Breaking Views News - Page 18

Baba, here's a Dummy's Guide to black money & tax havens

The present value of illegal financial flows held abroad is nearly $500 bn. That's nearly 35-40% of our GDP. Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare are on the right track about corruption and black money, but whether a fast will get the money back fast is anyone's guess.

MS shows off Windows 8, has 2 operating systems in one

Windows 8 is primarily meant for the tablet segment and not really suitable for the PC sector. It competes with Apple.

Bhushan Sr wants tax breaks; Bhushan Jr says otherwise

The father-and-son duo is at the forefront of the anti-corruption crusade. But in recent court cases that they lost, they were arguing differently on tax-breaks

With Mamata gone, it's time to abolish the Rail Ministry itself

Indian Railways is a commercial organisation caught in the entrails of big government. It needs to be downsized and broken up into several companies to make it efficient and serve the nation better.

Green energy stocks are in, but not all are goldmines

The Swiss and German decisions to close down all nuclear power plants may lead to other such closures elsewhere. If the idea spreads, it would spell bonanza for companies in the green energy space. A bubble in green stocks could build up, but investors must know how to ride it

Forget the beaches, Goa is about gambling now

Rising share prices and analysts point to further growth in the gambling business in Goa. Companies bet on middle class families.

Mobile technology will disrupt entire industries, says Stanford's Raj Singh

What makes mobile veteran Raj Singh passionate about entrepreneurial ideas - it's solving a problem. Firstpost spoke to the new Entrepreneur in Residence and the famed Stanford Research Institute, now SRI International.

Big is beautiful: Jaguar, not Nano, is Tata trump card

In 2008, the betting was that the Nano would change Tata Motors' fortunes and Jaguar Land Rover would bleed it. The results for 2010-11 show that it is exactly the other way round.

The report card: India Inc's hits and misses

Business leaders Firstpost spoke to expect the economic growth in India to moderate this year. Many expect challenges on the way. Here is an 'ear on the ground' summary of what they say.<br /><br />

Infosys receives court notice in US visa investigation

The US Department of Justice is investigating Infosys over alleged B1 visa fraud.

Why eClerx Services is a company pick

eClerx was the first KPO business to be listed in the BSE at the end of 2007. Their March 2011 results reports a healthy revenue and according to the CFO it is hungry for acquisition targets.

Cross-shoring: Are Americans taking Indian jobs?

The trend continues: Indian outsourcing companies are hiring more Americans. Cue the culture clashes!

It's cool to fail, says Pulse News' Akshay Kothari, one of the new kings of apps

One of the masterminds behind the go-to mobile news app talks about how he's benefited from mistakes and why it's good to not get what you want.

From the exec suite: Q&A with X PRIZE's Naveen Jain

The billionaire serial entrepreneur talks to Firstpost about how he'll support innovation to address India's most pressing problems. (With a podcast bonus)

The incredibly tangled web that Rajat Gupta wove

Seduced by wealth, former McKinsey managing director Rajat Gupta ran his own consulting firms while still on the company payroll.

RIL funnels money and business to Mukesh's private companies

Reliance Ports and Terminals received Rs 2,600 crore in 2010-11 from RIL. Reliance Gas Transportation and Infrastructure got Rs 652 crore as hire charges for the use of its pipelines to transport gas.

Govt is about to screw ONGC's minority shareholders - again

If the government is planning to ask ONGC to cough up more by way of subsidies to oil marketing companies, it will go against the interests of minority shareholders. It should then buy back its shares and re-nationalise ONGC

JSW could get aggressive on deals, hires Murari Rajan from Piramal Enterprises

JSW Steel has roped in Murari Rajan, former Executive Director at Piramal Healthcare, to head its M&A division. This move is likely to help the company consolidate its operations and Rajan's experience could help JSW Steel unlock value out of assets.

MTNL, BSNL bleed: Time to hang up?

With elections out of the way, the government is showing some firm intent to act. Within a few hours of the results, oil marketing companies went for a hike in petrol prices. FM Pranab Mukherjee followed it up on Sunday, saying the Empowered Group of Ministers would take a call on diesel, LPG and kerosene when it meets next week. Up next is the disinvestment of state-owned companies.

TiEcon 2011: What's luring VC dollars

The Talent, Ideas and Entrepreneurship Conference offers the inside scoop on startup trends and venture capital investments. A report on Day One. Also listen to takeaways from conference attendees.

SC did the right thing in the Bhopal curative petition

Contrary to reports that the Supreme Court's latest judgment is another body-blow to the victims' chances of getting justice, the apex court has in fact facilitated the legal procedure for imposing more severe punishment on the guilty. The ball is now back in Bhopal's lower courts.

Fail! Facebook's smear campaign against Google backfires

Facebook bungles an attempt to discredit Google over user privacy.

Why SKS's Dr Akula has become Drakula for many

SKS Microfinance is in the doghouse because it chose to finance the poor the capitalist way - by raising money from the market. While there is much to be said for doing it the NGO way or by becoming another Grameen Bank, for-profit microfinance should not be a no-no. It is the only quickly scalable model.