As the miasma of the global economic downturn accelerates its pace, Indians abroad are worried about their future but still remain positive.
To shore up the tottering the US economy, President-elect Barack Obama and the Democrats are planning a new massive fiscal stimulus package that could run into as much as $700 billion over the next two years, rivalling the bailout sum Congress committed last month.
As US business magazine Forbes puts its, the deals being offered would not last forever as they would "evaporate" as the economy improves in the coming months. In its list of '10 Things To Buy Before the Economy Improves', the publication has named houses, diamonds, toys, cars, laptops and women's clothing, among others. Other goods and services which are part of the list are vacation, 'high-dividend stocks', television and furniture.
"If the government is going to borrow from the market to fill the fiscal deficit, then they are going to suck up all the money available in the banks and we will be crowded out," the new CII president Venu Srinivasan told reporters in New Delhi. Pitching for monetisation of the budget deficit, he said, "It means printing notes. Which means you have the risk of increasing inflation but at the same time you will keep the economy afloat".
The moot issue is whether the consumers have money to spend at a time when they have no jobs and income.
The number of companies invited sees a 50 per cent jump over last year.
The meltdown impact was clearly visible in October, when exports declined by 15 per cent. The government has set a target of $200 billion in the backdrop of $162 billion in 2007 08. However, several agencies like global consultancy firm Dun and Bradstreet have expressed doubts whether the growth momentum could be sustained.
However, bookings for 13 cars had been completed in India, Rod Wallace, Managing Director of Precision Cars India, official importer of the Porsche range of cars, told PTI in Chennai.
The financial crisis, which a year ago seemed to be localised in one part of the financial system in the US, has exploded into a systemic crisis
Coal India Ltd, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Bharat Heavy Electrical Ltd and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation were among the 15 top PSUs, which went about head hunting at the IIM-L. CIL and SAIL recruited 12 students each. "Out of the total of 267 IIM-L students graduating this year, PSUs recruited 65 students," IIM-L Placements Chairman Sushil Kumar told the media in Lucknow.
Nobel Laureate Joseph E Stiglitz had predicted the global financial crisis and talked about its impact on emerging economies like India and China three years ago. In an interview with Business Standard at his Manhattan residence, Stiglitz says the crisis will last a couple of years.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is slated to meet United States President Barack Obama in London on April 2 on the sidelines of the G-20 summit.
The issues concerning growth and Mid-Term Review of the 11th Plan came up for discussion at the first meeting of the newly constituted Planning Commission. The 11th Plan had set an average economic growth target of 9 per cent for 2007-12. Although the economy during 2007-08 expanded by 9 per cent, growth plummeted to 6.7 per cent during 2008-09 on account of the impact of the global crisis.
Outgoing United States Ambassador to India, David Mulford, believes that India can help stimulate the world economy in the wake of the global economic meltdown.Mulford observed that "Developing countries have tended to be recipients during times of difficulty, but this time, some of them may be stimulators and producers. That is an important thought to bear in mind when you are in the condition that the United States is today."
An interview with BMR partners and media specialists Nitin Atroley and Vivek Gupta
The average size of IPOs rose by nearly half in 2008 over 2007, though the financial meltdown may have scared away many from the primary capital market, bringing down the number of IPOs to about one-third, the Economic Survey said.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is likely to delay its Rajarhat campus in West Bengal, as part of a string of cost-management initiatives to cope with the pangs of the global meltdown.
The Tyre Industry is one of the industries that have been majorly affected by the global economic meltdown.
"We will continue to hire people as our growing business demands manpower," CMD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw told reporters while announcing the company's half-yearly results.
The United Progressive Alliance government will have to face a tough time during the extended session of Parliament beginning Friday with the Left parties determined to take it on for "dispensing with the Winter session to cater to its political needs and failure on fronts of communal violence, terrorism and uncontrolled price rise."
The ministry has provided bank-wise non-performing assets in housing, commercial real estate , personal loans, among others and has sought corrective action where the bad loans are high. Sources said that last month, the government swung into action and asked for data on delinquency rates from the public sector players which account for two-thirds of the banking business in the country.
JLR sees job cut if the situation does not improve.
Though affected by the current global economic meltdown, India has fared much better than other countries of the world, Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur said on Friday.
The Reserve Bank of India has said its inspection of ICICI Bank and its UK subsidiary has not revealed anything to cause alarm.
The global meltdown has significantly brought down the number of visitors from abroad to God's own country, prompting the government to now focus more on the domestic market.
Revival hopes of the diamond industry have been dashed as gems and jewellery manufacturers feel that little help has been provided to them in the Interim Budget for 2009-10.
The global financial meltdown may take a toll on gifting companies, with corporates likely to tighten their belts around their gifting spend on employees this ensuing festive season.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association, which had earlier opposed the measure, described it on Friday as 'disappointing'. It argued that this would prove to be counterproductive as it prevents the US companies to hire the best available global talent. The H-1B has mostly benefitted Indian techies.
As a result, they are still groping for answers. Should they downsize? But won't they be left without hands if the economy recovers in a couple of quarters? Should they focus on market share or cash management? How can shareholders' wealth be salvaged?
The government does not expect the stock markets to fall below the levels witnessed on Monday, which saw benchmark Sensex plunging by nearly 700 points during the intra-day trade.
"Since our savings rate is as high as 35 per cent. If all work together, we can achieve a growth rate of 8 to 9 per cent, even if the world economy does not improve," he said while winding up the debate on Motion of Thanks to the President's address to joint sitting of Parliament.
Here are some tried and tested methods to reduce the ambiguity in three specific question types.
Highly placed sources, who are closely monitoring the US situation, admitted that passing of the 123 Agreement by the US Congress could be hampered by the financial crisis or alternatively, it could lead to the process being passed with ease. Senior officials, however, made it clear that even if the 123 agreement was passed, it would not be signed by the prime minister during his Washington meeting with President Bush.
If you are an entrepreneur and apprehensive that the global market meltdown will strain your fund-raising plans, fear not. India-focused private equity and venture capital funds raised $7 billion (Rs 27,958 crore) in 2007, excluding real estate, last year. They had garnered a similar amount in the corresponding previous year, according to data from Venture Intelligence, a venture capital research company.
Out of the proposed 74 malls in key eight cities at the beginning of 2008, only 34 were delivered through the year, the study showed. Developers in the National Capital Region lagged the most with a supply of 4.7 million sq ft compared with the earlier target of 7.1 million sq ft. Developers may continue to restrict their supply, or go slow on retail space by a similar amount in 2009 across key major cities, the study showed.
The inflow of Non-Resident Indian deposits shot up to $3.99 billion at the end 2008-09 as against mere $179 million at the close of the previous year, according to Reserve Bank of India data.
It was not all that bright on the industry front in Tamil Nadu, one of the major industrial hubs in the country, towards 2008-end in the wake of the global meltdown, though the state government's pro-active actions fetched it Rs 37,000-crore (Rs 370 billion) investment commitments in the year.
Volatility in lending and deposit rates witnessed during the year is expected to end in 2009 with interest rates seen to be going down, due primarily to an easy monetary stance being pursued by the Reserve Bank of India to push growth.
Volatility in lending and deposit rates witnessed during the year is expected to end in 2009 with interest rates seen to be going down, due primarily to an easy monetary stance being pursued by the Reserve Bank of India to push growth.
Speaking on the current economic meltdown, RPG said that the global meldown would help India emerge to be a much stronger economy.
