Habil F Khorakiwala's exit as managing director of pharma major Wockhardt may have been somewhat inglorious but it is one he didn't deserve.
The Rs 3,290 crore (Rs 32.9 billion) Sun plans to sell Topamax in four strengths ranging from 25mg to 200mg, the combined market for which is estimated to be $2.5 billion. There is, of course, no litigation with the patent holder OrthoMcneill Janssen. The US market, which brings in about 40 per cent of Sun's consolidated sales and has driven revenues in the past few year could lose momentum.
As April Fool's Day draws closer, Windows XP and Windows 2000 users are being advised by security experts to brace themselves against the third variant of the deadly Conficker worm which may begin a new cycle of spreading spam, stealing data or carrying out online scams.
If you thought television channels in India have been hurt by a slowdown in companies' spend on advertisements, consider this: In three months, Indian viewers have seen the addition of four new channels and two-three channels are expected to debut later this year.
Judging by the actions of most companies, you wouldn't think they cared two hoots what shareholders thought or didn't think, says Shobhana Subramanian.
It's a digital prototype called "sixth sense" that is currently being evaluated by major companies like Microsoft, Google, Hewlett-Packard and Samsung. The brain behind this device is the 28-year-old Indian-born Pranav Mistry, a researcher at the Media Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
The Nano may ultimately be a winner but cannot turn around the company in the near term. For the present, Tata Motors continues to stare at a weak demand for both commercial vehicles as also cars. While CV volumes were lower by 51 per cent y-o-y in January 2009, compared with a fall of 46 per cent y-o-y in the December 2008 quarter, to revert to the mean could take a while given that the downturn in the economy persists.
"We have not lost a single customer in Asia, despite the news (its bankruptcy protection filing in Canada and the US)," said Francois Lancon, President Enterprise EMEA and Asia. He admits, though, that "what works for us (stickiness of clients) also works for our competitors," adding, "The slowing economy is helping us retain clients, since customers don't like taking big decisions like changing vendors during times of uncertainty."
L&T has spent around Rs 600 crore for the Satyam stake, leading to a de-rating of its stock. But the bigger worry seems to be a loss of momentum in order inflows; L&T had indicated that orders would increase by about 30 per cent in the current year; that target may be missed because of a delay on the part of ONGC in awarding contracts. Besides, a small part of the current order book, which is a robust Rs 69,000 crore, could see delays of between 8-10 months.
Touch screens, slide-out QWERTY keypads, dual SIM phones and even a transparent phone will soon make their way into your hands from the LG stable in 2009.
Ronnie Screwvala, the chairman and CEO of UTV Software Communications, opens the door of his plush Breach Candy apartment himself. Once seated in the comfortable surroundings, Screwvala makes no attempt to brush off the fact that the media and entertainment industry in which he operates has been hit by the slowdown.
If what Citi CEO Vikram Pandit is suggesting is true, namely that the bank is seeing a turnaround in its fortunes, there cannot be better news for the US' battered financial markets. After all, Citigroup is still a huge institution and if it can be put back on the rails, then there's hope for many others, says Shobhana Subramanian.
There could be some significant changes in motorcycles over the next few years says Shobhana Subramanian.
The company has posted good volumes despite keen competition. In fact volumes were higher than in the six months to September 2008 and that helped the company maintain market.
The Satyam board may present prospective bidders for the troubled Satyam Computer Services with operating statements for two quarters - October-December 2008 and January-March 2009 - to help them arrive at a decision.
For those with the money to spare and the need of a functional ultraportable notebook that can slip into a large coat pocket, this could be a winner. We guarantee that if you pull this out of your pocket at a meeting, it will definitely get you envious glances. Promising to give the Sony Vaio P competition is the HP Mini-Note 2133 that shares Sony's striking looks.
Global IT giant IBM is understood to be the front-runner to acquire Satyam Computer Solutions, a company it named as one of its main competitors in a filing to the New York Stock Exchange in February. The US major, said sources close to the developments, has begun discussions with Satyam's government-nominated board and expressed its desire to acquire a majority stake in the company. A team of investment bankers and lawyers from the US and Europe has been brought in.
Over the last six years close to Rs 96,000 crore (Rs 960 billion) has been mopped up through IPOs by nearly 300 companies while another 56 companies have picked up about Rs 47,000 crore (Rs 470 billion) from the equity market through follow-on issues.
The bid-pack for potential investors is ready and the government-appointed board has already sent it to the Company Law Board and Securities Exchange Board of India, according to sources close to the development.