This is how Indian Economy is!!!!!!

India’s economy grew 5.3% during January-March (Q4), the eighth successive quarterly decline, and the slowest pace in nine years. For the full year, the economy grew 6.5%. The only hope in this gloomy outlook is that most economists now expect inflation to remain capped around current levels, with growth having fallen so sharply. All eyes are now on the Reserve Bank of India; expectations of the central bank cutting interest rates at its June 17 meeting have gone up with the latest dismal GDP number.

What is worrying economists is the slowdown in the services segment, which had been cushioning the decline in GDP growth.For the fourth quarter, services grew 7.9%, farm sector growth fell to 1.7%, manufacturing sector’s negative growth of 0.3% and construction sector growth fell to 4.8%. Reflecting slowdown in the economy, the growth rate of eight infrastructure sectors slowed down to 2.2 per cent in April because of poor performance of crude oil, natural gas, petroleum refinery products and fertilizers. RBI would find it difficult to reduce interest rates if inflation continued to remain high.The 30-share Sensex slipped 225 points to 16086 after the GDP figure was announced, but recouped losses soon after and is around 16123. The yield on 10-year government bond has fallen to 8.43%. These indicate that both the stock and bond markets are betting on the RBI reducing interest rates at its next meeting on June 17. India’s fiscal deficit during the 2011-12 fiscal year that ended in March was Rs 5,20,000 crore, or equivalent to 5.9% of India’s gross domestic product. GDP forecast for FY13 to 6.3-6.6% from around 7% by foreign brokerages but we are hopeful to reach it around 6.5%-7%.

 

Ybrant Digital as Microsoft’s sales house

Digital advertising market has grown in the recent years crossing the $166 million mark in 2011 and is expected to reach $273 million by 2013, according to ZenithOptimedia in its July 2011 report. Internet is increasingly being consumed in smaller towns and cities. In fact, of India’s total Internet population of 112 million, non-metro cities account for approximately 68 per cent, according to IAMAI, I-Cube.

Founded in 2000 and headquartered in India, Ybrant Digital holds offices in 20 countries, including US, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay, Mexico, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Ukraine, Serbia, Israel, China, India, and Australia, and with representatives or partners in Spain, Greece and Netherlands.Ybrant Digital chairman and CEO Suresh Reddy said, “Ybrant is delighted to provide businesses an option to advertise with premium media properties owned by Microsoft. Together with Microsoft we will ensure maximum ROI on the advertising rupee spent by our advertisers across the region.” in the backdrop of Microsoft’s announcement of appointment of Ybrant Digital Limited as the sales house for the cities outside Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore even as it plans to expand to Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Goa.Microsoft is also expecting their tie up with Ybrant digital will increase their online presence and growth.

 

Will PM give up public life soon?

On 28, May’12,  the Prime Minister’s Office had issued a clarification on allegations levelled by Team Anna with regard to the alleged corruption in allocation of coal blocks between 2006 and 2009. Reacting to the allegations, the PMO clarified its word saying the coal blocks were privatised to meet the growing demand that Coal India failed to meet.In a press release dated May 27, 2011, the PMO said that the delay occurred in changing the allocation process of coal blocks because of consensus-building. All this happened hours after senior Team Anna member, Justice Santosh Hegde, distanced himself from the allegations against the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, after Anna Hazare described Manmohan Singh as an honest man, his team, which had put the Prime Minister on a list of “corrupt ministers”, said the activist was not aware of the “whole matter” regarding the PM and they will apprise him about it.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday hit out at Team Anna saying the corruption allegations against him other ministers were irresponsible and unfortunate. The Prime Minister further said that he would give up his public life if the allegations made by Team Anna were proved.Talking to reporters on his way back from Myanmar, the Prime Minister said, “I will give up my public life if allegations are proved against me.”"It is unfortunate that irresponsible allegations relating to irregularities in allocation of coal blocks are being made without confirming facts,” said Singh.

May be Manmohan Singh has to give up public life soon, not because he is corrupted but because he tried to defend his corrupt ministers.

 

 

Greece & Iran tensions over crude prices

Despite recent gains, oil has fallen sharply this month with Brent down more than 12 percent. The front-month Brent contract is off about 16 percent from this year’s high above $128 reached at the beginning of March.Large speculators in crude oil futures and options markets have cut net long positions this month, easing back on assets deemed risky. Exchange data on Monday showed Brent net longs have been trimmed for three consecutive weeks. Investors say a key risk for the oil market is tension over Iran’s nuclear programme, which Washington and its allies believe is designed to produce an atomic weapon.A dispute between Iran and the West intensified over the weekend after Tehran refused to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit a nuclear site suspected of being used to develop nuclear weapons.

Oil rose above $107 per barrel on Monday as fears of a euro zone break-up receded, but Middle East oil supply worries resurfaced after minimal progress in talks over Iran’s nuclear program. Fears of a war in the Gulf that could threaten global oil supplies have returned after world powers failed to convince Iran last week to halt its most sensitive nuclear work.Tension between Iran and the West remains high ahead of more talks in Moscow next month to try to end the stand-off.The latest Greek opinion polls are being seen as a positive and a lack of progress in the Iranian talks have also helped lift the market

 

CRR cut proportional to banks interest rates

Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) is the portion of deposits which banks are required to keep with the Reserve Bank. On March 9, the central bank had cut CRR by 0.75% to 4.75%. In January, too, RBI had reduced CRR by 0.50% to ease liquidity position in market.Mid-quarter review of monetary policy 2012-13 is scheduled for June 18. So,  a cut in cash reserve ratio (CRR) will give a room to banks for lowering interest rates.”More the RBI cuts CRR, greater will be the ability of banks to reduce interest rates.

Since RBI had slashed CRR, the SBI reduced interest rates on car and education loans and is making deep cuts in lending to SME’s. Earlier to this the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has removed restrictions imposed on banks which earlier prevented lenders from levying penalty on customers for foreclosure of some term deposits and also released a notification that banks can formulate their own interest rate policies on foreclosure of term deposits for better asset-liability management. This may be an interesting issue for the markets too this month.

 

New champions of IPL V- KKR

We have a new IPL titlist. Inspired by Manvinder Bisla and Jacques Kallis’ divergent half-centuries in a cracker of a final at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Kolkata Knight Riders roared to their maiden IPL trophy with a memorably tense chase of 190 against the defending champions Chennai Super Kings.Kolkata’s chase of 191 started poorly, with Gambhir bowled in the opening over by Ben Hilfenhaus. Bisla took four boundaries off the fourth over bowled by Morkel, each slapped fiercely through the offside, and Kolkata had 36 on the board. R Ashwin was then driven for consecutive sixes, down the ground and over mid-on, and the chase was on. With the 50 up in the sixth over, Bisla accelerated further in the next by driving Dwayne Bravo for six over mid-off. MS Dhoni tried the left-arm spin of Shadab Jakati after the time-out, but Kallis greeted him with an edged four. Bisla reached his half-century in 27 balls in the same over, and in Bravo’s second he collected his fourth six.By the halfway mark, KKR were 100 for 1, meaning they needed 91 from 60 balls, and Bisla’s intensity and strike-rate did not relent. In Jakati’s second over, he hit two more fours, then collected a sixth six by slamming Ashwin over extra cover.

Needing nine from six balls, Shakib and Tiwary exchanged singles before Tiwary swung Bravo over short fine leg for four. Tiwary finished it with another pull through the same region, and then pumped his firsts in celebration as the adrenaline flowed and his team-mates raced from the dug-out in joy.There were three charismatic innings of contrasting styles on show at Chennai’s home ground and, ultimately, it was Bisla’s fluency and Kallis’ unflappability that helped KKR overcome the challenge

 

Soon at Rs.100/litre: Petrol Price of India

In one swift move, state-owned oil firms IOC , BPCL and HPCL hiked petrol price by Rs 6.28 per litre, effective midnight. Including sales tax, the hike adds up to Rs 7.50/litre. Surprisingly, this is a biggest hike in a single tranche and done so far immediate reactions are going to be severe, IOC is losing Rs 13.64 on per litre of diesel. From April 1 to May 31 Indian Oil has already lost Rs 10,680 crore under recovery on this and industry has already incurred a under recovery of Rs 20, 260 crore on diesel itself,” said PK Goyal, Director – Finance, IOC.

 Diesel clearly heads in under recovery followed by LPG, petrol and kerosene. Petrol prices get deregulated as per the government decision so it is just implementing the decision now, which should have been done much earlier. The hike was expected and definitely some correction was warranted in the prices of diesel as well as LPG also. The increase was on the cards with the rupee continuing its free fall against the US dollar, but the quantum of the hike took the country by surprise.It is based on the last 15 days average price of crude, petrol and the foreign exchange. Now, if there is any change in these three parameters, this should reflect in the next fortnight price that maybe announced. 

 

World’s top Brand again: Apple

Apple Inc., formerly Apple Computer, Inc., is an mnc that creates wide range of computer and electronic products. Apple’s core product lines are iPad, iPhone, iPod and Mac computer line-up. Founders Steve Jobs and  Steve Wozniak created Apple computer on April 1, 1976, with the release of the Apple I and incorporated the company on January 3, 1977, in California. For more than two decades, Apple Computer was predominantly a manufacturer of personal computers, but it faced unstable sales, low market share during the 1990s. Jobs, who had been ousted from the company in 1985, returned to become Apple’s CEO in 1996 after his company NeXT was bought by Apple Inc., and he brought with him a new corporate philosophy of recognizable products and simple design. With the introduction of the successful iPod in 2001, Apple established itself as a leader in the consumer electronics industry, dropping “Computer” from its name. The company is now also known for its iOS range of products. As of now, Apple is the largest technology firm in the world, with annual revenues of more than $60 billion.

With many changes starting from 1977 until now Apple is undergoing continuous upgradation of products which suit the generation needs. From Apple I computer to the iMac and iPod products there are lot of difficulties faced by the founders, many partnerships, contracts, mergers, even at one time Jobs was ousted from Apple, Apple launched IPO in 1980 and generated more money than any company since Ford motors in 1956, again Jobs became the CEO by Apple acquiring his own company NeXT. Until then Apple was in losses and with the reappointment of Jobs as CEO as he started restructuring company’s product line with the introduction of i products Apple till now is the biggest consumer electronic company.

Even now, eleven years after the introduction of revolutionary i products in market Apple has maintained its place as the world’s most valuable brand, leading a group of technology-related companies that dominate the top 10, according to a study published recently.The iPhone and iPad maker has boosted its brand value by 19% in the past year to USD 183 billion, or 37% of its market capitalization, according to the annual BrandZ study by leading brands and market-research agency Millward Brown.

 

Manmohan Singh, now and then…

Manmohan Singh  is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Congress party. He is a four-time MP from the Upper House of the Parliament and also lower house, representing the state of Assam. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014. Key legislation passed during his tenure include NREGA and the RTI act. Major initiatives include the National Rural Health Mission of India and the UIAI.

Unfortunately now Manmohan Singh’s personal ratings have ever been as down as the recent poll suggest. This poll survey was taken among many urban cities and places where Manmohan Singh previously had good reputation. Now more than 70% respondent in urban centers, where Manmohan Singh was seen to have a good reputation as an economic reformer, as an honest Prime Minister, believes that his performance is very poor, poor or average, which suggest that Manmohan Singh’s personal ratings are now even lower than that of the UPA and that is the worrying sign.

People not only want him now replaced, but they seem to have lost confidence and credibility of the Prime Minister is under question perhaps for the first time as an indecisive leader. It is because he has been in a bad company which not just spoiled his image also portrayed him as an inefficient and corrupt leader.

 

Ybrant to raise $ 100 million.

Ybrant Digital, a Hyderabad-based provider of digital marketing solutions, is planning to raise $100 million  through private equity ( PE ) or a qualified institutional placement (QIP) for backing the acquisition of a content company that can bring Internet traffic into its network 

Recently Ybrant made an acquisition with  Hyderabad-based, publicly-listed IT implementation and outsourcing services provider LGS Global Limited after which the combined entity will be called as Ybrant Digital Limited. Both the companies have defined a direction for the combined business – especially in the areas of digital marketing and digital media – including making the platforms built by Ybrant cloud-enabled using LGS’ expertise. They are in the process of developing specific apps and games so as to advertise in the apps and then run it across devices like laptops, desktops and mobiles.

Ybrant and LGS Global reported revenues of around $100 million (Rs 520 crore) each in the last financial year.  Both these combined companies are looking at a revenue of $350 million (Rs 1,820 crore) by the end of this financial year. Ybrant is even planning for 700 cr IPO.

source: http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ybrant-digital-to-raise-100-mn-via-pe-or-qip/457389/