Sensex spurts 692 points in global rally

The market surged today as software shares spurted ahead of Q3 December 2007 earnings reporting season. Strong global cues also boosted the sentiments. Bharti Airtel spurted. Reliance Industries edged higher. Reliance Energy hit all time high. The market breadth was strong. 27 out of 30 stock from the Sensex pack were in green.

A stronger-than-expected US consumer spending calmed fears the world's top economy was heading into a recession. The market also cheered a comfortable victory for Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Gujarat state election, as it helped lessen worries that the ruling Congress party could call an early national election.

In a spectacular victory, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) got an absolute majority in the Gujarat assembly elections capturing power for the fourth straight time propelled by Chief Minister Narendra Modi who gets a third term in office. The BJP got 117 seats, just five short of a two-thirds majority in a house of 182. The Congress, whose earlier tally was 51, got 62 seats marginally improving its position over 2002 elections. Others have got three seats.

The FTSE 100 index in UK was up 0.40%. Asian markets, which opened before Indian market, were firm.

The 30-share BSE Sensex rose 691.55 points or 3.61% to 19,854.12. Sensex hit a high of 19,879. At day's high, the Sensex gained of 716.43 points.

The broader CNX S&P Nifty rose 218.60 points or 3.79% to 5985.10.

The BSE Mid-Cap index rose 2.06% to 9,211.71. The BSE Small-Cap index climbed 1.42% to 11,980.57. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex.

The market breadth was strong. On BSE, 1966 shares advanced as compared to 941 that declined. 30 shares were unchanged.

BSE clocked a turnover of Rs 5657 crore, compared to Thursday (20 December 2007)'s Rs 6,259.25 crore.

Nifty December 2007 futures were at 6009.50, a premium of 24.4 points as compared to the spot closing of 5985.10.

The NSE's futures & options (F&O) segment turnover was Rs 80,577.10 crore, which was higher than Rs 73,067.55 crore on Thursday, 20 December 2007.

India's largest private sector firm by market capitalization & oil refiner Reliance Industries rose 2.70% to Rs 2788.05, off day's low of Rs 2714.

India’s largest dedicated housing financing firm by operating income Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) soared 6.33% to Rs 2897.35.

India’s largest real estate firm by market capitalisation DLF rose 1.08% to Rs 971.65 on reports the company has received regulatory approval to launch the initial public offer of DLF Offices Trust in Singapore for raising about $1.5 billion. The IPO of DLF Offices Trust, a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) of K P Singh-promoted DLF Assets, is expected to come in January next year, the reports added.

India's largest listed cellular service provider by sales Bharti Airtel gained 6.07% to Rs 970.15. As per reports, Bharti Enterprises may reportedly acquire Big Apple, the Delhi-based supermarket chain with 65 stores.

The BSE Bankex rose 3.38% to 11,101.74. It underperformed the Sensex. India’s largest private sector bank by assets ICICI Bank rose 4.40% to Rs 1207.90. Recently, CLSA gave a buy rating on the stock with a price target of Rs 1,400.

Punjab National Bank soared 6.53% to Rs 661.75, Indian Overseas Bank jumped 5.69% to Rs 174.60, Oriental bank of Commerce spurted 3.66% to Rs 261.95, Bank of Baroda rose 2.92% to Rs 415.70 and HDFC Bank gained 2.89% to Rs 1694.35.

IT stocks climbed on hopes the US economy may avoid a recession. The BSE IT index 6.04% to 4,581.61. It outperformed the Sensex. India's second largest software exporter by sales Infosys Technologies soared 6.63% to Rs 1810.90.

India’s third largest software exporter by sales Wipro soared 8.86% to Rs 535.30 on reports it may bid for France's Capgemini by the end of January 2008 in a deal valuing the latter at around $7 billion.

Satyam Computer Service gained 6.28% to Rs 454.55, TCS rose 6.07% to Rs 1108.70 and HCL Technologies 5.39% to Rs 327.45. Indian software firms derive more than half of their revenue in dollar terms.

Select PSU stocks gained on reports the government plans to ask blue-chip public sector units (PSUs) to issue bonus shares, as their reserves and surplus have increased to several times their paid-up capital. The BSE PSU index rose 2.21% to 9,722.81. It underperformed the Sensex.

GAIL (India) surged 9.01% to Rs 522.75, ONGC rose 4.75% to Rs 1,247.40, Bharat Heavy Electricals climbed 5.08% to Rs 2,489.25, HPCL rose 2.33% to Rs 318.50 and BPCL gained 4.36% to Rs 450.85.

The BSE Power index rose 3.37% to 4,353.21. It underperformed the Sensex. Areva T&D surged 10.50% to Rs 2479.15, Reliance Energy jumped 6.14% to Rs 2058.90, Tata Power Spurted 3.23% to Rs 1326.10, CESC rose 3.16% to Rs 602.90 and NTPC gained 2.99% to Rs 236.25.

The BSE Metal index rose 3% to 18,820.79. It underperformed the Sensex. Jindal Saw jumped 6.93% to Rs 1014.95, National Aluminum Company (Nalco) rose 5.49% to Rs 445.50, Tata Steel rose 4.57% to Rs 862.50, Sterlite Industries rose 4.56% to Rs 1000.40 and Steel Authority of India rose 1.59% to Rs 268.45.

Two-wheeler maker TVS Motor Company gained 1.94% to Rs 71.10 on reports the Madras high court has suspended an interim order restraining TVS Motor from booking or selling its recently launched 125-cc bike 'Flame'. The bench posted the case to 4 January and 5 January 2008, for further hearing of all the petitions.

Automobile tyre maker Apollo Tyres gained 3.90% to Rs 49.25 on reports that it is close to acquiring a South East Asian tyre maker. The acquisition would be finalised early next year.

Construction firm Nagarjuna Construction Company jumped 5.51% to Rs 339.75 after it bagged an order worth about Rs 570 crore order from the Government of Oman for Wadi Adai Al Amerat road project.

India's top tractor maker by sales Mahindra & Mahindra jumped 4.85% to Rs 823.55 on reports it is in talks with Renault to assemble and market its utility vehicle Scorpio in US market.

The largest engineering conglomerate in south east Asia Larsen & Toubro rose 2.63% to Rs 4088.70 on reports it has floated a power generation firm Larsen & Toubro Power Development and is planning to generate 5,000 megawatt in the next five years.

India's largest wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy gained 3.79% to Rs 1906.30 after the company said it has secured an order from ONGC, India's leading oil & gas exploration & production company for 51 megawatt of wind turbine capacity.

Info Edge India rose 3.30% to Rs 1334.20 after the company said its board had approved raising the foreign fund limit to 40% of paid-up capital from 24% earlier. The board also approved raising Rs 500 crore through various means.

Speciality chemicals maker Jayant Agro Organics rose 2.23% to Rs 110.10 after the company said its board approved issuing 6 lakh shares to Japan's Itoh Oil Chemicals Company at Rs 105 each. The board also approved raising up to $20 million through foreign currency convertible bonds. The company will also issue 1.3 million warrants to promoters and 4 lakh warrants to public at Rs 105 each.

Industrial gas equipment maker BOC India gained 1.31% to Rs 193.95 on reports that the firm has signed a deal with a real estate firm to develop its property at Santhanagar, Hyderabad.

Engineering firm Gujarat Apollo Industries jumped 3.12% to Rs 327.60 on reports the management of the company has concluded the negotiations for the disinvestment of its 49% holding in Johnson Screens (India), a joint venture company with Johnson Screens, USA (A Weatherford company).

IFCI clocked the highest turnover of Rs 300.54 crore on BSE. Reliance Energy (Rs 242.95 crore), Mundra Port & Special Economic Zone (Rs 143.35 crore), Reliance Industries (Rs 131.91 crore) and Reliance Petroleum (Rs 130.55 crore), were the other turnover toppers on BSE in that order.

IFCI clocked the highest volumes of 3.81 crore shares on BSE. Bellary Steels & Alloys (2.42 crore shares), Ispat Industries (1.34 crore shares), IKF Technologies (1.33 crore shares) and Kashyap Technologies (1.08 crore shares), were the other volume toppers on BSE in that order.

Asian stocks edged higher today, 19 December 2007, tracking overnight gain in US stocks. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and China were up by between 1.07% to 2.60%.

US markets ended higher on Friday, 21 December 2007, led by technology and energy stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 205 points at 13451. The Nasdaq Composite index advanced 51 points to 2692, and the S&P 500 index rose 24 points at 1484.

Crude oil for February delivery traded 9 cents lower at $93.22 a barrel in New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading.

The market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Thursday, 20 December 2007, cleared proposal to allow short selling by institutional investors. In order to provide a mechanism for borrowing of securities to enable settlement of securities sold short, it has also been decided to put in place a full-fledged securities lending and borrowing (SLB) scheme for all market participants in the Indian securities market, Sebi said.

Naked short selling will not be permitted in the Indian securities market and accordingly, all investors would be required to mandatorily honour their obligation of delivering the securities at the time of settlement, Sebi said.

Annual inflation, based on the wholesale price index (WPI), rose 3.65% in the week ended 8 December 2007, lower than previous week's 3.75% rise, data released by the government during trading hours on Thursday, 20 December 2007 showed.

UK gamers spend £1.5bn on titles

UK gamers have spent a record-breaking £1.52bn on titles in 2007, up 25% on last year and with two weeks of sales yet to be counted. Sales of video games in the UK are now at an all-time high, with more than 78 million titles sold, buoyed by new hardware and the success of the Wii. Last week more than £87.9m worth of games were sold, setting a new record. Paul Jackson, director general of industry body Elspa, said games were now truly mass market. Videogaming is enjoyed by everyone, young and old, male and female, he said. The games industry has been enjoying critical and commercial success in recent months, with a plethora of titles heralding what has been described as a golden age for the industry. Games like Super Mario Galaxy, Bioshock, Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 have won numerous awards and received praise from reviewers and gamers alike. More than 11 million consoles were sold in the third quarter of the year, up 33% on last year as consumers flock to new machines, like the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Games on consoles now account for 79% of all software sales.

Aviva to open four branches in Gujarat

Aviva Life Insurance, planning to double its sales force next year in western India, will set up four new branches in Gujarat in 2008 and foray into bancassurance tie-ups with cooperative banks and others to aim new customers. Last year, Aviva unveiled 23 new branches, taking the total number to 50 branches covering Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Goa. It now has plans to double its field force capacity from the current 14,000 financial planning advisors (FPA) in this region. Aviva is also present in over 505 locations through its existing bancassurance partnerships in western India. The company is aiming youth between 22 and 30 years of age for expansion of its market.

Bajaj Allianz sets up hub centre

Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company has set up a hub centre exclusively for a regional rural bank, at Dharwad. The Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) said here on Dec 20 that a hub center exclusively for a regional rural bank is the first of its kind in the country. The Dharwad-headquartered KVGB is a regional rural bank sponsored by Syndicate Bank. Various policies of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company will be available in the shortest time at the branches of KVGB. The opening of hub centre is hoped to accelerate the disposal of proposals. The bank had already brought 20,000 people under the insurance fold.

Tatas ask Orient Express Hotels to apologise

Taj Hotels (Indian Hotels Company of Tata Group) has demanded an immediate apology from US-based Orient Express Hotels (OEH) for what it said was misinformation and libellous language contained in a recent letter by OEH President & CEO, Mr Paul White, turning town the Indian company''s request for alliance negotiations. Mr White''s letter had said that that OEH did not wish to be involved in an attempt to improve the performance of Taj''s non-Indian properties; and that an association with Taj''s brands and properties would result in a decrease of OEH brands and erosion in its RevPar premiums. The Indian company''s letter supplied figures to show that on financial parameters, it compared better against OEH.

OEH''s average room rate was meaningfully below those of Taj Hotels properties at $302, against $383 for Taj. Taj Hotels had acquired a 10 per cent stake in OEH in September this year, increasing it to 11.5 per cent later only to have a serious and credible foundation for discussions with the OEH board, the letter said: they acted in the mistaken belief that your Board recognised its fiduciary duties and would act in a responsible manner to begin a dialogue with them.

Indian aviation industry flies high

India''s crowded skies saw the first wave of consolidation as some airlines merged and others gobbled up a rival to gain market share and cut losses during the year 2007 that was also marked by a rapid increase in air travellers, infrastructure hurdles and addition of new planes.Domestic passenger traffic soared by almost 40 per cent this year. This prompted nearly all the airlines to place orders for buying new aircraft, undeterred by the fact that they posted combined losses of about Rs 2,000 crore largely on account of rising fuel costs and payments of aircraft.

Indian carriers have inducted about 150 aircraft in the past two years, taking the total number of planes with them to more than 310. They will be adding close to 500 aircraft over the next few years to expand operations. The increase in the number of planes, coupled with more foreign flights, put immense pressure on the hard-pressed aviation infrastructure. This forced the Civil Aviation Ministry to start working on a policy to encourage private or merchant airports, besides expediting airport modernisation works in Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities.

The Airports Authority of India also started work on 35 non-metro airports, and called for bids for developing the city-side of these airports. Government will also set up an Airport Economic Regulatory Authority to deal with the emerging scenario of private airport operators. A major achievement this year was that no accident occurred, the best record in the past seven years. However, a number of ''air-miss'' incidents were registered, including one involving a special aircraft carrying UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi. But aviation authorities maintained that these were procedural failures and would never have caused an accident.

IDBI Fortis Life gets IRDA nod

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has given certificate of registration to IDBI Fortis Life Insurance Co Ltd, a joint venture life insurance company promoted by IDBI, Federal Bank, India and Fortis Insurance International, Netherlands. With this registration, the total number of life insurers registered with the Authority has gone up to18, according to an IRDA notification.

HAL inks $1 bn pact with Boeing

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) inked a pact with US-based Boeing Co on Dec 20 to bring some $1 billion of new aerospace manufacturing work to India over the next 10 years. Under the pact signed in New Delhi, Boeing and HAL will explore opportunities to shift work packages to India with an initial value of $10-$20 million per annum and increase the same as business prospects develop. The agreement, which was signed by Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, and Ashok K Baweja, chairman of HAL, includes sharing key Boeing business and manufacturing tools with HAL. HAL and Indian industry gain from this long-term business arrangement in terms of technology upgrade, while Boeing can look forward to a reliable source for its product requirements.

RCom acquires US data services firm

Reliance Communications on Dec 20 said it has acquired the US-based data communications services company Yipes for $300 million to amplify its presence in the $100-billion global market for this industry. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the regulator for the industry in the US, has given its nod to the acquisition by Flag Telecom, which is a part of the Reliance-Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, the company said in a statement. FCC approval is an important step for Reliance Communications to accelerate its plans to expand Yipes coverage in US domestic market, said Punit Garg, chief executive of Flag and president of Reliance Communications.

This step also paves the way to extend Yipes'' services worldwide over Flag''s global next-generation network, creating significantly more value from our undersea network in the strongholds of India, the Middle East and East Asia.According to Flag, the global enterprise and institutional data services market is estimated at $100 billion, while the Ethernet services market is projected to become a $30.7-billion market by 2012. Yipes customers will enjoy broader coverage, access to more international markets and more rollout over new innovative services, the company said.

UB likely to call off excess aircraft orders

The UB Group is conceiving a move to call off excess aircraft orders and return production slots to Airbus Industrie which could yield the company as much as $5 million for each aircraft. After identifying excess capacity, both its airlines, Kingfisher Airlines as well as Deccan Aviation, plan to either lease out aircraft to other airlines or defer their induction into the fleet or cancel the orders in consultation with Airbus. On Dec 19, the boards of Kingfisher Airlines as well as Deccan Aviation are learnt to have decided to lease two of their Airbus aircraft to another airline.

Deccan has 23 Airbus aircraft in its fleet with 30 more in the pipeline while Kingfisher Airlines has 24 Airbus in its fleet while it is yet to receive 26 more aircraft. The amalgamated entity will be renamed Kingfisher Airlines from the next financial year while Deccan would continue to operate as a low-cost airline. The UB Group Chairman, Mr Vijay Mallya, will be the Chairman of the merged entity while the Deccan Aviation Chairman, Capt G.R. Gopinath, will be the Vice-Chairman.

Hindustan Construction gets DMRC contract

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) and Alpine Mayreder, Austria, have secured a contract worth Rs 297.51 crore from the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC). HCC, in alliance with Alpine, has a 49 per cent share of the value (Rs 145.78 crore). The contract is for design and construction of tunnel with NATM (New Austrian Tunnelling Method) between Talkatora Garden and Budha Jayanti Park stations. It covers design and construction of a 2.6-km tunnel with a finished intern al diameter of a minimum 10 m for twin track railway, including access and ventilation shaft. The project is a part of Airport Metro Express Line-I of DMRC''s plan for the MRTS (Mass Rapid Transit System) and has to be completed by July 15, 2010.

Nagarjuna Construction bags Oman road project

Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction Company Ltd (NCC) has secured an order from the Government of Oman for Wadi Adai Al Amerat Road project valued at Omani Riyals 56.549 million. In terms of kilometre magnitude, this is termed to be the largest road project in Oman. The project will involve the construction of six new bridges of varying lengths, nine box culverts and one single lane bridge. The proposed alignment would pass via mountains involving approximately 6.3 million cubic metres cum rock cutting.

BHEL to take over Bharat Heavy Plate

State-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) will acquire Bharat Heavy Plate & Vessels Ltd (BHPV), Visakhapatnam, as a subsidiary and invest Rs 275 crore as capital expenditure into the company. Besides this, BHEL will also invest Rs 34 crore as equity in the company. The Department of Heavy Industry had proposed that Government likely to waive or write-off loans and interests to BHPV amounting to Rs 414.95 crore and settle all outstanding liabilities of BHPV amounting to Rs 263.97 crore. The Government cleared in principle the take over of BHPV by BHEL. The Cabinet, last month, permitted the financial restructuring and strengthening package of BHPV, with the direction that the valuation of BHPV to be carried out prudently on the basis of established principles.

IBM signs 5-year deal with Sankara Nethralaya

IBM has formally inked a five-year deal with Sankara Nethralaya to implement an integrated IT management solution on the lines of software as a service. Called Network Operations Center-Inside (NOC-I), the subscription-based offering comprises of modules such as automated IT monitoring, IT inventory management, service desk operations and IT traffic analysis. The software also creates daily reports based on tracking the entire hardware and software inventory in an organisation. The software is vendor neutral and provides free upgrades, unlimited email and telephone support. Sankara Nethralaya has 700 computer systems across Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata. The company first implemented NOC-I in May and have seen cost savings of 60 per cent until now.

DLF Assets to list REITs in Singapore

India''s real estate major DLF is getting ready to list DLF Assets in Singapore in a $1.2 billion initial public offer (IPO). Close on the heels of taking DLF Ltd public with Rs 8,200 crore IPO, DLF could soon make a mark on the Singapore real estate investment trust (REIT) listing in January 2008. Singapore exchange has given an informal approval to the listing. DLF now has all the clearances and it is set to file the REIT listing document in first week of January to list its subsidiary DLF Assets. It plans to raise around $1.2 billion and will not hold a majority stake in the REIT. However, DLF is not the only company that is going to Singapore for a REIT, Indiabulls has just listed its REIT in Singapore and Parsvnath has formed a subsidiary for REIT. DLF might be looking at listing a REIT in Singapore but after a lot of deliberation even SEBI has got its act together and is looking at creating a REIT structure. REIT is a very lucrative exit option for developers across the world as it gives private equity players and financial institutions a chance to exit investments they have made in the realty sector.

Rupee at 39.54 against US dollar

Ahead of three-day long week-end holidays, the rupee ended stronger by five paise at 39.54/55 against the US currency on the back of bullish equity markets and expectations of capital inflows. However, the traders expect the domestic currency to come under pressure next week as oil refiners may start dollar buying to meet their monthly payments, traders said. Sustained capital outflows at the year-end are may also weigh on the rupee sentiment.In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market today, the local currency was trapped in a range of 39.51 and 39.60 during the day after resuming firm at 39.54/55 a dollar. The rupee recovered against dollar on the back of firm equity markets and exporters'' dollar sales, dealers said. The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate for the US currency at Rs 39.57 per dollar and for the single European unit at Rs 56.85 per euro. The rupee premium on forward dollar remained weak and ended lower due to sustained receivings by exporters. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premiums payable in May ended at 27 - 29 paise, slightly down from 28 - 30 paise on Wednesday and the far-forward maturing in November closed lower at 43-1/2 - 45 paise from 44-1/2 - 46-1/2 paise previously.Foreign Institutional Investors pulled out about $880 million in the initial two days of the week. In cross-currency trades, the rupee improved further against the British Sterling and the Euro while recovered against the Japanese Yen. The rupee shot up against the Sterling to end the day at Rs 78.59/61 per pound from overnight close of Rs 79.33/35 per pound and also moved up against the Single European currency to Rs 5.62/64 per euro from previous close of Rs 56.96/98 per euro. However, the Indian unit ended higher against the Japanese Yen to finish at Rs 34.95/97 per 100 yen from last close of Rs 35.04/06 per 100 yen.

Inflation eases to 3.65%

Lower prices of food articles like fruits and vegetables, pulses and some manufactured items pushed inflation down to 3.65 per cent for the week ended December 8. The wholesale price based index stood at 3.75 per cent in the previous week. Although the index is well below RBI projection of close to 5 per cent for the current fiscal, inflation stood at 5.63 per cent in the corresponding week a year ago. Though the prices of food items were lower for the week, Finance Minister P Chidambaram remained concerned over the inflationary pressure over edible goods on global factors. He had said, the prices of food (articles) are slightly higher because of the mismatch between supply and demand. During the week prices of fruits and vegetables declined by one per cent, while bajra and urad got cheaper by two per cent. At the same time prices of gram also slipped by one per cent. However, as per the latest monthly economic report released by Finance Ministry, rising global prices of metals, crude oil and agricultural commodities are posing new threats to the low level of inflation in India that is presently hovering below four per cent level. International coal prices have jumped to about $83 a metric tonne in November from $53.19 a metric tonne in January-March quarter this year, while crude oil prices stood at $91.34 a barrel against $57.23 a year in first quarter this year.

Deshmukh seeks M`rashtra`s Plan outlay to double

Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh has wants to keep aside Rs 25,000 crore for infrastructure projects, to be carried out under the public-private-partnership model (PPP). He is in favour of doubling the state''s Plan outlay from Rs 66,632 crore in the 10th Five Year Plan to Rs 1.27 lakh crore in 11th Plan.

The state has undertaken many infrastructure projects including road, bridges, metro railway, development of ports and airports under the PPP model and wants to take up many more projects under this model. The chief minister was speaking at the National Development Council''s (NDC) meet at Delhi on Dec 19.

Cranes Software announces the release of the 64 bit NISA Version 15.5 on Microsoft® Windows

Cranes Software International Ltd on December 20, 2007, announced the release of NISA 64 bit version (NISA V15.5x64) on Microsoft® Windows. This version is targeted towards the enterprise customers enabling them to solve large size problems. This version also introduces the multicore / multi processor computing capability to NISA.

On this occasion, Dr. Ramdass Keshavamurthy, Vice President - Product development, commented This is a significant upgrade release of NISA Version 15.0 targeted towards our enterprise customers. NISA Version 15.5x64 enables the users to solve much bigger problems since more memory can be addressed due to 64 bit address space. In addition, one salient feature of this release is the incorporation of the PARDISO solver from the Intel® Math Kernel Library which enables multicore, multiprocessor Cluster Computing capability in NISA. This would translate into our customers being able to solve complex STRUCTURAL and FLUID problems with million or more degrees of freedom significantly faster using multicore / multi processor machines.

Geometric Technologies introduces CAMWorks 2008 at Reseller Meetings in America, Europe and Asia

Geometric Ltd has announced that Geometric Technologies, Inc. (formerly TekSoft, Inc.), an industry leader in developing advanced manufacturing software, recently held reseller conferences in America, Europe and Asia. Mike Coleman, CEO of Geometric Technologies, hosted all the meetings and reiterated the Companys gratitude and continuing support to the Value Added Resellers (VARs) for promoting and supporting CAMWorks®. Commenting on the outcome of the meetings, he said, With over 50 enhancements in CAMWorks 2008, our VARs were excited to learn how these new capabilities can help their customers to machine faster and more accurately. Our resellers are the first line of support for our customers and the training sessions prepared them to provide quality support services and training. In addition to the CAMWorks 2008 rollout, we outlined our plans for CAMWorks 2008EX and CAM Works 2009. This will help our VARs to prepare for supporting the next major releases. Geometric Technologies has also added new VARs in Europe and Asia to strengthen its operations in these regions. CAM Works is a SolidWorks Certified Gold CAM product with state-of-the-art machining capabilities seamlessly integrated into SolidWorks 3D mechanical design software since 1997. The combination of the latest innovations in CAMWorks 2008 and Solid Works excellence in design continue to make CAM Works a premier CAM solution. CAMWorks can be purchased to run with SolidWorks or as a cost-effective package - CAM Works Solids, a standalone version of CAMWorks, with integrated solid modeling capabilities.

Hindustan Construction - Allotment of Warrants to the Promoters on Preferential basis

Hindustan Construction Company Ltd has informed that pursuant to Special Resolution passed by the Members of the Company on December 10, 2007 through Postal Ballot, in principle approval received from the Stock Exchange and in accordance with the Chapter XIII of the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Disclosure and Investor Protection) Guidelines 2000, the Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on December 20, 2007 has allotted 75,00,000 warrants to the promoter(s) / promoter group of the Company on preferential basis, entitling the warrant holders to apply for a equivalent number of fully paid equity shares of Re 1/- each of the Company at a price of Rs 202.50 per share at any time during 18 months from the date of issue.

Omaxe - Acceptance of Bid

Omaxe Ltd has informed that Hyderabad Urban Development Authority has accepted the bid of M/s. Eden Buildcon Pvt Ltd (Wholly owned Subsidiary of the Company) for 25 acres of land situated at Kokapet Area in Hyderabad in an Auction of Premium Plots for Multipurpose Use in an open auction cum sealed tender basis. The Project is for multipurpose use like Commercial / IT Park / Shopping Mall / Residential etc. and the approximate project value is in the range of Rs 1600 Crores to 1800 Crores.

ICRA in MoU with Corporation Bank to rate Bank Loans under RBI''s New Capital Adequacy Framework for

ICRA Ltd has informed that the Company and Corporation Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (M0U) under which the Company will assign ratings to the Banks loans and its other exposures under the standardized approach of RBIs New Capital Adequacy Framework for Basel-II. In this regard the Company has issued the following Press Release: Credit rating agency ICRA Ltd (ICRA) and Corporation Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) under which ICRA will assign ratings to the Banks loans and its other exposures under the standardized approach of RBIs New Capital Adequacy Framework for Basel-II. ICRAs ratings for the standardized approach would be carried out under its Line of Credit rating service and would enable Corporation Bank to assign the new risk weights applicable to its borrowers under Basel-II. The risk weights would be linked to the various rating categories and would be as per RBIs Basel II guidelines. To assist potential and existing borrowers of Corporation Bank in obtaining ratings, ICRA is offering special terms to the clients of Corporation Bank. The MoU between ICRA and Corporation Bank would assist in implementing RBIs New Capital Adequacy Framework under Basel-II.

Panoramic Universal - Buys Travel agency in USA

Panoramic Universal Ltd has announced that complementing its Indian travel industry foray, the Company now enters the USA travel market with acquisition of business of Future Travels; a New York based travel agency doing business since three decades. It is the biggest consolidator of Air India and Kuwait Airlines and has association with 600 small and big businesses having served more than 15,000 customers, with a turnover of USD 10 million. The Company has acquired the business of Future Travels Inc through its wholly owned subsidiary in USA for a cost of USD 800.000.

i-flex Solutions - FLEXCUBE and FINO Help Microfinance Institutions Confront Challenges

i-flex Solutions Ltd, on December 20, 2007 has announced that the Financial Information Network & Operations (FINO) is using its award winning* core banking product, FLEXCUBE® to help microfinance institutions address the challenges they face in processing large volumes of low value transactions.

Microfinance institutions around the world have developed innovative models to address the needs of the mass under-banked segment. In India, FINOs pay per use model allows microfinance institutions to use its sophisticated back office infrastructure to reduce transaction costs, scale their operations quickly and extend their reach.

The Company has a strategic alliance with FINO to provide a reliable and scalable processing engine. With i-flex solutions and FLEXCUBE we have a partner and a core banking solution that are leaders in the field. With FLEXCUBE, FINO can provide microfinance institutions a range of services and products that can easily be customized to meet special requirements. In addition, FLEXCUBEs capability to handle millions of small-value transactions means we will be able to grow with microfinance institutions as they expand the scale of their operations, says Manish Khera, CEO, FINO.

FLEXCUBE has been configured to meet the special needs of microfinance institutions. For instance, it supports lending to self help groups or joint liability groups and can handle disbursements and or repayments for an entire group of borrowers as a single transaction. It is also able to handle daily, weekly or other Interest repayment schedules to cater to the needs of hawkers and small businesses.

Gujarat NRE consolidates its coal operations with completion of Australian Mergers

Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd has informed that the Board of Directors of India NRE Minerals Ltd (ASX Code INR), an Australian subsidiary of the Company have confirmed that offers made by India NRE Minerals Ltd to acquire all the fully paid ordinary shares and Options of Gujarat NRE Resources NL (ASX Code GUJ) pursuant to its bidders statement dated October 10, 2007 have closed. The process has been conducted in full compliance of the laws and regulations of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) where both the companies are listed. This acquisition followed India NRE Minerals Ltd acquiring a relevant interest in approximately 96.51 percent of the shares and 94.02 percent options of Gujarat NRE Resources NL. This was subsequently followed up by India NRE initiating a process of compulsorily acquiring the outstanding shares and options for which, it did not receive any acceptance.

The merger, considering the nature of the two Companys businesses, will accord substantial synergic benefits to the merged entity.

The Company is Indias largest independent met coke producer and is the only listed entity in the domain and the only Indian Company to own and operate coal mines in Australia. Integrated, from mine to market, the Company is today operating in a market that is characterised by surging demands propelled by the ever hungry steel industry obsessed with new capacity build up and shrinking supplies resulting from China moving towards a regulated, license led export regime.

Tata Teleservices - Allotment of equity shares pursuant to conversion of FCCBs

Tata Teleservices Maharashtra Ltd has informed that the Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company has approved the issue and allotment of an aggregate of 1,10,61,697 Equity Shares of Rs 10/- each to the investor/s who have exercised their right to convert FCCBs of USD 6,100,000 held by them into Equity Shares. The Equity Shares have been issued and allotted at a premium of Rs 14.49 per Equity Share (i.e., at a Issue Price of Rs 24.49 per share) in accordance with the terms of the FCCB Issue. Previously the conversion price was Rs 24.96 per share according the terms of the issue, it got adjusted to Rs 24.49 per share after the rights issue of shares of the Company in January 2007. The deemed date of allotment of the Equity Shares is December 14, 2007.

Out of the total FCCBs of USD 125 million issued by the Company in June 2004, FCCBs aggregating USD 108.37 million have so far been converted into 19,43,50,346 equity shares (including this 19th Tranche) of the Company.

Tata Group holding stands marginally reduced to 65.85% as a consequence of the above - referred allotment.

Arshiya International to invest Rs 3000 crores in infrastructure for integrated supply chain service

Arshiya International Ltd on December 12, 2007 announced major strategic investments and plans for India & Middle East. The strategic investment of over Rs 3000 crores is planned in two phases spread over five years. In the first phase, the investment would be approximately Rs 1800 crores for the development of three Free Trade Warehousing Zones (FTWZ) West Zone (near JNPT, Mumbai), North Zone (near Delhi), Sohar Port (Oman) and also investment in rakes for operation of container trains on a Pan - India basis using Indian Railway network. The Company is in the process of evaluating various options for raising funds for the project. The land required for the FTWZ near JNPT has been acquired and the land acquisition for FTWZ in Delhi has already started. Mr. Ajay S Mittal, Chairman strongly feels that the FTWZ infrastructure will improve Exim Trade and will provide customers value added services beyond traditional Logistics and Supply Chain services. The Company has also formed a Global Advisory Board comprising of Prof. G Raghuram, of Indian Institute of Management (he is also part of the Board of Directors of the Company), Dr. Frank-Jorgen Richter, former Director World Economic Forum (Asia Pacific) and current President Horasis, Dr. Jerry (Yoram) Wind, Lauder Professor & Academic Director, The Wharton Fellows Program, Mr. William Adamapoulous, President of Forbes Asia. StrategicAdvisors comprising of Mr. Richard Taffet, Corporate Lawyer from one of the leading Law Firms from USA (specializing in IPR and Anti-Trust law) and Dr. John Gattoma, Co-director of the Centre for Supply Chain Research and Professional Fellow in Supply Chain Management at the University of Wollongong, Australia were also present during the announcements. TheGlobal Advisory Board and other Strategic Advisors brings a thought leadership initiative to Arshiyas future plans.

Suzlon Energy - Listing of the shares of Hansen Transmissions International NV, Belgium

Suzlon Energy Ltd has informed that the Hansen Transmissions International NV, Belgium (Hansen), the subsidiary of the Company, on December 11, 2007 began unconditional trading on the London Stock Exchange.

Further, Hansen also exercised the over-allotment option in respect of 16,527,315 Shares (the Over-allotment Shares) raising additional gross proceeds for the Company of approximately £29 million. Including the Over-allotment Shares, a total of 181,800,458 Shares have now been placed with institutional investors, raising total gross proceeds for Hansen of approximately £318 million. Immediately following the issue of the Over-allotment Shares, approximately 27.1% of the Hansens total issued ordinary share capital will be held by the Public. The settlement of the Over-allotment Shares is expected to take place on December 13, 2007. Hansens shares finished the day at 249 pence, up 42.3% from the final share price for the IPO of 175 pence per share. The shares also saw encouraging trading volumes on the first day of unconditional trading with 3,901,682 shares being traded.

Post Session Market Commentary

The market closed at all time high after struggling a lot at the initial stage. The cues from the global market are not in favor, which led the Indian markets to open on a weak note on the back of heavy selling across the counters. Though the market lost the ground at the initial stage but manages to recover all its losses as a result of heavy buying at lower levels. The metal, realty and Oil and Gas indices remained the centre of attraction as most buying is seen from these stocks. The BSE Sensex closed higher by 84.98 points at 20,375.87 and NSE Nifty closed up by 62.05 points at 6,159.30. Both the BSE Mid cap and Small cap outperformed the benchmark to close higher by 152.51 points and 217.15 points at 9,339.49 and 11,884.99 respectively. Overall, the market breadth was strong as 2,139 stocks are closed higher while 750 stocks are closed lower. BSE Metal index surged 574.48 points to close at 19,629.07. Scrips that advanced are Jindal Saw (12.35%), Nalco (11.54%), Jindal Steel (5.52%), Tata Steel (3.42%) and Hindalco (3.06%) BSE Realty index closed higher by 358 points at 12,540.32. Pushed up by Ansal Infra (22.38%), HDIL (14.01%), Phoenix mill (12.04%), Purvankara (6.12%) and Omaxe (5.62%). BSE Health Care index closed up by 111.74 points at 4,173.98. Scrips that gained are Glenmark (10.61%), Bilcare (7.87%), Nicholas Piramal (7.73%), Sun pharma (4.48%) and Lupin (3.05%). BSE Oil & Gas index grew by 186.59 points to closed at 13,152.02. Pulled up by IOCL (6.63%), RNRL (5.99%), Essar oil (5.43%), Gail (4.75%), Cairn (3.32%) and ONGC (1.40%). BSE Bankex index closed lower by 66.59 points at 11,712.12. Scrips that fell are ICICI bank (1.96%), IOB (1.62%), Yes bank (1.15%), Oriental bank (0.42%) and SBI (0.22%). BSE IT index slipped by 78.86 points at 4,353.59. Scrips that fell are Satyam (2.39%), I-Flex (1.97%), NIIT (1.81%), Educomp solution (1.13%), Rolta (1.62%).

Triton Corp Board to consider stock split

Triton Corp Ltd has informed that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on December 22, 2007, inter alia, to discuss and consider the following:

1. Splitting of the face value of the equity shares of the Company from Rs 2/- per share to Re 1/- per share.

2. To take note of the re-valuation of the properties of the Company.