would be available nationwide by the end of summer.

Toshiba’s New AC100 Laptop

It has been reported that Toshiba has launched its AC 100 dual-core ARM Processor in the U.S. markets, today.

The 10 inches smartbook has been designed with trendy looks and the device runs on Android Operating System.

The laptop features excellent battery life and can work up to eight hours without charging.

The system already includes applications like Microsoft office, Media player, Opera mobile. And as the laptop runs on Android system, you can except many other apps also installed in it.

The device has been loaded with two 7-inch touchscreens so that different apps can be used at one time. Plus, you can also run use drag and drop for transferring information from one screen to other.

Toshiba GM, Thomas Teckentrup said, “You can't run the standard Windows benchmarks on Android so you can't easily compare to Windows netbooks or even other Android devices”.

Other notable features include its keyboard with a track pad. Then there is one-megapixel webcam along with face recognition. There is also microSD card slot with a USB 2.0 port.

Satyam scam accused seek court's permission to use computers

The accused in the Satyam scam appealed to the court on Wednesday to seek permission for using computers in prison so that they are able to prepare their defense. B V L N Chakravarthy the additional chief metropolitan magistrate posted the case to June 25th for a decision on the appeal.

It was G. Ramakrishna, the former VP finance, of the company who asked for the computer facility. The appeal was done by the counsel K Ravinder Reddy who represents B Ramalingam Raju and Rama Raju, the prime accused in the scam. Reddy addressed the court saying that there was no harm in extending the facility of a computer to under trials when the state itself was setting up call centers in jails like Charlapally. The counsel referred to the news of Times Of India which stated that Charlapally prison was setting up a BPO which would be run by the prisoners of the jail.

Stating that instance he said that it would be unfair for the court to say that providing computer in a jail is not feasible.

CBI had filed three charge sheets in the scam as of now. The first two related to the main scam and the third one pertained to the income tax irregularities. CBI made it clear that they want the first two to be treated as one case and the charge sheet on the income tax to be treated as a one. The accused want all the three clubbed and be treated as a single case.

The court will hear on the 23rd of June, the case relating to examining Ramalinga Raju via video link from Nims Hospitals.

B Ramalinga Raju is enjoying a royal treatment in the air-conditioned room of the Nims hospital in Hyderabad Curtsey CBI and doctors.

RCap takes 18% in Bloomberg UTV

Reliance capital had bought 18% of the shares in the News channel from the promoters of Bloomberg UTV In an unrevealed deal. Their stake will now be 67%.

In 2009 October Bloomberg UTV picked up 15%of the shares of UTVi and as a result UTVi was rebranded as Bloomberg UTV. UTVi is broadcast by UTV News Ltd. The company is solely owned by Ronnie Screwvala who is also the chairman of and promoter of UTV Software Communications Ltd.

After the collaboration took place it signed a co-branding agreement with Bloomberg. Though the size of the deal remained undisclosed. On this issue R-Cap said that the investment would form part of the company's exposure to the fast growing media sector with a high potential.

R-Cap had a stake of 14.02 % in the TV Today Network Ltd as on 31st of March this year. They broadcast Aaj Tak and Headlines Today. It also has 18% stake in the Network 18 group which operates CNBC, CNN, TV18, IBN7, IBN, Colors and CNBC Awaaz channels. Bloomberg had applied for 15% stake in UTVi which still awaits its approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.

RCap has interests in mutual funds and asset management. It also has its interest in the fields of Life and general insurance, industrial finance, consumer finance, stock broking,

Equity, proprietary investments exchanges, asset reconstruction, depository services, distribution of financial products, and other activities in financial services.

The ageless beauty - Suzuki Nuda

Suzuki Hayabusa has been tainted as one of the models that is capable of demonstrating the ultimate power that is mixed with beauty, comes another contemporary the Nuda, that stands tall as a concept since its debut in 1986.

Considered to be a timeless beauty the Suzuki Nuda appears to be a bike of 2045 which actually is 1986 make when it was actually introduced as a fully functional 174mph prototype.

The bike was showcased in the 1986 Tokyo Motor Show, appearing like hydrogen powered or electrically powered bike, the Nuda is powered by a GSX-R750 gasoline engine.

Toshiba A665 laptop, equipped to play 3D Blu-ray and games

The Toshiba's A665 is a 3D laptop that resembles to a 3DTV that employs the usage of 3D Blu-ray discs.

Also called as the Dynabook in the UK the A665 is a 15.6-inch laptop which soon will hit US stores on June 20th.

Also comes loaded is the Intel's monster Core i7-740QM quad core processors, NVIDIA GeForce GTS 350M discrete graphics, 4GB DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard drive, and a 12-cell battery along with the 3D Blu-ray capable drive.

In addition to this the latest offering joins hand with a non-3D A665 and the M645 both endowed with Core i3 up to Core i7 or AMD's Phenom II Quad Core and optional discrete graphics.

These differ from the 3D PCs, as these two models come with seamless graphics that switches with Nvidia Optimus technology.

Each Playstation to go 3D

Sony is on an upgradation spree as it pushes hard to make available 3D on all platforms.

The image that is being showcase is essentially 3D on stage which might appear as normal screen but looks very much in 3D if you wear 3D glasses, making the 3D effect more prominent.

In case of the playstation platform the bullets and sparks shoot at face which goes on to explain that if one raises up the gun to aim it will bring the gun right up on one's face.

An expert elucidates his experience when he played it on a giant 100-inch projection screen, "The 3D is kind of dizzying. Immersive, but I am going to vomit," he adds.

Michael Jackson a new video game to be released

The developers of Ubisoft have announced that they are casting Michael Jackson in their new video game. This game is about to be launched soon in US market. The developers are anticipating that the game will be successful. The game has not been given a title yet and the game will rate the players' dance skills just like the pop king Jackson.

This video game will be one of the first games to use motion detection technology.

The star voiced a video game role called Space Michael in the game Space Channel 5 in the year 1999. Before that in 1989 Jackson appeared in the game Michael Jackson's Moonwalker.

The video game is expected to be launched in the month of November with release of an album containing the previously unreleased tracks of Michael Jackson. This album will include songs from his back catalog as Billie Jean and Beat It.

Essar Oil manages to raise $115 million

On Wednesday, Essar Oil said that it has managed to raise $115 from its proposed $300 million plan. For raising funds, the company which is part of the Essar Group, had come out with the bonds. It was raised in the name of the promoter, Essar Energy Holdings.

The money thus raised is going to be used by the company for the purpose of expanding its operations.

The conglomerate with the Ruias as the promoters had issued Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) worth $115 million on June 15. These bonds are going to mature in 2028 and were issued to the promoter company, said a filing of the company with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Also these FCCBs are fully convertible into Global Depository Shares (GDSs). This has been an option that has been provided to the bondholders. The conversion price for the same will be Rs. 138 per share.

On June 4, the company had said that it is going to raise $300 million through FCCBs on a preferential share basis.

Blackberry tablet might come on year end

The reports from the WSJ states that a tablet device from the makers of Research In Motion (RIM) is soon to be launched.

According the reports the tablet will be like a companion device along with the mobile phone.

The people familiar with RIM's plans states that makers of RIM might roll out a product that will serve a large counterpart to a BlackBerry phone.

This device however stays in a very early stage of development and will aid in connecting to cellular networks via a BlackBerry phone and will supposedly roll out by the end of the year according the company insiders.

Small Hands for mini remotes

The recent offering from the Wii makers is the new Wiimote termed as the MiniRemote and MiniChuck which are 35% smaller than the normal Wiimotes.

The MiniRemote and MiniChuck termed as the new controllers will be handy for all those who have small hands providing a better grip on the controller thus better gaming.

It is basically an app that is launched to make a mark in the present Android Market aiding users with wireless control that comes in form of the Wii controller that comes real quick for all the compatible device users.

Negative Fitch Ratings

On Tuesday, the Fitch ratings outlook had changed to negative on the Anadarko Petroleum Corp from being stable. This fall cited the increasing number of the estimates the company’s damage that is was going to have to pay because of the oil spill incident at the Gulf of Mexico.

The negative outlook indicates that the company might have to cut down from its already embarrassing lowest investment grade of BBB-minus over the next year or Two. the Company’s borrowing costs would also increase due to the downgrades into the territory of junk.

25% of the oil well that exploded into the Gulf of Mexico is owned by Anadarko, which caused a huge spill the largest owner, BP Plc couldn’t stop.

"Fitch believes that Anadarko will not have to pay punitive damages since it is a non-operating partner; however, it may have to pay its 25 percent share of containment and cleanup costs as well as compensatory economic damages depending on a number of factors," the rating agency said.

As payments have to be funded, Anadarko is expected to have enough liquidity in order to compensate for the spill. This, analysts say would loot the company of $6 billion. The punitive damages could cost BP $40 billion. Fitch also revised on Tuesday, its Transocean limited outlook making it negative as the costs still worried him. He was also concerned about the markets for deepwater drilling could become weaker.

Ram Energy keeps possibility of sale

Ram Energy Resources said on Tuesday that it would now explore into different strategic alternatives in regard to sale possibility of the company. This oil and natural gas company said that the alternatives would include recapitalization or refinancing of the company by bringing the shares up by at least 37%.

Ram said that all the steps that were taken were only to boost up the share values of the company.

Jefferies &co has been hired by the oil and natural gas company as its official advisor.

The current business plans haven’t changed, and the goals related to development and drilling would still continue as discussed at the year beginning, ram said.

Most analysts said that selling of the company would be good move as compared to the other options as the company still had a lot of debts to pay.

Analyst of RBC capital market, Leo Mariani said “The stock has not been fairly valued in the market, so I don't think it would be a terrible idea for them to look at ways of trying to augment value for the shareholders."

According to the Thomson Reuters data, Jefferies, the advisor of Ram energy sources is the top shareholder of the company.

ISB placements up 33%, salary offers rise 11%

Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad could place 33% more students for jobs and saw an 11% rise in average salary in 2010 over year 2009. The institute had been found saying this to the media.

Dean Ajit Rangnekar said that their improvement had been significant as compare to the last year.

He said the batch of 2010 had 568 students and they witnessed offers from the top technological companies, consultancies, and finance .It was 11% 40%and 30% more respectively. They could be termed the largest recruits on campus.

He said the recruiters comprised of Citibank Amazon development centre India, United Health Group Dr. Reddy’s laboratories DBS Bank, Accenture Services, Arthur D. Little Asia, and Cognizant Technology Solutions.

Mr, Rangnekar said last year it was bad but was at per with 2007 ,2008 was very good as the companies were willing to pay far too much of money. 2009 was low .this years highlight was the recruitment from the green energy sector like Wipro Eco-business.

The average domestic cost to company has reached 16.7 lacs from 15.05 lacs which is 11%more. The average outgoing salary this year is double than the incoming salary. ISB secured 541 offers including 65 from international companies. They have extended their placement season till June this year to give more time to the companies and students to get the right match.

ISB usually announces placement results in April but for the last couple of years they are extending the placement season till June or July so that maximum number of students can acquire jobs.

Meeting of ministerial panel on fuel price hike postponed

Coming Friday a meeting of the empowered group of ministers was suppose to happen which was postponed. The meeting was to decide on the upward revision of fuel prices.

No new date for the meeting has been fixed as yet.

UPA allies like Trinamool Congress, The DMK, and the NCP are opposing any hike in prices of petrol and diesel, and the postponement was to give the government time to build a political consensus on the issue, as was heard from political sources.

The inflation can go up if a price hike in fuel takes place and that may be a matter of concern. The inflation has already crossed the double digit mark of 10.16%.

The eGoM is chaired by the Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and had met to discuss on the issue recommended by the Kirit Parikh committee which asked freeing of fuel prices from government control, but eGoM could not reach to an unanimous decision.

The kirit Parikh report which was published in February stated that the transport fuel prices should be based on the market and should not be at a subsidized rate of the government. It also recommended that the price of one acylinder of LPG gas should go up by Rs. 100 and the kerosene should be Rs. 6 more per litre.

The panel of ministers had noted in the last meeting that a heavy burden of Rs. 345, 000 crore had been there on the government for compensating the losses incurred by the oil companies of the public sector for selling fuel at subsidized rate in the financial year 2003-04. and 2009-2010.

Eurozone industrial output in April beats the expectations

Eurozone's industrial production grew at a faster than expected pace in the month of April, according to the latest data released by the European Union today.

Eurostat, the statistics agency of the European Union, said that this was reported the highest ever monthly growth in Eurozone's industrial output on yearly basis since it started to store the records in 1990.

The data from Eurostat revealed that the industrial output was reported up by 0.8% in the month of April compared to March. The figures in April beat the expectation of the economists as they were expecting a growth of 0.5% in the month of March. On the other hand, the industrial production was reported up by 9.5% compared to the same month last year. On yearly basis, the economists were anticipating a growth of 8.7% in the month of March.

The data of Eurostat showed that the production of intermediate goods and capital goods was reported up by 2.2% and 1.1% respectively in April on monthly basis. The data also revealed that the production of durable consumer goods and energy was reported down by 0.1% and 0.9% respectively in April. The production of non-durable consumer goods fell by 1.2% in April compared to March.

Lincoln is ready to pay back government bailout

One of three major insurers that took government bailout, Lincoln National Corp. (LNC) said that they are capable of repaying all the money. It was given $950 million as part of the rescue plan.

The insurer will be selling its stock and debt worth $1 billion for the same purpose. It also said that it is planning to buy back the preferred shares of the government, but is awaiting regulatory approvals.

This step, if successful, shall allow LNC to come out of the bailout program, ahead of its earlier plans. Post the bailout process, Chief Executive Dennis Glass had said that LNC will be out of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by the end of 2010.

Out of the $1 billion sale, $335 million will be common stocks while the rest $750 million will be in form of senior notes. Proceeds from other stocks and $250 million will be used by it for the purpose of buying back the stocks from the government.

Hike on the tobacco tax, passes the Senate

The government decision to increase the tax on cigarettes has crossed the examination conducted via Senate with stretched backing from all the parties.

The Labor charges on the same has stepped the ladder by $1.80 to more than $14 as the cost of an average cigarette packed containing 25 cigarettes, shall be formalized in lieu of the excise increase by April.

The coalition has been supported by the Liberal Concetta Fierravanti, expressing that the gearing of this move may reduce the long-term pressure on hospitals and healthcare services. After the next election the coalition shall be continuing with the commitment in favor of the Australian people.

The independent Nick Xenophon expressed his support towards the government's decision to raise the excise. According to him the cigarettes should be made more expensive.

However this measure is just one feather in the cap to initiate the policy to reduce smoking. To make the mission accomplished the government needs to draw its attention towards funding the subsidized nicotine replacement therapies.

European Region to Stop Credit- Default Swaps

European regulators are expected to provide emergency powers to national regulators to avoid naked credit- default swaps trades. These proposals are being considered by the European Union, dealing with problems after the Greek debt crisis.

It is expected that these measures will be temporary in nature and subject to approval by the relevant authorities. This was confirmed by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

It is also expected that the European Parliament will vote on restricting trade in credit-default swaps tomorrow. It was pointed that bans will only be considered in cases where there is a threat to the overall region.

French President, Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel earlier wanted the European Union to fasten the process of avoiding financial speculation. They are in favor of these measures and feel that these speculations are against the interests of the whole European Union and threaten its economic well-being.

Germany also banned the practice of naked short selling last month. The crisis in the European region has sent Euro to a four year low against the US dollar. Apart from the problems in Greece, Spanish and Portuguese economies are also under severe pressure.

European Union is expected to accelerate the process of regulating credit-default swaps across the European Union.

Under Pressure Jerome Kerviel

Jerome Kerviel was under a lot of pressure and after it was discovered that he was responsible for unauthorized bets that cost the bank, Societe Generale SA a loss of 4.9 billion Euros ($6 billion). This was confirmed by Valerie Rolland-Lesueur, who worked with him at the bank.

She confirmed this in the court while testifying in the case. She was working with Jerome in the bank’s compliance and control group. She also answered questions about her relationship with Jerome apart from the bank’s compliance techniques.

Valerie remembered that when Jerome was caught he looked very nervous and tired. She admitted that she had coffee with Jerome the day the bank discovered the fraud.

Jerome Kerviel is on trial for his role in the billion dollar trading loss suffered by the bank. The bank discovered the fraud on Jan. 24, 2008 and called Jerome a terrorist for his actions.

If Jerome is found guilty, he faces imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of 375,000 Euros.

It is alleged that Jerome knew that he will be caught one day. Despite this, Jerome took on more risk and was not worried.

Jerome had disappeared from the bank before the bank became public with its loss.

But this was disputed by Jerome’s lawyer who maintained that his activities were known to the bank.

Income Tax Department raids on Koda’s property

The Income Tax Department raided at 70 places in eight Indian states for investigation against the charges that were made on former Jharkhand CM and MP for having disproportionate assets, on Saturday.

IT Department Director Ujjal Kumar Chaudhary said that his team is currently probing Madhu Koda and his liaisons Vinod Kumar Sinha and Sanjay Chaudhary for havind disproportionate properties at 70 places of eight cities of the country.

He further added that the search operation is based on the intelligence reports received recently.

The raids took place in Koda’s assets in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Chaibasa, New Delhi, Mumbai, Nasik, Lucknow and Kolkata.

The search is based on the reports, which were made at the time when Arjun Munda was the CM of the state. At that time, Madhu Koda was the minister of mines and geology. Reports showed that some transaction of money took place at the time of deal.

Taiwan announces its most-valued basketball player

Center Tseng Wen-ting, who led Yulon Luxgen to its fourth title in the team's history last week, was named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of this year regular season for the first time in his career.

In the meantime, the player had also bagged the defensive player of the year award during the ceremony and was chosen as one of the five best players in the Super Basketball League (SBL), a seven-tam league that was set-up in 2003 and is country’s major basketball competition.

The 25-year old player led the league in rebounds and assists, a rare feat for a center.

While talking to reporters, the player said, “In fact, I thought I had a better chance of winning (the MVP) last season.”

“As for this (the defensive player of the year award), I've had plenty of those,” he added.

On the other hand, the Luxgen, which beat defending champion Dacin Tigers 4-2 in the best-of-seven finals last week, became the big winner of the evening.

Skoda Finance Ranges From 69 Pound Per Month

Skoda finance packages are reported to lure bargain hunters with a range of deals from £69 per month.

The Motoring. co. uk's finance section uncovers that the Fabia, after discounts under the scrappage scheme, is available for thirty-six payments of £69 at 9.7% APR. The Fabia is also reportedly listed on hire purchase for a £5,315 deposit plus for twenty-four payments of £229 at 0% APR.

Even, the Skoda Roomster also comes with low-rate finance. This quirky machine can be availed on hire purchase for thirty-four payments of £239 at 0%. APR added to the £5,900 deposit.

Motorists who would prefer a more manageable £2,536 deposit can order the scrappage scheme discounted Roomster on a personal contract purchase plan for thirty-six payments of £119 at 9.6% APR.

Skoda Superb, the most prestigious vehicle, once discounted by the scrappage scheme, can be availed on a personal contract purchase plan for thirty-six payments of £199 at 8.9% APR.

The final prospect is the Skoda Yeti, Scoda's curiously named run-around is revealed to price on hire purchase for a £4,198 deposit, in addition to thirty-six payments of £279 at 4.2% APR.

RCom decides to make Reliance Infratel as a separate entity

Fighting hard to keep the company in healthy mood and still keeping it as a secure business from other telecom and broadband players, including Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, Anil Ambani-led Reliance Communications has recently said that the company has decided to separate tower business of its telecom arm.

The company also mentioned the fact that it was in advanced stages of finalizing the company as one of the separate entities in its umbrella.

Notably, the move is expected to cut the debt of the company wherein the telecom major has also decided for a strategic sale of 26 per cent equity in the company. It may be noted here that as the deal is finalized, it will make Reliance Infratel the world's largest telecom infrastructure Company and will also help RCom to curb its debts.

The boards of Directors of RCom and its subsidiary Reliance Infratel has recently approved the process of restructuring. Anil Ambani, Chairman, RCom, said that he is personally looking for a state of co-operation among the players especially at a high a level among the recent winners of the 3G and BWA spectrum.

HCL Infosystems to provide healthcare solutions

A unique and a noble step has been undertaken by India's IT major HCL Infosystems in collaboration with a new organization Wellogic, which is one of the leading healthcare platforms and software providers in international level.

The partnership intends to provide better opportunities for healthcare solutions in the country. Both the companies are concentrating on those factors which will enhance the healthcare services from their sides.

According to the services provided by them patients, clinicians, hospitals, clinical laboratories, imaging centers would receive proper healthcare solutions. Now onwards, the payers and other stakeholders will get the benefit of enhanced service in this segment.

Maruti has tightened its belts for expansion

Expansion is always appreciable and so is followed by India's no. 1 car maker company, Maruti.

Maruti had recorded sales more than 1 lakh cars in the month of May alone and to meet the rise in demands it has decided to increase the dealership as this will improve the distribution of its products.

Maruti Suzuki India has decided to add 200 dealers to its network. It already has more than 800 showrooms and service centers across 500 cities in the country.

Maruti, the Indian largest auto manufacturer expects to increase this number up to 1000 in this fiscal year.

Maruti's latest area for sales is rural India, where the demands for cars are growing at a higher speed.

This Week Grocery Market to Go under Scanner

The grocery market will undergo examination this week, with Tesco ready to reveal quarterly statistics tomorrow and Sainsbury's set to trail the move on Wednesday.

Both are anticipated to post soft sales expansion throughout their domestic enterprises due to the influence of UK food price rise that is lesser twelve-monthly.

Past that, the two might be inquired regarding their expectations, and trepidations, prior to the coalition Government's emergency Budget on June 22.

Execution Noble analysts said last week that there is some insecurity revolving around the food sellers as they draw near the emergency budget.

They added, "Whilst VAT on food across the board remains unlikely, we have seen increasing speculation that there could be some kind of 'fat tax', with VAT applied to unhealthy foods such as crisps and fizzy drinks".

However, Tesco should gain from increase in its worldwide business, with the Royal Bank of Scotland hoping to listen to an increase from enhancements in like-for-like sales, new space and from fresh foreign exchange progresses.

The house builder Bellway is to release a temporary management statement, and the incident should offer some positive acuity into housing market tendencies.

Difficult to Find Affordable Houses

As low as 100,000 houses to be built this year have been warned by the National Housing Federation (NHF) to the UK Government, and this will is the lowest number of houses built from nearly the past one hundred years.

House-building may ‘fall off a cliff’ according to the NHF, if funding cutbacks are seen along with a ‘catastrophic’ combination of planning system. A decline of 65% can be viewed in the total number of affordable homes available this year, accounting to be merely 20,390, and it’ll be the smallest number since 1990.

In order to prevent a housing supply crisis, the last Government has set up a mark of 250,000 new homes per annum as the bare minimum amount, by the year 2020. The new Housing Minister, Grant Schapps has been urged by David Orr, the NHF Chief Executive, to honor the house-building expenditure commitments.

Need to Reform UK’s Savings System

Keeping in mind the complexity of the present economic structure, the Government has decided to modify it all over again.

With new plans, citizens will be persuaded to invest more and to save their money for their future requirements and to meet the unforeseen risks.

“People should be able to access pensions before retirement”, said the Centre for Policy Studies, as part of a raft of proposals to reform the UK savings system.

The new system will offer the people to take the amount of their pension even before they retire which basically means that they will be allowed to withdraw 25% of the total amount of their pension and combine it with Individual Savings Account.

Earlier, the people were under an obligation to buy annuity when they attained the age of 75. But under the new system, they can withdraw their own belongings when they need them.

Another big noticeable change is that the annual limit for the children under the age of 16 to invest in mini-Isa has been reduced to £1,200.

Zurich Leaving UK for Lighter Tax Regime

It has been reported that the major insurance Company, Zurich is planning to shift to Ireland on order to reduce its tax bills.

This is not the first time that a Company is shifting to some other country because of the taxation problems. A survey conducted this year also stated that Britain’s leading Companies are leaving their country because of the lower tax regimes in other countries.

Not only Zurich, but many others have also planned to depart due to the taxes, paperwork, the cumbersome rules and regulations and also the bureaucracy.

Moreover, the Companies are obliged to pay 10% as Corporation Tax in Great Britain, as compared to 10% in Ireland.

The Company said, “Zurich Financial Services continues to explore ways to streamline its legal structure and optimize its capital efficiency and we have made no decisions about how this will be achieved within our life businesses”.

NCRF to Mark “Ride for Dad” on June 19

A fundraiser event for the patients of Prostate Cancer called “Ride for Dad”, has been schedule for June 19. It is initiative by Northern Cancer Research Foundation.

Tannys Laughren, NCRF Executive Director, said that every year, the event witnesses as many as 100 participations helping them in raising at least $20, 00030,000 of funds.

"We have lots of interest and a great committee that is spearheading this thing. And we had 13 bikes out for the proclamation Thursday evening”, he added.

Mayor, John Rodriguez announced that the June 14v to June 20 will be marked as Mayor John Rodriguez throughout the city.

This year’s event will be the 10th-annual ride. The funds raised in the event will be sent directly to patient care at the Regional Cancer Program in Greater Sudbury. The registration helpline for the event is: 523-4673 and the fee for the same have been fixed at $25 per head.

The fundraiser event has, till date, managed to raise an amount worth $261,000.

The organizers are looking forward for enormous participations, this year, with groups like Canadian Motorcycle Cruisers, Chariots of Light, Sudbury Wings, Southern Cruisers and Harley Owners Group coming in.

Oil Spill an Eye Opener for Ontario

Premier, Dalton McGuinty is revealed to be under the spot light concerning the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which is called to be a “wake-up call” for Ontario.

Thirty environmental, urban planning and health groups are reported to send a letter to Dalton McGuinty today, calling the Ontario's Premier to break the province of its addiction to oil.

The groups — including Earthroots, Greenpeace Canada, Sierra Club Ontario and the David Suzuki Foundation, believe that the detrimental oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should serve as a eye opener for Ontario and it should rise concerns to this menace.

They are calling that the Ontario Government should step forward and undertake measures in order to curb people’s dependence on oil so that the province can proceed towards cleaner energy methods, such as electric vehicles.

In addition, they urge that new laws and policies should be hammered by the Government in a view to ease the scenario.

Environmental Defense, one of the groups that signed the letter, claims that Ontario consumes almost 200 million barrels of oil every year, primarily for transportation purposes, and sends over $20 billion out of the province to purchase it.

Linden Lab to Remove 30% Employees

According to recent development, Linden Lab is going through "strategic restructuring". Linden Lab is a Company based in San Francisco and it produces virtual world Second Life. The Company revealed that the revamp will result in loss of job for its 30% employees.

The Company is planning to merge its product and engineering units into a single unit. There will also be other alterations in the structure of the Company like the renovation of its customer services team.

Mark Kingdon, CEO of Linden Lab, reveals that the Company has surfaced from a two year investment phase in which they devoted much time in improving the dependability and user experience on the whole. He further adds that the Company’s move of restructuring will be beneficial in making it more pleasurable and it will also be instrumental in attracting the customers.

According to Mr. Kingdon, it will also help the Company in investing money in transporting 3D to Web. This move will boost the income of the Company to a large extent.

Apple releases iPhone update

Apple has posted a 2.2 version update for the iPhone 3G and iPod Touch, which adds several features to both devices, as well as a host of security and stability improvements. The firmware upgrade adds the ability to download podcasts directly on the device, improves map applications, and fixes some bugs.

Users of the device will be able to use the Google street view function on the built-in Maps application for both handsets. In Street View, users can zoom and rotate using the multi-touch controls, but the iPhone lacks the Compass Mode that T-Mobile’s G1 sports.

The feature allows users to navigate city maps by equipping the maps with images taken from a specially-equipped vehicle. The Google Maps have been improved by integrating walking and public transportation directions, adjusting the user interface, and adding the option of sharing location via e-mail.

The updates will be offered when the user syncs the device with a Mac or PC. Users can obtain the update through both devices through iTunes. Till now, the feature had been missing from the player; and, the users were displeased as the company had blocked the App Store submissions which attempted to download podcasts.

Obama’s birth certificate controversy reaches Supreme Court

The controversy about the Hawaiian birth certificate of the President-elect Barack Obama - which raises questions about Obama's eligibility to take office next month - has reached the Supreme Court, which is likely to announce Monday whether it will consider the matter.

Even after the state of Hawaii vouched for the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate, the unusual fight is thriving outside the so-called mainstream media, in an environment increasingly influenced by the Internet.

The campaign challenging the legitimacy of Obama's 1961 birth certificate or the legality of his taking office is chronicled by WorldNetDaily, a popular, politically right-leaning site. Moreover, it appears that Peter Boyles - KHOW's morning drive time talk host - has taken up the mantle this issue; as have strong Obama opponents, like Jerome Corsi. In addition, lawyers in at least six states have argued Obama is not a natural-born citizen and cannot be president.

In an article on World Net Daily, Corsi contends that, in response to his requests for the Obama birth certificate, Linda Lingle, the Governor of Hawaii ordered the Obama birth certificate under seal, and ordered the state Health Department to refuse all press requests for the original documents.

The birth certificate on both the Obama and 'Fight the Smears' website does not reveal the name of the hospital at which Obama was born. In fact, to many it looks much more like a simple registration of birth, which Obama's mother could have applied for according to Hawaiian law, regardless of where Obama was actually born.

IOD Introduces New Guidelines for British Board Directors

Institute of Directors has introduced an instruction booklet, which will provide guidelines to the Board of Directors for manipulating their functions in the highly sensitive conditions, aroused in the country due to the volatile alterations incorporated in the Combined Code. The same has been renamed as the Corporation Governance Code.

The alterations have been introduced after the release of the review of David Walker’s baking predicament report, last year. The first directive ensures boardroom liability. It will be enforced by the end of this month.

The guidelines expect the Board to undergo elections every year. Director salary and shareholder relationships will be paid greater attention. Equality, as well as multiplicity of the genders will also be considered in the Boards. They will be asked to report performance analysis.

The new guidelines basically aim at helping the Directors in defining their functions as per the authoritarian pattern. It will determine the principles under the new code.

The handbook comprises case studies based in the experiences of the experts.

Dr. Roger Barker, the IoD’s Head of Corporate Governance, said that there is a need of efficient corporate administration throughout the country.

The door to luxury drive - Easy finance

There is no denying that the luxury drive in the Indian market surely comes on a cost and that too a hefty one. However, the finance companies are offering a host of economical deals for the prospective consumers. Though, the prices of many luxury vehicles has gone down as compared to the scenario a few years ago when all products came as imports and attracted huge taxes but still the luxury automotive products look as a hefty purchase.

As the target segment is the upper-class, both superbikes and top-end cars are currently operating at a lower rate of interest as compared to the mass products that are being sold in the country.

Ducati, Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki and Bajaj (which has a tie up with Kawasaki) are the companies that sell superbikes in the Indian market. Notably, Suzuki has launched close to 100 units of its Hayabusa and 80 units of its cruiser model in India since the superbikes made official inroads into the country.

Supermodels come “live” in iPhone

According to the recent updates the latest app of iPhone includes a compilation of supermodels.

To forbid any wrong indications accounted from the above statement it is essentially a feature that aids in aggregation of all the Twitter accounts of more than 100 "supermodels," including Gisele Bundchen and, err, Tyra Banks.

The app is promoted in the most exquisite way that states: "the SEXIEST, MOST BEAUTIFUL women in the world DIRECTLY to your iPhone."

Well this seems to be a thing for all those who wish to generously donate a part of their 99c of your hard-earned money.

Insurance

The business of insurance is related to the protection of the economic values of assets.Every asset has value.The asset would have been created through the efforts of the owner.The asset is valuable to the owner,he expects to get some benefits from it.It is a benefit because it meets some of his needs.The benefits may be an income or in some other form.

Sprint offer HTC EVO 4G Update

Sprint has pronounced today that it will proffer EVO 4G for its users pumped up with all new features.

It is believed that the upgraded features have been added with a help from exterior hands, that Sprint and other companies have incorporated aiding in altering the way the business runs.

Sprint has further stated that it has added an array of features especially keeping in mind the multimedia platform experience in the current 3G coverage places and this will prove to be a great experience in the upcoming 4G areas.

Apart from the above users can virtually feel the transmission of data in real time that will transform the EVO 4G into an entirely different handset when compared to its other rivals.

Tata Steel Sell

Sell Tata SteelStock market analyst Rajesh Jain of SMC Global Securities is of the view that investors can 'sell' Tata Steel stock when it is at Rs 462 with target of Rs 445.

According to analyst, the investors can sell the stock with stop loss of Rs 475.

Today, the stock opened at Rs 452.50 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 737 and a low of Rs 345 on BSE.

Current EPS is -48.57.

Tata Steel has got hold of additional equity stake in New Millennium Capital Corp for approx Rs 89.25 crore, thus raising its holding stake in the Canadian mining company to 27.4%.

Tata Steel declared that its arm Tata Steel Global Minerals Holdings purchased 14.2 million common shares in New Millennium for 1.40 Canadian dollars a piece.

The company said, "After completion of the private placement, Tata Steel holds an aggregate of 40,429,270 common shares, representing 27.4 per cent of the outstanding common shares of New Millennium Capital."

Tata Steel managing director HM Nerurkar stated that the company is delighted with its tactical investment in the mining company and hopes for advancing the "direct shipping ore (DSO) project".

McDonald's rise sales 4.8%

McDonald's Corporation said that it has seen its sales figures rise by 4.8 per cent in the month of May. This trend, said the company, was visible in the same stores across the world and this has exceeded the views of the analysts.

But despite this, the food chain giant has said that the weakening euro along with fluctuations in the foreign exchange rates is going to weigh on the earnings of the company, this year.

Not for the second quarter, though since the contribution of the euro zone is just about 25 per cent of the total operating income of McDonald's.

As per the company, the system-wide sales rose by 5.5 per cent. The currency change was 6.25 per cent which has not been considered in the calculations.

McDonald's has made some changes its menu cards. It has put a judicious mix of low-priced and premium priced items to be able to attract more customers.

Stop Loss of Rs 105 With Hold J P Associates

According to analyst, the investors can buy the stock with stop loss of Rs 105.

Today, the shares of the company opened at Rs 122 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The share price has seen a 52-week high of Rs 180.09 and a low of Rs 112 on BSE.

Stock market analyst Vijay Chopra is of the view that investors can buy Jaiprakash Associates Limited stock to achieve a short term target of Rs 150.

Current EPS & P/E ratio stood at 4.03 and 29.83 respectively.

Diversified company JP Associates has decided to make an investment of Rs 3,000 crore in the existing fiscal, mainly to augment cement capacity in a market rising in double-digits.

The company said that it will consider bidding for road ventures by NHAI plus two expressways it is constructing in UP.

Jaiprakash has interests in hydropower, construction, realty, cement and hospitality.

The company benefited over the last few years from a construction boom in Asia's third-biggest economic system to boost its road network and strengthen power generation capability.

It presently runs cement capacity of 19.1 million tonne and eyes to lift this to 29 million by March next year.

The company recorded a net profit for the financial year ended March 2010, whilst its total income surged 72.52%.

During the year ended March 2010, the company's total revenue stood at Rs 10316.04 crore as compared to Rs 5979.52 crore in March 2009.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee

Pranab Mukherjee, the Finance Minister, yesterday said that to discuss the issue of fuel deregulation, he would meet other cabinet ministers on Thursday to decide on the date for the next meeting.

The empowered group of ministers yesterday has deferred the decision of fuel deregulation.

Moreover, Mukherjee said that the decision on fuel prices would be taken very soon and there was no need to press the panic button due to the euro zone crisis.

The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, has postponed the decision on deregulating the price of petrol, as recommended by Kirit Parikh Committee.

The ministerial panel yesterday met but failed to decide on whether to allow oil marketing companies to set pump prices in tune with international trend or simply raise petrol and diesel prices to trim down the losses of state-run companies, as key members like Railway minister Mamata Banerjee, agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, power minister Sushilkumar Shinde and transport minister Kamal Nath could not attend the meeting on Monday. Thus, leaving oil marketing companies (OMCs) to bear the losses as international crude prices surged hovering around the $70/bbl mark.

In February this year, Kirit Parikh Committee in its report had suggested Petroleum Minister Murli Deora raise petrol prices by Rs 6 a litre, and LPG rates by Rs 100 a cylinder.

Gold dips from record levels to Rs 19,025

Losing Rs 45 to Rs 19,025 per ten grams, gold prices declined from their record levels in the national capital.

This is on emergence of profit selling by stockists influenced by a weakening global trend.

Meanwhile, the precious metal had increased to a record high of Rs 19,070 per ten grams on Saturday.

It turned bearish on a weakening global trend together with profit booking by stockists at existing levels.

Gold in overseas markets, however, normally sets the price trend in the domestic market and it declined by $5.90 to $1214.10 an ounce.

Moreover, the decline in demand from jewelers and retail customers at higher levels also put pressure on the precious metal''s prices.

Pure gold (99.9) declined by Rs 45 to Rs 19,025 per ten grams, while gold of 99.5 purity was being traded lower by the same margin at Rs 18,925 per ten grams.