Market News from 15Aug2011 to 03Sep2011

Market News from 15Aug2011 to 03Sep2011

International:

--- Hewlett-Packard’s share price fell by 20 per cent after it announced that it wanted to buy UK’s Autonomy for $11.7 billion. HP further said it would sell its personal computer and tablet business.

--- Spain has cut property taxes by half to 4 per cent to boost the sagging housing market

--- Bank of America will cut 3,500 jobs during this quarter

--- UBS will cut 3,500 jobs

--- Warren Buffett is buying shares of Bank of America for $ 5 billion

--- Warrant Buffett has asked US lawmakers to raise taxes on the country’s superrich to help cut the budget deficit. He said, “My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice.” He argues that higher taxes for the rich will not discourage investment.

--- Steve Jobs steeped down as CEO of Apple Inc and he was replaced by Timothy Cook

--- Moody’s Investors Service has cut Japan’s government debt rating by one notch to Aa3 from Aa2

--- Japan has set aside $ 100 billion to stem the rise of Yen against the US dollar

--- Japan’s public debt is 229% of GDP in 2011 versus 220% in 2010

--- Gold price reached an all-time peak of $ 1,918 on 23 August

--- Google Inc said it would buy Motorola Mobility fro $ 12.5 billion which would give Google access to about 23,000 patents of Motorola

--- Gross public debt as a % of GDP for 2011: Australia 7, Malaysia 55.1, Pakistan 54.1, the Philippines 47, Thailand 43.7, Indonesia 25.4 and China 16.5

US Economy

--- Unemployment is very high at 9.1 per cent

--- Fiscal deficit is very high

--- Housing sector is weakening continuously

--- Some Republican party members are trying to blackmail the President on economic issues

--- US economy is experiencing high exports growth

--- Business investment in equipment and software is expanding

--- Economic growth since the 2007 financial crisis is lesser than expected

Indian Industry

--- Car sales in August month fell for Maruti Suzuki, Hyndai Motor India and Tata Motors recording a decline of 17%, 7% and 33% respectively, compared to the sales in the same month of last year

--- Two-wheeler sales in August month rose for Hero MotoCorp and TVS Motors, showing an increase of 19% and 14% respectively

--- KR Kamath, CMD of Punjab National Bank is opposing savings bank interest rate deregulation

--- Basel III norms are likely to erode banks’ profitability and may affect their return on equity

--- According to a report by Ernst & Young, public sector banks might together face a capital shortfall of Rs 1.07 lakh crore by 2015 as they have to meet Basel III norms from 2013 onwards

--- Enforcement Directorate is enquiring into alleged violation of FEMA norms by Bharti Airtel

--- The stock price of Everonn Education fell 20% after its MD P.Kishore was arrested by CBI on charges of bribing an income tax official to conceal income

--- BP completed the acquisition of 30% stake in 21 oil and gas production sharing contracts operated by Reliance Industries

Stock Indices

--- Heavy selling pushed down Sensex on 26 August 2011 with Sensex ending at 15,849 for the day

--- On 29 August 2011, NSE launched derivatives trading on S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average

--- Coal India Limited will replace Reliance Capital in the NSE’s Nifty 50 index from 10^th October

--- On 24 August, Coal India had fallen to third rank in market capitalization behind Reliance Industries and ONGC. Coal India dethroned RIL as the India’s most valued firm on 17 August. Coal India could hold the top slot only for a week or so.

Macro Picture

--- India’s current account deficit fell to 2.6% of the GDP in 2010-11 from 2.8% in 2009-10, while the capital account surplus fell to 3.5% in 2010-11 from 3.9% in 2009-10

--- India’s gross public debt to GDP ratio dipped to 66.2% in 2011 from 75.8% in 2007

--- HSBC’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for India fell to 52.6 in August from 53.6 in July . Lower exports growth is responsible for the fall in PMI. The PMI reflects acquisition of goods and services based on a survey of over 500 companies.

--- The micro challenges for India are healthcare, malnutrition, hunger, poverty and illiteracy

--- India Inc’s foreign borrowings thro FCCBs and ECBs rose to $12.2 billion in  April-July 2011   against $ 6.5 billion during the same period of last year

--- A Parliamentary panel has asked the Government of India to ensure a minimum assured/guaranteed return to subscribers of the New Pension System (NPS) of the PFRDA

Tablets usage

--- Lawyers for reading charge sheets

--- All MPs in the Indian Parliament will get Tablets

--- Pilots for storing flight manuals

--- Bharti Airtel’s boardroom is paperless with all 16 board members being given tablets

--- Property developers for marketing

--- Restaurants as a replacement for menu cards

--- Sportsmen for their training

Compiled by: Rama Krishna Vadlamudi, Hyderabad

www.ramakrishnavadlamudi.blogspot.com