MUMBAI: Pullback rally in theafternoon as gains in banks and oil&gas heavtyweights helped indices closenear above psychological resistance levels. ( Watch )

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex ended at 17036.19, up 250.54 pointsor 1.49 per cent. The index touched a high of 17040.71 and low of16635.75.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty closed at 5059.55,up 70.55 points or 1.41 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 5063.30 andlow of 4932.80.

BSE Midcap Index was up 1.21 per cent and BSESmallcap Index moved 0.42 per cent up.

amongst the sectoral indices,BSE Bankex was up 1.99 per cent, BSE Oil&gas Index moved 1.72 per centhigher and BSE Metal Index gained 1.50 per cent.

ACC (4.76%),Hindalco Industries (3.58%), Jaiprakash Associates (3.07%), Mahindra &Mahindra (2.99%) and Tata Steel (2.9%) were amongst the Sensex gainers.

Losers included Bharti Airtel (-1.55%), BHEL (-0.34%), RelianceInfrastructure (-0.20%) and Maruti Suzuki (-0.16%).

(All figures areprovisional)

[11] Miscellaneous: Xperia X10 and iPhone have some common features such as accelerometer, Push email, Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync (which allows you to seamlessly stay synchronised with your Microsoft Exchange email server), GPS (with A-GPS support), SMS (threaded view), MMS, 3.5mm audio jack, Digital Compass, Google Maps and 3D games.

With Xperia X10, you have access to Android Market and PlayNow arena from where you can download apps, movies, video podcasts, TV shows, music tracks, games etc.

To set itself apart from the competition, Xperia X10 also promises an intuitive UI by introducing signature social media applications like Mediascape (sort of a one-stop search center for all your media needs. it accesses content from everywhere – your phone, YouTube, PlayNow, etc. – and presents everything for you in an organised and intuitive manner) and Timescape (it manages all your communication with one person in one place by syncing contacts, posts, feeds, messages, e-mails, photos and more – from sources such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – and automatically streaming them all to the homescreen, allowing you to access data more easily).

Of course, some other smartphones like HTC HD2 and Motorola Dext have similar features (HTC Sense and Motoblur) but Xperia X10 goes one step further – intelligence capabilities, integrated into Mediascape and Timescape, can automatically recognise connections between contacts, content and media and by recommending alternative ways to communicate or guiding to new media experiences, consumers can discover more in a truly open way. For instance, pressing the new “infinite button” guides you through the connected world, aggregating all your interactions with one person into one view or the intelligent face recognition features recognise up to five faces in any picture, automatically connecting them with your social phonebook and all other related communications with that person.

Xperia X10 also has web feeds, speakerphone, gesture control, flight mode, world clock, and pre-installed useful apps such as Gmail, Google Calender, Google Talk, Google Voice Search and YouTube.

On the other hand, iPhone has many cool features including a landscape keyboard for all core apps; an innovative and useful implementation of cut, copy, and paste; push notifications, an improved call log that shows details like the time and length of a call; a spotlight search for searching apps, e-mail (subjects and to/from lines), music, and more; shake to shuffle music; voice memos; voice command; Nike+ support, support for MMS and tethering, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor.

iPhone also gives you opportunity to access to the legendary App Store from where you can download thousands of apps (for free or a small fee) to unleash the full potential of your device and create an iTunes Store account and shop for and download music, movies, TV shows, audiobooks, video podcasts and more.

iPhone also offers a very useful service called MobileMe, a feature that allows you to remotely track the location of the phone when it goes missing, backup data, wipe data from a lost or stolen phone and restore it in a new one.

Winner: Xperia X10. Features such as proximity sensor, ambient light sensor, digital compass, MobileMe and of course, the App Store, can win iPhone some fans but a smartphone, which can’t multitask and doesn’t come with pre-installed social media applications, is no good these days.

NEW YORK – (Business Wire) Fitch Ratings assigns an ‘AA-’ long-term rating to the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority’s (the authority) $280 million toll highway fixed-rate senior priority revenue bonds, 2009 series B and 2009 series C (2009 series), scheduled for negotiated sale on or about Nov. 23, 2009. the 2009 series bonds may be sold either as taxable Build America Bonds with a 35% direct-pay issuer subsidy or as tax-exempt bonds.

the 2009 series bonds are secured by a senior lien on the net revenues of the toll-road system. Pursuant to the supplement of the trust indenture for the series 2009 bonds, the subsidy payments received by the authority in relation to the Build America Bonds are not deemed pledged revenues; however, the authority covenants to deposit these receipts to the trustee for the interest payment on the bonds. Proceeds of the 2009 series bonds will be used to fund portions of the authority’s $6.1 billion Congestion Relief capital program. Fitch also affirms the ‘AA-’ rating on the authority’s $3.8 billion of outstanding parity debt. the Rating Outlook is Negative.

the ‘AA-’ rating reflects strong regional economic fundamentals with a growing population base resulting in robust traffic demand, the essential nature of the transportation links serving a heavily traveled metropolitan area, including direct connections to an established network of Interstate highways and the historically sound financial profile. Generally, toll levels are relatively low allowing for economic flexibility to raise rates, however, the current toll policy places a toll revenue dependency in excess of 40% on the more economically sensitive commercial traffic. the rating also incorporates rising debt levels with a relatively large variable-rate component and interest rate hedge swap portfolio. Authority management has indicated a preliminary plan to reduce its variable-rate exposure by at least 50% of its current balances over the course of the next year. such actions may not necessarily realize immediate debt service savings but could lead to more stable debt interest costs and further minimize underlying risks to financial counterparties.

the Negative Outlook reflects the potential for lower debt service coverage levels in future years should toll transactions and revenues not meet relatively steep recovery rates reaching 20% above current levels over the next three years following the substantial completion of capacity enhancement projects of the authority’s $6.1 billion Congestion Relief Plan (CRP). Traffic recovery of this magnitude is critical to maintaining financial margins as annual debt service requirements are expected to quickly rise from $167 million in 2009 to over $264 million in 2013, reflecting the rising debt levels assumed by the authority.

in recent years, traffic growth has been stagnant given the weakening economic conditions within the Chicago MSA, the volatility in fuel prices, and traffic interruptions caused by the CRP. in addition, Fitch believes that financial margins could also be adversely affected should either the debt interest costs or toll highway operating expenses exceed current forecasts. Almost 40% of the authority’s nearly $3.8 billion of outstanding debt remains in variable-rate mode, although synthetic fixed-rate payments are provided through various swap agreements. Forecasts indicate operating costs increasing by a modest 3% per year, a growth rate measurably below the nearly 6% average annual increase since 2004. Some uncertainly also remains with regards to continued commitment, size, and scope, to a previously considered proposal for an $1.8 billion Phase II CRP, much of which was initially indicated to be debt financed. at this time, the authority has not taken any meaningful steps to advance the Phase II CRP.

the authority operates a network of four toll highways that serve a 12-county area in northeastern Illinois, including the Chicago metropolitan area. Since the opening of its first highway in 1959, the authority has enjoyed a consistent history of annual gains in traffic and revenue, reflecting the steady expansion of the regional economy. However, declines in traffic following the 2005 toll increases, the start of the CRP on much of the system as well as the 2006 elimination of a mainline toll plaza on the Northwest (Jane Addams Memorial) Tollway section resulted in a 5.5% overall decline in transactions between 2004 and 2008. during the first 10 months of 2009, transactions are down a nominal 1.2% and recent monthly activity reports indicate that declines may have stemmed.

Toll revenues increased significantly following the last toll increase and have remained essentially flat since 2005 due to the combined effects of reduced traffic volume and a switch in companies that process toll evasions that resulted in an interruption in the billing process. for 2007 and 2008, toll revenues have grown 1% and 1.9%, respectively. during the first 10 months of 2009, toll revenues have increased by just 0.9%. Fitch believes these results are satisfactory for a mature toll-road system given the scope of the capital projects, the unprecedented volatility in fuel prices and weakening economic trends in the region.

the authority’s current forecast assumes toll activity will increase from approximately 762 million transactions in 2009 to nearly 936 million transactions in 2012, an aggregate increase of 22%. Similarly, toll revenues are expected to rise to nearly $765 million by 2012, or a similar 22% above estimates for fiscal 2009. while the completion of capital enhancement projects in high traffic corridors will serve as catalysts for growth, Fitch believes that traffic growth may under-perform these projections in the near term if economic conditions remain weak.

the current financial profile of the authority remains strong with historical debt service coverage ratios in excess of 2.0 times(x) coupled with a strong liquidity position with over $400 million in fund balances. the authority projects debt service coverage, assuming the new debt issuance of the 2009 series B and C bonds to be at or near the 2.0x. this forecast reflects the authority’s assumed growth in toll transactions, containment of operating expense growth at an average 3% per annum, and no adverse developments on the debt interest costs of the approximately $1.6 billion outstanding variable-rate bonds. while management has indicated a goal to maintain debt service coverage at or above 2.0x, it is Fitch’s view that current economic conditions could suppress traffic and toll revenues, resulting in financial results moderately below those currently projected. Should this scenario develop, further toll increases may be needed to maintain current credit quality. at this time, the authority has indicated no plans to raise passenger toll rates and that commercial tolls would not rise before 2015.

To date, the capital program is progressing with many capacity enhancing projects nearing completion with no material variances from the budget. while the authority does not anticipate the need for future toll adjustments to finance the existing Congestion Relief Phase I capital program, a second phase announced in late 2008 may lead up to $1.8 billion of additional debt and require future rate increases. Key elements to this new plan include introduction of green-managed lanes within the existing system with variable pricing structures. this added phase of the capital plan has not moved forward over the past year given the executive changes in state government in early 2009. Still, the authority’s board has already approved a 60% toll increase phased in over three years starting in 2015 for commercial vehicles followed by an annual increase tied to the consumer price index. Additional managed lane toll rates have yet to be determined. Fitch will continue to monitor the commitment as well as size and scope to the new component to the capital program coupled with the adequacy of new proposed revenues.

Fitch believes that the authority’s sizable variable-rate portfolio represents some potential risks to its overall financing costs. Over 40% of the authority’s $3.1 billion outstanding debt is in variable-rate demand mode and, while no bank bonds are currently outstanding, approximately $400 million of authority revenue debt had been held by bank liquidity providers nearly one year ago due to failed remarketings. All of the outstanding variable-rate debt is hedged through a diverse group of swap counterparties; however, liquidity is concentrated through facilities provided by Dexia Credit Local (Fitch Issuer Default Rating of ‘A+’). while market conditions for variable-rate debt instruments have stabilized in recent months, uncertainties amongst the credit enhancers and liquidity providers could result in higher debt interest costs for the authority. Fitch expects the authority to carefully manage and limit the potential upside to its debt interest costs within its variable-rate portfolio. a preliminary plan to reduce variable-rate and swap exposures by at least 50% would be a positive development for the authority’s capital structure.

Additional information is available at ‘fitchratings.com’.

ALL FITCH CREDIT RATINGS ARE SUBJECT TO CERTAIN LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS. PLEASE READ THESE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMERS BY FOLLOWING THIS LINK: HTTP://FITCHRATINGS.COM/UNDERSTANDINGCREDITRATINGS. IN ADDITION, RATING DEFINITIONS AND THE TERMS OF USE OF SUCH RATINGS ARE AVAILABLE ON THE AGENCY’S PUBLIC WEBSITE ‘WWW.FITCHRATINGS.COM’. PUBLISHED RATINGS, CRITERIA AND METHODOLOGIES ARE AVAILABLE FROM THIS SITE AT ALL TIMES. FITCH’S CODE OF CONDUCT, CONFIDENTIALITY, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, AFFILIATE FIREWALL, COMPLIANCE AND OTHER RELEVANT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE ‘CODE OF CONDUCT’ SECTION OF THIS SITE.

Fitch Ratings, New York
Seth Lehman, 212-908-0755
Mike McDermott, 212-908-0605
or
Media Relations:
Cindy Stoller, 212-908-0526
Email: cindy.stoller@fitchratings.com

Shweta Bhanot, Rachana Khanzode
Posted: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 at 0024 hrs IST
Updated: Wednesday, Nov 18, 2009 at 0024 hrs IST

Mumbai: Mahindra Satyam (formerly Satyam Computer Services), which caters to the engineering services market, might look at servicing its new parent firm, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), as a client. This comes at a time when M&M is preparing to enter the US market with its market-specific vehicles. Experts said that Mahindra Satyam would come handy for M&M and could become its largest client.

Karthikeyan Natarajan, vice-president & head-integrated engineering solutions, Mahindra Satyam, said: We are not servicing M&M at the moment, but are looking at it and we might help them. According to Natarajan, the firm currently helps its clients in the (intellectual property) IP space for designing products, working out new regulations, industrial products for emission, fuel efficiency & fuel, cost reduction and safety aspects in aerospace area. Besides the brand, M&M gets the firm mechanical potential while Satyam brings in electronic capabilities.

M&M, which is expected to foray into the US market next year with its pick-up truck followed by a US-specific Scorpio, will need to tighten its belt when it comes to research and development (R&D) and product development cycle. The US is a very competitive market and M&M will need to bring out new products at quicker intervals. Further, the company will need high-quality and best-in-design products for its new foray said VG Ramakrishnan, director, automotive and transportation, Frost & Sullivan, South Asia and the Middle East.

According to sources, the group will look at combining the efforts of Mahindra Engineering Services, which provides engineering services to various industries, with Mahindra Satyam.

When asked about the benefit that M&M would get through Mahindra Satyam, Vikas Sehgal, VP and director of India business Chicago and Mumbai, Booz & Co, said: “It is like a double-sided sword. If handled properly, it has the potential to make it bigger.

MUMBAI: Equities were witnessingselling pressure Tuesday as traders booked profits in realty, banks andoil&gas space. Subdued global markets also weighed sentiments.

“The market is diverging negatively on intraday basis, which is asign of shift in short term trend of the market. On daily charts there is no assuch weak formation but the volumes are drying out that may be the cause ofconcern. On the higher side the level of 5085/17170 may act as a majorresistance for the day.

However, our advice is to be cautious whileadding fresh trading positions at higher levels, we mean to say it should beguarded with tight stop losses. In case the market sustains below 5040/16990 inthe second half of the trading session then the further weakness is not ruledout till 4900/16600 in coming few days,” said Kotak Securitiesreport.

At 12:28 pm, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at5026.05, down 32 points or 0.63 per cent. The index touched a low of 5011.65 andhigh of 5074 in trade so far.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensexwas at 16,927.80, down 104.71 points or 0.61 per cent. The broader index hit ahigh of 17080.17 and low of 16895.12.

BSE Midcap Index was down 0.40per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.27 per cent lower.

Amongstthe sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was down 2.45 per cent, BSE Bankexdeclined 1.29 per cent and BSE Oil&gas Index fell 1.24 per cent. BSE ITIndex was up 1.75 per cent.

DLF (-3.27%), Unitech (-2.61%), M&M(-2.12%), ONGC (-2.05%) and IDFC (-2.03%) were amongst the top Niftylosers.

TCS (2.58%), Hero Honda (2.44%), Infosys Technologies(2.02%), Reliance Capital (1.97%) and Wipro (1.62%) were amongst thegainers.

Market breadth was negative on the Nifty with 36 declinesand 14 advances.

Meanwhile Asian markets continued to move sideways.The Nikkei was down 0.63 per cent, Hang Seng slipped 0.49 per cent and StraitsTimes shed 0.44 per cent.

India’s largest utility vehicle maker, Mahindra & Mahindra, will be establishing its new automotive project at Cheyyar near Chennai in Tamil Nadu, at an investment of around Rs 1,800 crore. The Tamil Nadu Cabinet, which has already cleared the proposal recently, has also allotted 200 acres of land out of the total 450 acres required for the project.

‘The Economic Times’ in its report claims that M&M’s Chennai plant, which have an annual production capacity of 1.5 lakh units, will be rolling out its utility vehicles, SUVs tractors, light commercial vehicles and auto components. Additionally, it will also build a test track at the new facility here. Besides this facility, the Mumbai-based company will also be setting up an R&D centre and vehicle design studio at Maraimalainagar near Chennai. The MoU for the project is expected to be inked in about two months. Though no official comments have been offered by the company, it is believed that the investment will generate direct jobs for 2,500 people and several thousand jobs indirectly.

However, when a company sources were contacted, this is all they had to say, “We cannot confirm or deny the move. We’ll make an announcement at the appropriate time.”

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On the sidelines of inaugurating its new outlet in Coimbatore, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd., India’s largest multi-brand pre-owned car company, on 15th November’09, has stated it is looking to sell about 1 lakh cars by 2014. The used car division of Mahindra and Mahindra has also firmed up its plans opening 300 more outlets across the nation for achieving its target in the next 4-5 years.

Shubhabrata Saha, the CEO of Mahindra First Choice, while addressing the press in Coimbatore has mentioned that the company has sold about 10,250 cars last year via the 60 outlets located across the nation, while they are expecting to sell about 18,000 cars during this year. The company has already sold over 9,000 cars this year.

It is to be mentioned that Mahindra FirstChoice is the country’s preferred pre-owned car mart and is India’s only organized multi-brand player, with 100 plus outlets in over 60 towns across India. The company plans to expand this number to 300 outlets in the next three years. This implies that customers will soon be able to choose from a range of certified pre-owned cars throughout India, including the metros and tier-2 towns and cities.

M&M claims that tremendous attention to detail is required to ensure that each pre-owned car meets a high level of quality. Before purchasing the car, a trained engineer thoroughly inspects the vehicle and also sees to it that all papers are in order. After purchase, every car is refurbished and undergoes an extensive 118 point quality check by a trained engineer, as part of the company’s robust certification process. The objective behind the care and diligence exercised is to present the customer with a car in mint condition.

Mahindra FirstChoice also has retail finance relationships with major banks and NBFCs in the country. As an industry first, Mahindra FirstChoice has recently partnered with Syndicate Bank to offer consumers finance rates comparable to those for new cars. In order to facilitate business growth, existing and potential franchisees will also be able to avail of inventory funding options from Syndicate Bank and IDBI Bank.

Mahindra FirstChoice also has a website – mahindrafirstchoice.com – which offers consumers the luxury of buying and selling pre-owned cars from their homes.

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Economists say MM Lee’s 3% growth forecast for 2010 is cautiousBy Satish Cheney, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 09 November 2009 2146 hrs

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s economic growth for next year could be as high as six per cent, say some industry experts.

They say the three per cent outlook given by Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew on Sunday may be on the cautious side, but it is still news they welcome as this means better times are ahead – more so in industries such as the finance sector.

“There will be a pay revision. Estimates in general range from about two per cent to about 4.5 per cent,” said Gary Lai Wai Keat, manager of Financial Services at Robert Walters. “If you look at the front line business, you talk about bonuses being restored.

“I think most of the bonuses that were cut is probably in the range of 60 per cent to 80 per cent. This year, you will get at least half of that coming back into the picture.”

Halimah Yacob, deputy secretary-general of NTUC, said: “With economy on the growth, it means workers can expect at least some bonuses and wage increases, compared to this year where many did not have wage increases, and many did not get their mid-year bonuses.

“We really do hope that with the three per cent projected growth, that would actually bring benefits to workers in terms of more job openings and some wage adjustments and bonuses that they can expect.”

However, analysts expect employers to remain cautious and adopt a wait-and-see approach when it comes to pay increments and bonuses for certain sectors such as manufacturing

“It will still be riddled with uncertainties, one of which, whether there will be an overhang in capacity,” explained Vishnu Varathan, a regional economist. “And to that extent we will not probably see a very broadbased upside to salaries and it may be better for the medium term if there’s a period of stabalisation and gestation, just simply due to the amount of uncertainty that is out there.”

But as the recovery takes shape, there are still traps lurking, which policy makers need to pay attention to.

Varathan said: “Over the next few months, there will be talk about exit strategies, to what extent and what pace will some of these policies begin to unwind. This is one of the risks that someone moves too fast or too slow and that’s going to cause de-stabalisation.

“You also see huge flows coming into this region and propping up the asset markets and partly due to dollar debasement fears as well. That, of course, is a very unsettling thing when the fundamental economies are at a very nascent stage of the recovery.”

Lai said: “Credit card debt is also being considered as the next big thing, whether the banks will have a much higher NPL (non-performing loans) going forward. Whether banks have accepted TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Programme) money and, if they can recruit talented people to join. These are things which going forward probably affect trade.”

Besides economists looking to a better year ahead, global leaders at the APEC Forum will also be looking at better understanding what the new world-economic order means for the region.