BIZ NEWS

At a time when the real estate sector is slowing down, the services sector is expected to keep good the demand for office space with an estimated absorption of 28-30 million sq ft by the year-end, industry experts say. Being the largest contributor to the GDP (nearly 63 per cent), the services sector is likely to drive demand for commercial real estate, Jones Lang LaSalle India Senior Research Manager Subash Bhola said. "An 8.5 per cent growth in the services sector in FY12 is an indicator that a major slowdown in office real estate demand is not likely to occur as it generates the highest demand for office space," Bhola said. The service sector comprises banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), information technology, consulting, trade and communication. The absorption is likely to be stable in short-to-medium- term, mainly on the back of ready or near-ready supply, Cushman & Wakefield South Asia Executive Managing Director Sanjay Dutt said. 
"The domestic …

People working in the food sector top the list of employees who need coffee the most at work, while journalists and PR professionals also figure among the top 10, a new survey has said. As per the survey conducted by global coffee and baked products major Dunkin' Donuts and human resource solutions provider CareerBuilder, professionals in food preparation and service businesses need coffee the most, followed by the scientists and sales representatives.
These are followed by marketing/public relations professionals (fourth), nurses (fifth), editors/writers/media workers (sixth), business executives (seventh), teachers/ instructors (eighth), engineering technicians/support staff (ninth) and IT managers/network administrators (10th). The survey results also showed that "coffee plays a major role in helping professionals perk up at work, as 43 per cent of those who drink coffee claim they are less productive without a cup of Joe."
The survey was conducted among more than 4,0…

Investments in gold have yielded higher returns compared to those in equity and real estate in India during the last three years, according to a study. Those who invested in gold between September 2009 and September 2012, have received double returns as the yellow metal has been their first choice for investment, a study released by industry body Assocham said. Presently, price of gold is over Rs 32,000 per 10 grams against around Rs 15,000 per 10 grams about three years ago. Hence, giving more than double the returns on investments, it said.
"Gold has really outdone other asset classes and it is likely to remain an attractive bet as long as uncertainty over the global economy stays" Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. He added that gold is the safest bet for investments amid uncertainty in other investment avenues. The prices of yellow metal saw a huge jump due to high prices of gold across the world and a weakening rupee. The study said those who invested in propert…

Leading US brokerage Morgan Stanley today said the BSE benchmark Sensex is likely to surge 25 per cent to cross the 23,000-mark by December, 2013. The 30-share barometer hit all-time high of 21,206.77 on January 10, 2008. The index would be trading at 14.9 times the estimated earnings of FY2013-14 to touch an all-time high of 23,069 by next year-end, the investment banker said in a statement, adding, the rally is likely to be driven by the cyclicals which are nearing ultra-cheap valuations. "Conditions for a new bull-market are getting slowly satisfied. The yield curve has stopped flattening, liquidity is improving, valuations appear supportive and profit margin expansion is a growing possibility in the coming months," the global financial services firm said in a note. Predicting a near 25-percentage points upside to the Sensex by the end of December 2013 (from Friday's close of 18,464.27), the firm said it is expecting the index earnings growth at 10 p…

As they confront a slowing economy and political gridlock, three-fifth of Indians are dissatisfied with the ways things are working in their country, a 13 percentage point decline in satisfaction since last year, a survey by a US-based research centre has said. The 13 percentage point decline in satisfaction is one of the greatest drops among the 17 nations surveyed by the Pew Research Center in both 2011 and 2012. "Nearly six-in-ten Indians (59 per cent) say they are dissatisfied with India's direction; only 38 per cent are satisfied," the findings of the poll said. It said Indians are increasingly gloomy about the economic future, and also worried about their children's economic prospects. Indian satisfaction now trails that in China (82 per cent), Germany (53 per cent) and Brazil (43 per cent), but still exceeds that in the United States (29 per cent), it said. Pew said falling satisfaction is coupled with widespread concern about the economy, especially unemploym…

President Pranab Mukherjee joked about his transition from an active political life to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. "....of course, it (being the President) has the other side of the picture that perhaps I have become an antique piece in the theatre of the Indian economic activities...," Mukerjee, who was elected President in July after he resigned as the country's Finance Minister, said at a felicitation programme organised by CII in his honour. Observers wondered whether Mukherjee was alluding to the government move to review his controversial retrospective tax proposals. "I am addressing in a different capacity where I have one advantage and one great disadvantage. Advantage is that I can speak freely in the form of advice but disadvantage is I cannot implement what I speak and what I believe should be done," Mukherjee said. The President also showed shades of his much-appreciated sense of humour when he recalled his last speech in Parliament as the Finance Minis…

New residential project launches in the city declined by nearly 75 per cent to 1,500 units in the first half of 2012 over the year-ago period, according to a report by real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield (C&W).
"The total number of new residential units launched was approximately 1,500 units in first half of 2012 compared to over 6,000 new project launches during the same period last year in Hyderabad," a C&W research report said.
"The drop in new launches was largely due to the to ambiguity in the governmental policy," it added.
It, however, added Hyderabad is likely to see around 40,000 residential units entering the market in the next three years, of which nearly 60 per cent will cater to the mid-segment category.
"Relaxation in land reservation regulation will positively impact the residential markets with increased new launches in future.
"There are approximately 4,000 units in pre-launch stage in prime and upcoming locations of t…

Majority of equity mutual funds in the country have underperformed against their respective benchmark indices over the last five years, according to a report by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Crisil released today. "The underperformance of actively managed funds in comparison to the benchmarks over the latest five-year period demonstrates once again the difficulty for fund managers to consistently outperform the benchmark," S&P Indices Director Simon Karaban said. A benchmark is a standard against which the performance of mutual fund scheme can be measured. The agency used the S&P Indices Versus Active Funds (SPIVA) scorecard to come to the conclusion. The scorecard reveals a majority of large cap equity funds failed to beat the S&P CNX Nifty, the benchmark for large caps, with 53.33 per cent underperforming their benchmark over the last five years, 57.14 per cent over the last three years and 52.63 per cent over the last year. The percentage of actively managed e…

RBI Governor D Subbarao today "announced" the formation of a committee with K C Chakrabarty and Pratip Chaudhuri to look into the issue of Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) but only to retract shortly later on the "joke".
"Late last night I signed off a paper forming a committee. The terms of reference for the committee are whether we should continue with CRR or not," he said at the annual Ficci-IBA banking conference here.
For a while the audience took the announcement seriously and some journalists "flashed" the news.
The announcement was made in the presence of his deputy Chakrabarty and SBI chief Chaudhuri, who have been engaged in a spat on the issue.
"Members of the committee are Dr Chakabarty and Shri Pratip Chaudhuri. Process of the committee will be that both of them will be locked up in a room until they reach a conclusion and the time frame is that they will not submit their report till my term as Governor is over," Subbarao told th…