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DLF stalls projects, retrenches staff
DLF, the country`s largest real estate company, today said that it has deferred several residential, hotel and commercial projects and retrenched an unspecified number of staff due to the lack of demand for housing.
DLF Chairman K P Singh said the real estate sector would witness massive job losses unless steps were taken to boost housing demand by reducing the rate of interest on home loans to around 7 per cent.
Singh said the real estate sector supports the livelihood of many people and stalled projects meant people will lose their jobs. He added that his company may have laid off some people, but did not give any numbers. Other developers like Unitech and Parsvnath Developers are also reported to have retrenched staff in the recent past.
Singh`s remarks, made on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum, come at a time when there are reports of real estate firms laying off employees, as part of their cost-cutting drive.
Developers have been facing liquidity crunch for over a year now. One of the reasons for this is the high risk weightage for bank loans to real estate and the ban on them from borrowing funds overseas.
However, the government has asked developers to slash prices of their projects to boost demand in the sector. Singh said the lack of demand has already led to lower prices.
Meanwhile, Crisil has lowered its rating on DLF`s non-convertible debenture programme and long-term bank facilities to AA-/Stable from AA/Stable. The rating agency said the revision was prompted by a weakening of the company`s debt protection measures and higher-than-expected gearings.
The weakening was on account of higher debt funding of receivables from DLF Assets (DAL) and increased payments made for land.
The rating agency said it may revise its outlook on DLF to `negative` if the receivables from DAL increase significantly beyond current levels. Conversely, the outlook may be revised to `positive` if there is a significant improvement in the company’s capital structure and debt protection measures.
Crisil`s rating derives support from the company’s policy of reducing its gearing to about 0.5 times. "These rating strengths are partially offset by the risks and cyclicality inherent to the real estate sector, DLF’s aggressive plans of diversification into non-real-estate businesses, and the high levels of receivables from DAL," said Crisil
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Job losses....
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sambala
Reliance Haryana SEZ, the company developing a 5,000-hectare special economic zone in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts of Haryana has retrenched some employees.
"We have discontinued or replaced certain contractual staff, total number not exceeding double digits, in the North India operations involved in activities under the discretionary cost head," a Reliance Industries spokesperson said in reply to an e-mailed query sent by Business Standard.
According to some employees, who claimed to have been retrenched, the number of laid-off people is much higher. However, the company denies this.
Reliance Haryana SEZ is a joint venture between Reliance Ventures and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
The lay-offs have come in the midst of similar measures being taken by other firms, mainly in the financial sector, which have been hit hard by the liquidity crunch and market meltdown.
Sources close to the development indicated that plans to develop the zone has been put on the back-burner temporarily.
According to an RIL spokesperson, the development work of the SEZ is yet to begin and the company is still procuring land.
The SEZ, which is a tax-free industrial enclave, was to be originally built in more than 10,000 hectares.
But in April 2007, following protests against land acquisition for certain zones in Maharashtra and West Bengal, an empowered group of ministers had put a maximum limit on the size of the zones, which were not to exceed 5,000 hectares.
Subsequently, the group decided to allow conditional relaxation to zones on a case-by-case basis. The RIL zone has been facing problems in completing land procurement process, as land owners in the area have been demanding more compensation.
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Reliance Haryana SEZ, the company developing a 5,000-hectare special economic zone in Gurgaon and Jhajjar districts of Haryana has retrenched some employees.
"We have discontinued or replaced certain contractual staff, total number not exceeding double digits, in the North India operations involved in activities under the discretionary cost head," a Reliance Industries spokesperson said in reply to an e-mailed query sent by Business Standard.
According to some employees, who claimed to have been retrenched, the number of laid-off people is much higher. However, the company denies this.
Reliance Haryana SEZ is a joint venture between Reliance Ventures and the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation.
The lay-offs have come in the midst of similar measures being taken by other firms, mainly in the financial sector, which have been hit hard by the liquidity crunch and market meltdown.
Sources close to the development indicated that plans to develop the zone has been put on the back-burner temporarily.
According to an RIL spokesperson, the development work of the SEZ is yet to begin and the company is still procuring land.
The SEZ, which is a tax-free industrial enclave, was to be originally built in more than 10,000 hectares.
But in April 2007, following protests against land acquisition for certain zones in Maharashtra and West Bengal, an empowered group of ministers had put a maximum limit on the size of the zones, which were not to exceed 5,000 hectares.
Subsequently, the group decided to allow conditional relaxation to zones on a case-by-case basis. The RIL zone has been facing problems in completing land procurement process, as land owners in the area have been demanding more compensation.
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
NEW DELHI: To arrest the high rate of attrition in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Government is working out a plan to allow recruitment of scientists on a “contract” basis instead of regular employment to augment its human resources.
The contract scheme is also aimed at attracting NRI scientists employed in research agencies abroad to DRDO, which at present has workforce of over 7,000 scientists.
“The Government is currently considering a proposal from the DRDO to allow recruitment of scientists on a five-year contract. This will help improve the manpower shortage levels in the scientific agency,” top DRDO officials told PTI on Tuesday. With DRD O reporting resignations from 785 scientists in the last three months, the attrition rate, officials admit, is quite high. The government had also stated that 1,159 junior level scientists had left the DRDO in the last five years. – PTI
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NEW DELHI: To arrest the high rate of attrition in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the Government is working out a plan to allow recruitment of scientists on a “contract” basis instead of regular employment to augment its human resources.
The contract scheme is also aimed at attracting NRI scientists employed in research agencies abroad to DRDO, which at present has workforce of over 7,000 scientists.
“The Government is currently considering a proposal from the DRDO to allow recruitment of scientists on a five-year contract. This will help improve the manpower shortage levels in the scientific agency,” top DRDO officials told PTI on Tuesday. With DRD O reporting resignations from 785 scientists in the last three months, the attrition rate, officials admit, is quite high. The government had also stated that 1,159 junior level scientists had left the DRDO in the last five years. – PTI
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
Dirty Jobs That Pay Well
Dealing with death, bodily fluids, and foot problems may not be the most pleasant experiences, but if your ick tolerance is pretty high, the pay for these jobs can make it worth getting your hands dirty.
Curious about how your own salary stacks up? Compare your salary with those of the eight jobs listed below.
1. Veterinarian
Median annual salary*: $73,621
Puppies and kittens are cute, but their bodily fluids? Not so much. Veterinarians diagnose and treat the dysfunctions and diseases of animals, but, according to Megan Lantz, registered veterinary technician at Northwest Veterinary Hospital in Seattle, sometimes working with animals can seem like a "flash flood of poop."
"A strong stomach is definitely needed in this field," Lantz says.
2. Waste Management Engineer
Median annual salary: $67,249
Waste is a thankfully nondescript way to refer to the materials that waste disposal managers have to think about and deal with every day. Whether it be garbage, hazardous substances or human waste, these brave individuals must devise ways to dispose of that waste or reduce its volume.
3. Trauma Surgeon
Median annual salary: $273,160
Trauma surgeons are exposed to plenty of blood and guts, while treating patients who have been critically injured, but Dr. John Morris, professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University, wouldn`t use the word "gross" to describe his job.
"When I see people who are severely injured, my response isn`t `that`s ugly.` I look at it as a challenge to the skills I`ve developed over the years."
4. Coroner
Median annual salary: $52,072
Death is a fact of life, but for people in this field, it`s also an integral part of every workday. Coroners investigate death to determine cause. They perform autopsies, conduct interviews, conduct pathological and toxicological analyses, and investigate circumstances of death. They may also testify at hearings and trials.
5. Certified Nurse Midwife
Median annual salary: $81,015
Babies are beautiful, but birth is another story. The sight of a baby emerging from its mother`s womb is both awe-inspiring and, let`s face it, a little gross. With home births on the rise, midwives, who oversee prenatal care as well as assist mothers with delivery, are in higher demand.
6. Podiatrist
Median annual salary: $118,665
For podiatrists, dealing with diseases and deformities of the foot is no sweat, but if feet gross you out or if you suffer from podophobia (the fear of feet), this job could give you the heebie jeebies.
7. Oil Drill Worker
Median annual salary: $55,806
With gas prices on the rise in the U.S., oil is certainly a booming industry. But, working in the oil fields can be a dirty, and sometimes dangerous, job. Drillers set up or operate a variety of drills to remove petroleum products from the earth and to find and remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
8. Gastroenterologist
Median annual salary: $239,622
Performing colonoscopies might not be your cup of tea, but for some, it`s a living. When Dr. Michael Kreines, gastroenterologist at the Ohio Gastroenterology & Liver Institute, was exploring specialties in medical school, he steered clear of gastroenterology. "It just seemed really unappealing," he says.
But as a resident, Kreines was taken under the wing of a gastroenterologist who showed him just how interesting the field could be. "We help people with a wide variety of intestinal and digestive issues that are actually quite interesting and challenging," says Kreines.
by Shanon Lyon, PayScale. com
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Dirty Jobs That Pay Well
Dealing with death, bodily fluids, and foot problems may not be the most pleasant experiences, but if your ick tolerance is pretty high, the pay for these jobs can make it worth getting your hands dirty.
Curious about how your own salary stacks up? Compare your salary with those of the eight jobs listed below.
1. Veterinarian
Median annual salary*: $73,621
Puppies and kittens are cute, but their bodily fluids? Not so much. Veterinarians diagnose and treat the dysfunctions and diseases of animals, but, according to Megan Lantz, registered veterinary technician at Northwest Veterinary Hospital in Seattle, sometimes working with animals can seem like a "flash flood of poop."
"A strong stomach is definitely needed in this field," Lantz says.
2. Waste Management Engineer
Median annual salary: $67,249
Waste is a thankfully nondescript way to refer to the materials that waste disposal managers have to think about and deal with every day. Whether it be garbage, hazardous substances or human waste, these brave individuals must devise ways to dispose of that waste or reduce its volume.
3. Trauma Surgeon
Median annual salary: $273,160
Trauma surgeons are exposed to plenty of blood and guts, while treating patients who have been critically injured, but Dr. John Morris, professor of surgery at Vanderbilt University, wouldn`t use the word "gross" to describe his job.
"When I see people who are severely injured, my response isn`t `that`s ugly.` I look at it as a challenge to the skills I`ve developed over the years."
4. Coroner
Median annual salary: $52,072
Death is a fact of life, but for people in this field, it`s also an integral part of every workday. Coroners investigate death to determine cause. They perform autopsies, conduct interviews, conduct pathological and toxicological analyses, and investigate circumstances of death. They may also testify at hearings and trials.
5. Certified Nurse Midwife
Median annual salary: $81,015
Babies are beautiful, but birth is another story. The sight of a baby emerging from its mother`s womb is both awe-inspiring and, let`s face it, a little gross. With home births on the rise, midwives, who oversee prenatal care as well as assist mothers with delivery, are in higher demand.
6. Podiatrist
Median annual salary: $118,665
For podiatrists, dealing with diseases and deformities of the foot is no sweat, but if feet gross you out or if you suffer from podophobia (the fear of feet), this job could give you the heebie jeebies.
7. Oil Drill Worker
Median annual salary: $55,806
With gas prices on the rise in the U.S., oil is certainly a booming industry. But, working in the oil fields can be a dirty, and sometimes dangerous, job. Drillers set up or operate a variety of drills to remove petroleum products from the earth and to find and remove core samples for testing during oil and gas exploration.
8. Gastroenterologist
Median annual salary: $239,622
Performing colonoscopies might not be your cup of tea, but for some, it`s a living. When Dr. Michael Kreines, gastroenterologist at the Ohio Gastroenterology & Liver Institute, was exploring specialties in medical school, he steered clear of gastroenterology. "It just seemed really unappealing," he says.
But as a resident, Kreines was taken under the wing of a gastroenterologist who showed him just how interesting the field could be. "We help people with a wide variety of intestinal and digestive issues that are actually quite interesting and challenging," says Kreines.
by Shanon Lyon, PayScale. com...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : marketman
Stories of pink slips and losing jobs abound among the Indian American community. In fact, this seems to be the only topic of conversation when two techies meet or at any of their social gatherings.
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Stories of pink slips and losing jobs abound among the Indian American community. In fact, this seems to be the only topic of conversation when two techies meet or at any of their social gatherings.
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
Deep Cuts Planned at Citi
Bank Will Cut 50,000 Jobs, Slash Expenses by 20%
NEW YORK -- Citigroup Inc. is cutting approximately 53,000 more jobs in the coming quarters as the banking giant struggles to steady itself after suffering massive losses from deteriorating debt.
The plans, posted on the company`s Web site, are being discussed by CEO Vikram Pandit at the company`s town hall meeting in New York Monday with employees.
The company said total headcount is being reduced by 20% from its peak of 375,000 at the end of 2007; the company had already announced in October that it was eliminating about 22,000 jobs from those levels.
Citigroup is also planning to reduce expenses by 20%, targeting 2009 expenses of $50 billion to $52 billion.
The New York-based bank has posted four straight quarterly losses, including a loss of $2.8 billion during the third quarter.
Shortly before the town hall meeting in New York, Citigroup Chairman Win Bischoff said at a business forum in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, that it would be irresponsible for Citi and other companies not to look at staffing in the event of a prolonged economic downturn.
"What all of us have done -- and perhaps injudiciously -- we`ve added a lot of people over … this very benign period," Mr. Bischoff said.
"If there is a reversion to the mean … those job losses will obviously fall particularly heavily on the financial sector," he added. "Certainly they will fall particularly heavily on London and New York."
In his comments to the Associated Press, Mr. Bischoff didn`t rule out the likelihood that Citi`s leaders would go without bonuses this year -- a move that would effectively amount to a substantial pay cut for the company`s executives.
"Watch this space," he said when asked about lost bonuses.
On Sunday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said seven top executives, including Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, opted out of receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008 amid the ongoing credit crisis.
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CII seeks big measures to combat slowdown
BS reported that CII has asked the India government to take a one time comprehensive measure fiscal and monetary instead of piecemeal steps to restore business and investor confidence. CII feels the scenario offers an opportunity to initiate bold measures like removing the foreign investment ceiling in organized retail.
Mr Chandrajit Banerjee director general of CII said that “We need a one time big hit measure to get out of this and restoring confidence would bring back economic activity in India.”
According to the CII, a large part of India’s GDP is accounted for by domestic spending and as long as this is kept strong with additional government spending, the growth momentum can be kept on track. The CII wants the Reserve Bank of India to reduce the repo rate, the cash reserve ratio and the statutory liquidity ratio at the same time. For CRR and repo, the industry body wants a 1.5 percentage point reduction to 3% and 6% respectively. It wants SLR at 22%.
On the fiscal front, it asked the government to set up an infrastructure facilitating and monitoring cell to speed up road and power projects and to allocate land for low cost housing. Mr Banerjee said that “Spending on infra projects could lift GDP by 2 percentage points.”
The CII said that Cenvat credit on capital goods should be increased to 100% in the first year itself from the present level of 50%. It has estimated Indian economy to register a growth rate of 7.4% to 7.8% in the current financial year as against 9% recorded in the previous fiscal ended March 2008.
A major portion of the lower growth rate is contributed by slowdown in manufacturing activities. But service, which contributes more than 50% to gross domestic product are expected to slowdown the least, growing at 9.5% to 10% in FY 2009 as against 10.8% last fiscal.
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
BJP charges govt with misleading people on growth figures
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday made light of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s claim that the impact of the global meltdown on the Indian economy would be ‘minimal’, and that it’d continue to grow at 7-7.5%, and maintained that the assertion was not backed by facts.
“While the economy is showing definite signs of a slowdown, retrenchments and layoffs were taking place in various sectors,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar, and cited the case of diamond-cutting industry to prove his point.
The BJP spokesman criticised the knee-jerk reactions of the government to revive the economy, and said that what was needed at this juncture was an “out-of-the-box” thinking.
The attack on the UPA government’s economic policies and the measures adopted by it to re-charge the economy was in keeping with the party’s stance that the prime minister and his economic managers had goofed up badly on the front, and that the ‘economy was being forced to pay a heavy price for their mismanagement’.
The assault on the UPA government comes three days ahead of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani’s scheduled meeting with industry bigwigs to get a feel of the situation staring the country and prepare an alternative road-map to get the economy moving again.
The principal opposition party has been very critical of the manner in which the Manmohan Singh government has addressed the situation. The BJP’s assault has been masterminded by former Union ministers Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie.
With the Indian economy facing the heat of the global slowdown, the three BJP leaders have in the recent past intensified their attack on the Congress-led government, going to the extent of blaming the economic managers for doggedly’ refusing to plug the loopholes.
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BJP charges govt with misleading people on growth figures
NEW DELHI: The BJP on Monday made light of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s claim that the impact of the global meltdown on the Indian economy would be ‘minimal’, and that it’d continue to grow at 7-7.5%, and maintained that the assertion was not backed by facts.
“While the economy is showing definite signs of a slowdown, retrenchments and layoffs were taking place in various sectors,” BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar, and cited the case of diamond-cutting industry to prove his point.
The BJP spokesman criticised the knee-jerk reactions of the government to revive the economy, and said that what was needed at this juncture was an “out-of-the-box” thinking.
The attack on the UPA government’s economic policies and the measures adopted by it to re-charge the economy was in keeping with the party’s stance that the prime minister and his economic managers had goofed up badly on the front, and that the ‘economy was being forced to pay a heavy price for their mismanagement’.
The assault on the UPA government comes three days ahead of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani’s scheduled meeting with industry bigwigs to get a feel of the situation staring the country and prepare an alternative road-map to get the economy moving again.
The principal opposition party has been very critical of the manner in which the Manmohan Singh government has addressed the situation. The BJP’s assault has been masterminded by former Union ministers Jaswant Singh, Yashwant Sinha and Arun Shourie.
With the Indian economy facing the heat of the global slowdown, the three BJP leaders have in the recent past intensified their attack on the Congress-led government, going to the extent of blaming the economic managers for doggedly’ refusing to plug the loopholes. ...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
And it was this underlying sentiment that Chidambaram sought to highlight while asking India Inc not to panic and assuring that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the central bank would take all necessary steps to minimise the impact of global crisis on India.
"The classic response to demand slowdown is to cut prices for the short-term," he told participating industrialists, while calling specifically upon airlines, realtors, automobile makers and consumer durables companies to lower prices to stimulate demand.
“All I ask is, there are enough people to spread gloom and doom. Just have your chin up, and in six-nine months, or maybe 12, we will be back to normal growth rates that we are used to.”
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And it was this underlying sentiment that Chidambaram sought to highlight while asking India Inc not to panic and assuring that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government and the central bank would take all necessary steps to minimise the impact of global crisis on India.
"The classic response to demand slowdown is to cut prices for the short-term," he told participating industrialists, while calling specifically upon airlines, realtors, automobile makers and consumer durables companies to lower prices to stimulate demand.
“All I ask is, there are enough people to spread gloom and doom. Just have your chin up, and in six-nine months, or maybe 12, we will be back to normal growth rates that we are used to.”
...
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
NEW DELHI: An underlying unease amid hope! This perhaps best describes the mood among the participants at this year`s India Economic Summit, which evidently lacked the high-profile attendance that the Davos, Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) had generally managed to draw in the past.
The ill-effects of a recession in the US and an overall global economic downturn weighed heavily in the minds of corporate leaders, even though many felt that India, with its high growth rate, even if slowing, was better equipped than many others to tide over the situation.
And this sentiment was best summed up by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, while speaking on “Risks to India` Economy in a Post-Crisis World” on the concluding of the three-day summit, now in its 24th edition, that began here Sunday.
“This recession threatens to be a longer and deeper recession affecting most industrialised countries and we in India are experiencing the spill-over effects of what is happening in advanced countries,” he said.
“While world output will decline - and to that extent affect our exports, affect some capital inflows, affect external credits - we must be able to quickly substitute or compensate for that by stimulating domestic demand and providing liquidity in the domestic market,” Chidambaram said.
“Let us assume that for another month or two there will be further bad news, but even then we will grow at a satisfactory growth rate. Next year we will bounce back to a much better growth rate.”
The Indian economy is predicted by various think tanks and the central bank to grow at between 7-8 percent this year.
But the corporate sector remained apprehensive, having to contend with a demand slowdown, mounting inventories, higher input costs, rising cost of borrowings, depreciating rupee, volatile capital markets, lower profits if not losses, and resisting the unpleasant task of job cuts.
“There is a crisis of confidence,” said K.V. Kamath, president of the event`s co-host, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and managing director of ICICI Bank, India`s largest in the private sector.
“There is an urgent need to boost public confidence in the fundamentals of the economy for a recovery to take place,” said Kamath, adding: “I am also the first to concede that there is a change of mood to the other end of the spectrum."
Last year, the mood was entirely different. The Indian economy was racing ahead with the nine-percent-plus growth, exports were booming, inflation was moderate, the markets were on an upswing and corporate India was rolling in profits.
As a result, this year`s event saw few participants talk about the need for the government to push ahead with reforms, the need to spruce up infrastructure or the need to liberalise foreign direct investment regime further.
Their focus was clear: The US economy was in recession, which had spilled over to some European counties as well, and that Japan, the world`s second largest economy, was now adding to the depressing news with a confirmed recession.
Yet, not all participants agreed with the gloom and doom theory being propagated by some stakeholders, especially in the backdrop of a 50-percent-plus fall in a key equity market index and falling corporate profits.
“I`m hearing concern expressed here about six percent growth. In the West, that growth would be considered quite fantastic," said James Quigley, chief executive of the US-based accounting giant Deloitte, among an estimated 700 delegates from 35 countries.
From the managing director of Asian Development Bank Rajat M. Nag to World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, and from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to India`s Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, all maintained that the Indian economy was resilient enough to tide over the crisis.
Cont.....
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NEW DELHI: An underlying unease amid hope! This perhaps best describes the mood among the participants at this year`s India Economic Summit, which evidently lacked the high-profile attendance that the Davos, Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) had generally managed to draw in the past.
The ill-effects of a recession in the US and an overall global economic downturn weighed heavily in the minds of corporate leaders, even though many felt that India, with its high growth rate, even if slowing, was better equipped than many others to tide over the situation.
And this sentiment was best summed up by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, while speaking on “Risks to India` Economy in a Post-Crisis World” on the concluding of the three-day summit, now in its 24th edition, that began here Sunday.
“This recession threatens to be a longer and deeper recession affecting most industrialised countries and we in India are experiencing the spill-over effects of what is happening in advanced countries,” he said.
“While world output will decline - and to that extent affect our exports, affect some capital inflows, affect external credits - we must be able to quickly substitute or compensate for that by stimulating domestic demand and providing liquidity in the domestic market,” Chidambaram said.
“Let us assume that for another month or two there will be further bad news, but even then we will grow at a satisfactory growth rate. Next year we will bounce back to a much better growth rate.”
The Indian economy is predicted by various think tanks and the central bank to grow at between 7-8 percent this year.
But the corporate sector remained apprehensive, having to contend with a demand slowdown, mounting inventories, higher input costs, rising cost of borrowings, depreciating rupee, volatile capital markets, lower profits if not losses, and resisting the unpleasant task of job cuts.
“There is a crisis of confidence,” said K.V. Kamath, president of the event`s co-host, the Confederation of Indian Industry, and managing director of ICICI Bank, India`s largest in the private sector.
“There is an urgent need to boost public confidence in the fundamentals of the economy for a recovery to take place,” said Kamath, adding: “I am also the first to concede that there is a change of mood to the other end of the spectrum."
Last year, the mood was entirely different. The Indian economy was racing ahead with the nine-percent-plus growth, exports were booming, inflation was moderate, the markets were on an upswing and corporate India was rolling in profits.
As a result, this year`s event saw few participants talk about the need for the government to push ahead with reforms, the need to spruce up infrastructure or the need to liberalise foreign direct investment regime further.
Their focus was clear: The US economy was in recession, which had spilled over to some European counties as well, and that Japan, the world`s second largest economy, was now adding to the depressing news with a confirmed recession.
Yet, not all participants agreed with the gloom and doom theory being propagated by some stakeholders, especially in the backdrop of a 50-percent-plus fall in a key equity market index and falling corporate profits.
“I`m hearing concern expressed here about six percent growth. In the West, that growth would be considered quite fantastic," said James Quigley, chief executive of the US-based accounting giant Deloitte, among an estimated 700 delegates from 35 countries.
From the managing director of Asian Development Bank Rajat M. Nag to World Economic Forum founder Klaus Schwab, and from Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to India`s Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, all maintained that the Indian economy was resilient enough to tide over the crisis.
Cont........
In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : sambala
India last bastion for high jobs growth
NEW DELHI: Bad times in the West may force companies to offshore more jobs to cheaper destinations like India, making it the last bastion for jobs growth, although US President-elect Barack Obama is vocally against outsourcing.
US-based staffing services firm Manpower, whose India business has grown 50% this year, sees some slowing down in ITeS and finance sectors in the short-term but growth would return by mid-summer when effects of stimulus packages announced by multiple countries start showing, its CEO Jeff Joerres said.
"In the global scenario India looks optimistic. Though the employment outlook looks slightly down but optimistic on a relative basis... we have to see how the wave hits the shores," he said.
However, companies that struggled to justify outsourcing in good times would find it easier to move jobs to low-cost destination citing savings, Joerres said.
Obama, in the run up to the presidential election, had spoken of ending tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas and give them to those investing at home.
Since the sub-prime credit crisis brewed into a global economic storm, there has been a 15-20% slowdown in jobs growth globally as companies see their bottom lines shrinking.
Besides India, the countries that look promising in terms of hiring are China, Middle East and East Europe. These countries are likely to report promising growth rate as they have a booming domestic market and also because the base is small, he said.
A survey by Manpower in September had ranked India as the most optimistic market for new jobs.
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we can see the market in all sectors comes below unbelivable lower level....
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Recovery in index heavyweight Reliance Industries triggered a recovery on the bourses from lower level in afternoon trade. The BSE 30-share Sensex was down 279.57 points, or 3%, recovering close to 140 points from the day`s low. Worries about the weakening domestic and global economy pulled the market down today, 18 November 2008. Political uncertainty due to ongoing state elections also weighed on the market.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram`s statement that the government will take steps to stimulate the economy provided only a temporary respite as a recovery from lower level in early trade from an initial slump following his comments, was short-lived with the Sensex tumbling 419.30 points in early afternoon trade.
Chidambaram today said the government will take steps to stimulate the domestic economy to compensate for the downside caused by the downturn in the world economy. He said the government may consider cutting excise duty on some items as a part of efforts to boost factory output. He, however, added that the country could miss its annual export target of $200 billion for this fiscal year as the slowdown in developed nations trims overseas demand.
India`s economy is slowing down after growing at an annual rate of 9% or more in the past three years. The economic growth slumped to 7.9% in the April-June 2008 quarter from 9.2% in the same period last year. The Reserve Bank of India has downgraded its growth forecast to 7.5% to 8% for the current financial year. Some private sector economists expect an even lower rate of growth.
Political uncertainty is also weighing on the bourses as assembly elections in five states have just begun. These polls are widely seen as a test of the popularity of the country`s main political parties viz. the Congress and the BJP, ahead of national elections in the first half of calendar year 2009. The results of these five states are expected on 8 December 2008.
Japan`s recession could last even longer than feared, the country`s economy minister warned today, 18 November 2008. Japan slid into its first recession in seven years in the third quarter as the financial crisis curbed demand for Japanese exports, data on Monday, 17 November 2008 showed.
Citigroup Inc, the No. 2 US bank, on Monday said it would cut 15% of its global workforce or 52,000 jobs, far more than had been expected.
World stocks were weak on concerns of a global recession. Trading in the US futures suggested Dow could slide 58 points at the opening bell. In Asia, Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and China were down by between 2.28% to 6.53%.
At 13:21 IST, the BSE 30-share Sensex was down 279.57 points, or 3%, to 9,009.05. The Sensex fell 419.30 points at the day`s low of 8,871.71 in early afternoon trade. At the day`s high of 9,169.05 hit in mid-morning trade, the Sensex fell 94.96 points.
The S&P CNX Nifty fell 71.35 points, or 2.55%, to 2,728.20.
The market breadth, indicating the overall health of the market, was weak. On BSE, 566 shares rose as compared with 1,735 that declined. 59 shares remained unchanged.
The BSE Mid-Cap index slipped 1.99% to 3,071.09 and the BSE Small-Cap index dipped 2.29% to 3,576.88. Both the indices outperformed the Sensex.
Though down 1.04% to Rs 1,132.25 on concerns a global slowdown would hit demand for petrochemicals, Reliance Industries (RIL), India`s largest private sector company by market capitalization and oil refiner, recovered from the day`s low of Rs 1,092.50
Tata Power Company (down 5.45% to Rs 685), ACC (down 5.96% to Rs 410.55), NTPC (down 5.36% to Rs 143), HDFC (down 6.07% to Rs 455), and NTPC (down 4.7% to Rs 1427) were the major losers from the Sensex pack.
Metal stocks declined on worries global economic slowdown would hit demand. Hindalco Industries, Sterlite Industries, Steel Authority of India, National aluminum Company fell by between 0.6% to 6.84%. India`s largest steel producer by sales Tata Steel rose 0.54% and was the lone gainer from the sensex pack.
IT stocks were down as weak ADRs offset a weaker rupee. India`s fourth largest IT exporter by sales Wipro lost 7.76% as ADR slipped 2.69%. India`s second largest IT exporter by sales Infosys slipped 4.69%, as ADR fell 1.17%. India`s third largest IT exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services fell 4.83% as ADR fell 0.91% on Monday, 17 November 2008. India`s largest IT exporter by sales Tata Consultancy Services was fell 4.86%.
The Indian rupee slipped nearly a percent on Tuesday morning as another sharp fall in shares added to concerns foreigners were likely to continue selling .The partially convertible rupee was at 49.67/70 per dollar, off a low of 49.80 but still well down from Monday`s close of 49.34/36. Weak rupee augurs well for the sector as IT firms earn most of their revenues from US in dollar terms.
India`s largest private sector bank by net profit ICICI Bank tumbled 6.79% on reports the bank halved its lending growth...
Tracked by: 0 Boarder
when up, look at sensex,when down look at pocket with pockmarks.sensex is just a number which numbs you.drumbeat,;...
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denfull of excuses when u go down & under,men ...
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India last bastion for high jobs growth
NEW DELHI: Bad times in the West may force companies to offshore more jobs to cheaper destinations like India, making it the last bastion for jobs growth, although US President-elect Barack Obama is vocally against outsourcing.
US-based staffing services firm Manpower, whose India business has grown 50% this year, sees some slowing down in ITeS and finance sectors in the short-term but growth would return by mid-summer when effects of stimulus packages announced by multiple countries start showing, its CEO Jeff Joerres said.
"In the global scenario India looks optimistic. Though the employment outlook looks slightly down but optimistic on a relative basis... we have to see how the wave hits the shores," he said.
However, companies that struggled to justify outsourcing in good times would find it easier to move jobs to low-cost destination citing savings, Joerres said.
Obama, in the run up to the presidential election, had spoken of ending tax breaks for companies that shift jobs overseas and give them to those investing at home.
Since the sub-prime credit crisis brewed into a global economic storm, there has been a 15-20% slowdown in jobs growth globally as companies see their bottom lines shrinking.
Besides India, the countries that look promising in terms of hiring are China, Middle East and East Europe. These countries are likely to report promising growth rate as they have a booming domestic market and also because the base is small, he said.
A survey by Manpower in September had ranked India as the most optimistic market for new jobs.
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In reply to:
Job losses....
Posted by : chchch
Sambala, In reference to the Citigroup Chairman`s statement, in the Indian context, don`t you think that it would be irresposible on the part of the Central Govt./Fin.Min. incase they agree for salary revision of bank employees leave alone job-cuts (since Prime Minister himself is against job-cuts in any industry in this financial turmoil and he is (indirectly)agreeable for reduced wages) just before Parliamentary elections?
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no., markets are now awaiting good senario....
