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Bajaj Auto launches RE 60; Network 18 buys stake in ETV

by Jan 3, 2012

Confused and intimidated by the amount of news hurtling at you everyday? Well, to make your life easier, here’s a quick round-up of the major local and international business and economic news events.

The PMI numbers for manufacturing numbers in December came as a relief for India in the beginning of the new year. It was the biggest rise since April 2009. SO is Indian economy led to a recovery path? Read on.

Ratan Tata, on the other hand, thinks Indian economy is heading towards a slowdown. That was his new year message to his employees, in which he expressed caution and asked all group companies to review and moderate future projections, reported CNBC TV18. Read more.

RE-60. Screengrab/ibnlive.com

The New Year celebrations came a bit late on Dalal Street, as a strong rally in the stock market today added more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore to investor wealth. Here is the story.

And not  everyone is gloomy about India’s prospects in 2012. In an exclusive interview to CNBC TV-18, JP Morgan’s chief Asian and emerging equity strategist, Adrian Mowat, said that India actually has some pluses at the moment: equity valuations are looking good and inflation is expected to moderate. Read more.

The roller-coaster ride for Asian currencies, which saw only the yen and yuan post significant gains for the year against the US dollar, is set to continue in 2012. While Japan actively sought to stem the yen’s rise — drawing US criticism last week —China intervened to ensure the yuan ended the year at a new high. Here is the story.

Network 18 Media and Investments Ltd and TV18 Broadcast Ltd on Tuesday announced two rights issues of up to Rs 2,700 crore each to purchase significant interest in ETV’s various news and general entertainment channels. In the process, the Network 18 group will become debt-free with Rs 1700 cr coming in from Reliance Industries. Read on.

Bajaj Auto Ltd launched its first-ever four-wheeled vehicle on Tuesday, saying the RE60 would target commercial users and three-wheeled vehicle owners in India, and that production could involve Nissan and Renault. More on this here.

The ability of India’s top 500 companies to service debt has dipped to a five-year low due to high interest rates and a drop in operating profits, Crisil Research said in a note on Tuesday. Crisil’s study covered 420 companies, excluding banking and financial institutions and state-owned oil marketing companies. Here is more.

The Maharashtra government is planning to make it mandatory for real estate developers  to reserve 20 percent of area in a plot of more than 2,000 sq metres for affordable housing. Read on.

It’s a tough job market out there. And, sometimes, even being the best isn’t good enough. At least that’s what students graduating from the Indian Institutes of Management and the Indian School of Business — the country’s top management institutes — are learning the hard way. Here’s more on this.

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