With the US economy showing a positive annual growth rate of 3.3 per cent, the Indian IT industry - which gets over 50 per cent of its revenue from the US - is heaving a sigh of relief.
Dell says the credit goes to its campaign -- 'Take Your Own Path' -- launched in October, 2008. It was the first such campaign by Dell anywhere in the world as the company mainly relied on direct marketing earlier.
IT companies hire an average of 50 students each from engineering campuses and 20 students from management institutes. Headhunters confirm that many of the IT companies have given them mandates for hiring over the next couple of quarters. "We have seen an uptick in the hiring patterns among the IT firms. We ourselves have received good mandates from firms like Infosys and others.
Customers will be offered five free third-party withdrawals per month.
The newest CEO in the Tata group brings an aggressive pace and style to India's largest IT consultancy firm.
Dell's acquisition of Perot System for $3.9 billion is being seen by most analysts as a strategic call. This will give Dell an enlarged footprint. Both the companies will get a chance to diversify. Of course, it will make Dell a service powerhouse -- globally and in the country too.
A list of things you should watch out for in your credit card document
With the demand for credit expected to shoot up, private banks are bolstering core capital. Seven of them are in the process of raising a cumulative Rs 10,500 crore in equity to fund expansion, which, in some cases like Axis Bank's, includes entry into mutual fund, private equity and wealth management businesses.
Wachovia's global operations were taken over by Wells Fargo last year and the two banks are in the process of integrating their operations.
The company, which saw a pricing pressure of 5-6 per cent in the last two quarters, believes that most of the pricing negotiations are completed and about one-third of pricing pressure has been factored in the company's guidance. However, Shibulal does not rule out some tail-wind effect in this quarter as well.
The only thing that's clear is the October 15 deadline for the end of free third-party ATM use.
To implement the cap, banks will need to make various technological changes in the machines and that will take quite some time.
BP is apparently targeting a higher percentage of offshoring.
Having cleaned up their credit card portfolios and sensing a change in the economic environment, issuers such as SBI Cards, Standard Chartered and HSBC are seeing an increase in their credit card base at a marginal pace.
Venture capitalists and seed fund providers receive around 500-1,200 business plans every year. The trend continued even among the student fraternity. Venture firms such as Morpheus Venture Partners and Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship that work closely with students and incubator centres have seen a spurt in activity.
With increased awareness and concern over unexpected events like the 26/11 terror attack on Mumbai, Ganesh mandals (organisers of the Ganapati festival) are seeking higher insurance cover. For instance, Mumbai's most popular mandal, Lalbaughcha Raja Ganesh Mandal, has bought insurance worth Rs 4 crore (Rs 40 million).
Mushrooming app stores are offering a huge 70 per cent revenue to developers.
The free run at automated teller machines might end soon, with banks petitioning the Reserve Bank of India to put curbs on cash withdrawals at third-party ATMs. Representatives from the Indian Banks Association, who met central bank officials late last month to make a case, said RBI had accepted most of their suggestions and these are likely to come into effect soon.
Income from distribution of third-party products such as insurance policies and mutual fund schemes is already under pressure because of the unfavourable economic climate.
Experts believe it will take another three to five years for Indian IT firms to move to a non-linear business model.