Car prices set for 2-phase hike in 2010.

Carmakers are gearing up for a two-phase price hike after almost a year, thanks to increasing input costs and the need to switch to switch to stricter emission norms from April next. Prices of popular vehicles such as Mahindra Scorpio, Maruti Swift and Honda Civic may go up by Rs 10,000-20,000 within a month or so as the raw material prices have gone up by 10-15% and also the Japanese carmakers are concerned by the rise in yen valuation. “We are facing pressures to increase prices to keep our profit margins in healthy territory,” said Pawan Goenka, head of the automotive division at Mahindra & Mahindra. “Steel and other major metal suppliers are pressing for price increase from for some time. We’ll try to absorb it but some may have to be passed on to the customers,” added Mr Goenka who is also president of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers’ (SIAM). Maruti Suzuki, which is currently negotiating its supply contract, is expecting its raw material costs to be 5-7% higher in the secong half of the fiscal than the first half. “We are currently negotiating prices and final negotiations are yet to be concluded,” said S Maitra, Maruti’s managing executive officer (supply chain). Maruti and other Japanese carmakers such as Honda and Toyota are also keeping a tab at the recent fluctuations in the Japanese currency, which is at a 14-year high. A stronger yen will increase the import bill of these companies, which may lead to higher ex-showroom prices of imported vehicles like the Suzuki Grand Vitara and Honda CRV. “The recent changes in the Japanese yen is a cause of concern. If it continues unabated we will have to consider some price variation though nothing immediately is on the cards yet,” said Jnaneshwar Sen, vice-president (marketing) at Honda Siel Cars. These companies, however, may put off the price rise till the next year as carmakers traditionally offer high discount in December to clear off year-end inventories. Prices of cars were last hiked in January last. It will be followed by a second round of price hike before April, 2010, when stricter Bharati Stage IV norms will be applicable in big metros and Bharat Stage III in rest of the country. Each car upgrading to these norms will need an investment of Rs 5,000-15,000 on technology. The cost will be higher for bigger vehicles such as trucks and buses. Under the new norms, all the cars sold in 11 major cities including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, where over 65% of the new cars are sold, will switch over to the new BS IV emissions, while the rest of India will upgrade to the BS III norms.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

Rupee rallies on stocks rebound; $ fall.

The Indian rupee strengthened on Monday, pulling away from three-week lows hit on concerns about the Dubai debt crisis, as stronger Asiancurrencies and shares shares raised expectations of fund flows into the local market. At 10:15 a.m. (0445 GMT), the partially convertible rupee was at 46.39/40 per dollar, 0.5 per cent stronger than its close of 46.64/65 on Friday. "The rupee has rallied due to the global equities recovery and tracking weakness in the dollar index," the chief dealer with a large private sector bank said, predicting a range of 46.25-46.45 during the session. The index of the dollar against six majors was down 0.6 per cent. Most Asian currencies were stronger compared to the dollar. The dollar edged down against other major currencies on Monday, pausing from sharp gains made last week after the United Arab Emirates offered emergency assistance to banks in Dubai, soothing the market fears about a looming debt default. Indian shares opened up 0.65 per cent and quickly extended gains to more than 1.5 per cent. Market sentiment improved after many companies said they had only limited exposure to Dubai and on the rise in Asian stocks rose on hopes fallout from any debt default would be limited. Foreign portfolio buying of about more than $15 billion of stocks this year has helped the rupee rise about 12.5 per cent from a record low of 52.2 in early March. Dubai's debt crisis would not affect India much, but the government is keeping a close watch and will act to prevent any fallout, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Saturday. One-month offshore non-deliverable forward contracts were quoting at 46.36/46, little changed from the onshore spot rate.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

Telecom players differ over spectrum capping

NEW DELHI: Telecom operators are divided on the cap that should be imposed on the spectrum held by them in a particular service area. This debate which leads up to an open house with Trai next week is critical as it will mould the future of M&As in the telecom sector which has up to 14 operators per circle with an average holding of merely 5.7 MHz of GSM spectrum. While some companies have up to 10 MHz in a handful of circles, most are at one-third of the world average of roughly 17 MHz per operator. Another related development to these caps will be the spectrum transfer charge and rules under with companies can consolidate spectrum following M&As — which are currently restricted under the M&A guidelines of April 2008. While all operators concede there should be a cap, they have wide-ranging differences depending upon their position, current possession of spectrum and future needs. In response to the Trai consultation paper which is to decide the critical issue of spectrum allocation among telecom operators in India, the responses are divided between existing and well-entrenched GSM operators, dual technology operators providing both CDMA and GSM services, and new entrants who are yet to launch services after having been granted licences in 2008. Companies like Datacom, Unitech, Bharti, Reliance, Idea, and Aircel have argued in favour of a cap of 25% of the total commercial spectrum assigned in a service area irrespective of technology mix or spectrum band deployed. This also implies that they expect every circle to have no less than four operators at any given point in time post the consolidation that is expected over the next two years. MTNL wants a maximum cap of 15 MHz per operator in GSM spectrum, and 10 MHz per operator in CDMA spectrum. Etisalat and Tatas advocate a 12.4 MHz cap in GSM spectrum per operator. However, on the CDMA side, Etisalat is silent while Tatas seek a cap of 10 MHz per operator. Industry associations COAI and AUSPI have predictably followed the same tune as their members. AUSPI's position is consistent with Tatas — seeking a cap of 12.4 MHz in GSM and 10 MHz in CDMA, while COAI has gone with the vast majority of GSM operators who have sought a cap of 25% of total commercial spectrum available in a circle. Both Vodafone and BSNL have agreed to a cap but not given a specific number, while Vodafone has referred to setting the spectrum cap in the context of spectrum holdings of efficient international operators. After the open house, Trai will submit its recommendations to the telecom department, which will take a final call on the matter. It is likely that DoT's decision will come after the 3G auctions, which are expected in January-February 2010.
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PALLAVI SINGH

PGDM III SEM

The importance of asset allocation

Having an asset allocation plan is crucial to achieve your financial goals. In the long-term, it is the discipline with which you stick to your
asset allocation plan that will decide your returns. “The difference in returns between the best large-cap mutual fund and a fund that is ranked No.10 is too small to really bother me,” says Jaideep Hansraj, executive vice-president of Kotak Mahindra Bank. What makes the difference is the tendency among investors to be driven by greed and fear, and change the share of assets in their portfolio. So it may happen that an investor who wants to predominantly be in equity may end up with 80% of his investment in debt when the Sensex fell to 8500, and a conservative investor may end up holding 90% equity investments as a result of markets pushing up the value of his equity holdings. This indiscipline, may lead to returns dwindling in the long term, and reducing the ability of your portfolio meeting your financial goals. If you can’t approach a financial planner to determine your asset allocation for whatever reason, there are some mutual funds with a readymade solution. (See table.) The offerings from Templeton, Birla Sunlife and ICICI Prudential mutual fund help you invest as per a predetermined asset allocation. If you know your risk appetite, you can consider options from Birla Sunlife Asset Allocation funds or ICICI Prudential Advisor series funds.

BlackBerry Curve 8520 now available on Tata DOCOMO network for Rs 14,990

Tata DOCOMO today launched Blackberry Curve 8520 for its subscribers priced at Rs14,990/- offering features such as email, messaging, social networking and mobile Internet, as well as powerful multimedia features including a music and video player and camera with video recording.
Mr. Pradeep Dwivedi, Senior Vice President, Tata Teleservices Limited, said on the launch, “TATA DOCOMO recently rolled out its BlackBerry solution and has received an enthusiastic response. When we launched our BlackBerry services, we had promised our subscribers that we would bring them the best products and services. Living up to that brand promise, we are launching the stylish new BlackBerry Curve8520 smartphone for our customers. The major attraction of the BlackBerry Curve 8520 is that it brings the exceptional BlackBerry smartphone experience within the reach of a larger population.”
“The BlackBerry Curve 8520 is a sleek, stylish and approachable smartphone with a compelling mix of features. We believe this amazing new model, with its new trackpad navigation system and integrated multimedia features, will attract a broad range of mobile customers to the BlackBerry services offered on the Tata DOCOMO network,” said Ms Frenny Bawa, Vice President India, Research In Motion.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

All-in-one for all

HP has finally come out with an affordable All-in-One PC with the HP Pavilion MS200, its first non-touch option in the segment. The MS200 is a stylish, fully featured, one-piece PC where everything is tucked away behind the 18.5-inch diagonal 16:9 widescreen display. So, no more cable clutter or messy peripherals, just lots of space on the desk. The MS200 features an AMD dual-core processor for increased efficiency and speed and is Energy Star 5.0 qualified. The MS200 is available from Rs 36,990 onwards. HP has also announced two new TouchSmart models — the HP TouchSmart300 and HP TouchSmart600 priced Rs 59,990 and Rs 89,990, respectively.
A new view of India -VIEWSONIC is becoming serious about the India market and launched a wide range of its products here last week. While ViewSonic LCDs and projectors were available till now through resellers, the company now plans to open exclusive outlets for its products like the ViewBook, All-In-One PC, Mini PC and mediaplayers. The ViewBook, which looks strikingly like the MacBook, could be a winner with its Aluminum-Magnesium alloy enclosure, extendable battery life and other high performance features. Hope the company gets its pricing, yet unannounced, right. Another thing that caught our eye was the VPD 500 Mediaplayer with the 5” screen, 8 GB memory and HD output. The player, ideal for movie buffs, also supports ebooks.
SUDEEP SINGH
PGDM III SEM
SEC-B

World's top 20 business hotels

Hotels that combine service, technology and comfort have topped a list of the world's best business hotels with the winners offering their guests those added extras that can make all the difference to a trip.
Readers of travel magazine Travel + Leisure ranked hotels on a list of services and amenities to come up with their 20 top business hotels, part of the publication's annual World's Best survey.
Some offered free Internet access and a 24-hour business centre, some had rooftop pools, while one had an award-winning Gordon Ramsay restaurant. Free parking was also a plus.
Boston's The Eliot had touch-screen monitors for guests to order room service and print boarding passes. The Peninsula Hong Kong transported one guest in a Rolls Royce and treated her to tea upon arrival.
This list (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-best-business-hotels-2009/1) is below :
1. Palacio Duhau-Park Hyatt, Buenos Aires
2. Shangri-La's Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, Taipei
3. St. Regis, Shanghai
4. XV Beacon, Boston
5. Four Seasons Hotel, Hong Kong
6. The London West Hollywood, West Hollywood
7. Eliot Hotel, Boston
8. Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, Dallas
9. Sofitel Shanghai Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong, Shangai
10. Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong
11. Peninsula Hong Kong, Hong Kong
12. Pudong Shangri-La, Shanghai
13. Omni Mandalay Hotel at Las Colinas, Dallas
14. Intercontinental Buckhead, Atlanta
15. St Regis, Beijing
16. Peninsula Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills
17. Mandarin Oriental, New York
18. Conrad Centennial, Singapore
19. Four Seasons Hotel, Buenos Aires
20. Ritz-Carlton Central Park, New York.
Nitika
PGDM-3rd sem
sec-B.