Clearly, couples are spending more time and money in the malls and eating out rather than on flowers and cards. And the much-publicised hoopla on Valentine's Day, has given way to expensive gifts and eating out culture across major cities.
There seems to be no respite for primary markets as initial public offers (IPOs) continue to get a tepid response from investors. The latest example is Emaar MGF's mega IPO, which has not just been extended by five days, its price band has also been revised once again. The issue will now close on February 11, according to investment banking sources.
Public sector lenders Canara Bank, Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank have decided to lower interest rates on housing loans, preferring to keep their prime lending rates (PLRs) unchanged. ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K V Kamath has indicated that the country's second largest bank would review interest rates only in 2008-09.
The UK group bought a 52 per cent stake in the Indian company in May, which is now called Vodafone Essar. Mumbai-based Essar Group owns 33 per cent, with Asim Ghosh, Vodafone Essar managing director, and Indian businessman Analjit Singh owning the remaining 15 per cent.
The sell-off in the equity markets, especially by foreign institutional investors, could have a ripple effect across asset classes and adversely impact consumer spending.
Many banks have begun to work on plans to provide assistance to brokers to ensure they do not default on any payments amid a turbulent stock market, following the finance ministry's unofficial advice to them to explore ways of supporting market players. All the actions would be initiated within the prudential framework like adhering to the limit on capital market exposure, said a top executive of another PSB.
Cable operators body has demanded an equal footing with the DTH players.
Speaking at a press conference in Kolkata organised by TDSAT, N K Mangla, head of the regulatory department of Reliance Communication, said, "We plan to have a customer capacity of 8 million or 55 per cent of the population in 2008." Reliance also plans to cover 95 per cent of highways, 93 per cent of railways, 6,000 towns and five lakh villages in 2008. Currently, the company has 22,000 towers.
The group is set to become the second largest Indian corporate in terms of market value.
With domestic savings rising, there is strong case that they may; but, equally, it may be premature to underestimate the potency of foreign flows.
Legal and judicial reforms are required for the development of financial systems and to create a favourable environment for growth of entrepreneurship, says the initial recommendations of an Indo-American joint working group deliberating on how to drive entrepreneurial growth in India.
Bangalore-based software giant has teamed up with eminent cartoonist Mario Miranda to create an advertising campaign that will light up its recruitment brand. The Goa-based cartoonist will educate potential recruits about Wipro through his characters.
Indian television company NDTV is in advanced stages of negotiations with NBC Universal, a subsidiary of New York Stock Exchange-listed General Electric to sell between 25 and 30 per cent in its UK-based subsidiary NDTV Networks Plc.
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, M Damodaran, said on Wednesday public sector companies will have to comply with Clause 49 of the listing agreement for stock exchanges. However, few government-owned companies have met the Clause 49 stipulation (the table shows the state of play in some large government-owned companies).
A majority of the CEOs polled said the emerging political situation at the Centre could derail the pending economic reforms agenda (nuclear power, foreign direct investment in retail, etc).
Tata Motors is expected to unveil its Rs 1-lakh car, which has been the subject of much debate recently and is now being called the People's Car by the company. Maruti Suzuki will showcase two small cars, the A-Star and the Splash. Both these cars are headed for the Indian roads.
The government will soon announce a slew of tax incentives for infrastructure and technological upgrade in the TV and entertainment sector.
Communications Minister A Raja has made it clear to bureaucrats in his ministry that there is no question of any change in the entry fee to be paid by a company for getting a unified access service licence, which allows an operator to offer mobile and fixed line services. In an unusually strong hand-written noting (not the first time that the 42-year old lawyer turned politician has done so) on a file relating to licences and related issues, Raja castigated senior officials.
A study by economic think-tank Icrier (Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations) has found that any adverse impact of organised retail on mom-and-pop stores will wear off over a period of time. Organised retail, it has said, will not lead to job losses and will, in fact, raise farmers' earnings.
Many new players have challenged the offer by Bharti Airtel to pay Rs 2,650 crore (Rs 26.50 billion) to get a start-up GSM spectrum of 4.4 MHz. While some say they will up the ante and are planning to write to the government that they can offer more, others say the offer is meant to keep away new competitors.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances