Posts
All Comments
Interactive Investor's Market Report brings you bite-sized news covering all the day's FTSE and AIM announcements, the latest on commodities, global and domestic economics, gold, oil and currencies as well as US markets. Updated throughout the day, it's the digest you can't afford to miss.
Last updated: 17:05
This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
The AIM-listed shares in Andor Technology (AND), a developer of specialist digital cameras, are in a consolidation phase after a 2009-2011 growth run evaporated, although the reasons could be temporary. Quite often, technology-oriented growth shares achieve a high rating, then investors sell at any sign of the growth rate slowing, this trend being exacerbated by trailing stop losses.
Yet issues such as component supply and customers deferring orders can be regular features of high technology, which managers and investors alike have to bear along a growth path.
Andor took off in its financial year to end-September 2009 with normalised pre-tax profit jumping nearly
View the Original article
Exploration and evaluation expenses fell by $25 million, mainly due to a $15 million decrease in an impairment charge and a $10 million reduction in seismic acquisition costs.
The completion of the farm-out of the Sea Lion prospect to Premier Oil (PMO) in October crystallised $14 million of transaction costs and a capital gains tax liability with the Falkland Islands government, the company said.
The exact size of the liability is yet to be agreed but will be payable at 26% of the taxable gain in two installments, with the first trenche due in 2013.
The Sea Lion field is now fully financed. This means that Rockhopper has approximately 142 million barrels of financed oil that, from late 2017, should begin generating cash flow with an estimated value to Rockhopper in excess of $2 billion at a 10% discount factor.
The firm said in a statement: "Having approximately 142 million financed barrels of oil and $270 million of free cash puts Rockhopper into a very strong position.
"The current priority is working with the Falkland Islands government to input into their ongoing 'Oil Readiness Review', particularly in the area of tax where we have already had confirmation that following the review, our tax position in respect of the farm-out will be no worse and may be improved."
Analyst viewAnalysts at Panmure Gordon commented: "
View the Original article
Afferro Mining settled a Liberian tax dispute, while Jubilee Platinum announced a tailings-processing agreement in South Africa.
Afferro settles Liberian tax dispute with $10 million paymentAfferro Mining (AFF) has announced the signature of a compromise and settlement agreement with the Liberian government in relation to outstanding tax claims made by the government. The claim relates to the sale of Afferro's 38.5% minority interest in Severstal Liberia Iron Ore to Lybica, an affiliate of Severstal.
The parties have agreed that a single payment of $9.8 million (
View the Original article
Interactive Investor's Market Report brings you bite-sized news covering all the day's FTSE and AIM announcements, the latest on commodities, global and domestic economics, gold, oil and currencies as well as US markets. Updated throughout the day, it's the digest you can't afford to miss.
Last updated: 12:30
S&P warns on UK outlookThe UK now has a negative outlook rating from all major credit ratings agencies after Standard & Poor's downgraded the economy.
Britain kept its AAA rating, but S&P warned it could lower this "if fiscal performance weakens beyond our current expectations".
A negative outlook was placed on the UK by credit agencies Moody's and Fitch in the first half of the year.
Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin charmed a dozen kids at Children's Hospital Colorado on Thursday afternoon — making jokes, talking about musicians like Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber, giving them autographed photos, and encouraging them on their path to healing.
Her day started with swim practice at 4 a.m., followed by school. By 3 p.m., she was on the loading dock of the hospital in Aurora, putting on makeup and doing her hair. rapidly putting on makeup and doing her hair on the loading dock of the hospital, ready to go.
Upstairs in the oncology ward, she quickly found common ground with 15-year-old Makenna Wallin in their mutual love for swimming. When Franklin pulled out one of the four gold medals she won in the Summer Olympics and draped it around Makenna's neck, she got a huge grin in return.
When laughter burst from the room, it turned out that Franklin was making a joke, explaining her reaction when she heard the hospital had told the kids that a secret celebrity was going to visit them.
"I was worried they were going to be expecting Brad Pitt," Franklin joked.
She traveled from room to room with her coach, Todd Schmitz, who cancelled afternoon swim practice so that Missy and her teammates could dance with some of the patients at a party in the evening.
He and Franklin played off each other as they visited patients.
In the room of Skylar Nelson, 13, they talked about an upcoming Justin Bieber concert. "You're going, right?" Skylar asked.
"She's got it circled on her calendar," Schmitz joked.
When a kid was shy, and could think of nothing to say, Franklin always thought of something — even if it was pointing to the television program on the muted TV, asking about favorite TV programs.
Cynthia Lozano, 10, was not shy. Sitting on her bed in pink pants and a lavender T-shirt sparkling with rhinestones, Lozano talked about her passion for sports, radiating a huge smile.
"Miss loves pink," Schmitz said. "But the best part of your outfit is your smile. Missy's got a big smile, too."
When Franklin heard that Cynthia loves to run marathons, she knew exactly what to say.
"Awesome!" she said. "I could never do that!"
Colleen O'Connor: 303-954-1083, coconnor
View the Original article
Select Douglas County children will be able to "Shop with a Cop" Saturday morning at the Target store in Highlands Ranch.
The children were chosen by Douglas County Human Services and the Douglas County School District as those in need of both a brighter Christmas and the friendship of deputies.
Children will arrive at the store at 10 a.m. , and each will be paired with a deputy to help them shop for gifts.
"Shop with a Cop" is made possible by donations from the public and from sheriff's deputies, as well as the support of Target stores.
"The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is honored to have the opportunity to brighten the holiday experience for these families," Douglas County Sheriff David A. Weaver said in a statement. "And we hope to make this an annual tradition for many years to come in our community."
The Colorado Department of Transportation will close lanes through the Twin Tunnels on Interstate 70 east of Idaho Springs in Clear Creek County next week to work on concrete barriers and road stripping.
The left eastbound lane will be closed from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday.
Right and left eastbound lanes will be intermittently closed from 6 p.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. Friday.
The speed limit will be reduced to 35 mph during the the work.
A brewing dispute between big beer and small, independent brewers escalated Thursday when the Boulder-based Brewers Association, a trade association for the little guys, accused the giants of being too, well, crafty.
The association issued a statement accusing megabreweries of "deliberately attempting to blur the lines" between their own craft-beer-inspired brands and beer created by small, independent brewers.
"We call for transparency in brand ownership and for information to be clearly presented in a way that allows beer drinkers to make an informed choice about who brewed the beer they are drinking," the statement said.
Since 2004, craft beer has doubled its share of the U.S. beer market to nearly 6 percent, according First Drafts: Beer Blog
View the Original article
The health of most of the planet's population is rapidly coming to resemble that of the United States, where death in childhood is rare, too much food is a bigger problem than too little, and life is long and often darkened by disability.
High blood pressure is now the leading "risk factor" for disease around the world. Alcohol use is third. Low-back pain now causes more disability than childbirth complications or anemia.
"We are in transition to a world where disability is the dominant concern as opposed to premature death," said Christopher J.L. Murray, who headed the Global Burden of Disease Study, published Thursday. "The pace of change is such that we are ill prepared to deal with what the burden of disease is now in most places."
Produced over five years by 486 researchers at 302 institutions in 50 countries, the study is the most detailed look at health on the population level ever attempted.
It charts 235 causes of death, including AIDS, alcoholism, bladder cancer and animal bites. It examines the effects of 67 "risk factors" — as diverse as not enough fruit in the diet and childhood sexual abuse — that can lead to illness.
The calculations are made for two points in time — 1990 and 2010. As a consequence, the study reveals how the world's health has changed over two decades and provides a trajectory of where it might be headed. The purpose is to give governments, international agencies, donors and researchers an idea of what to plan for.
The study provides both a broad-brush portrait of 7 billion people and a detailed etching of what's happening in 187 individual nations.
Heart disease and stroke were the leading and second-leading causes of death in 1990 and remained so in 2010. But over that two-decade period, malnutrition dropped from the 11th to the 21st cause of death. Diabetes, car accidents and lung cancer rose in the rankings.
Africa remains the one place where afflictions of the poor — AIDS, malaria, childhood infections, malnutrition, childbirth calamities — remain hugely important. They account for three-quarters of all premature deaths.
The study reveals many highly localized variations in health:
• As a consequence of the earthquake in Haiti in 2010, Haitian men that year had the globe's lowest life expectancy: 33 years.
• Egypt has the highest rate of cirrhosis of any country, caused by hepatitis C unwittingly transmitted to millions of people through unclean needles used in public health campaigns against the tropical infection schistosomiasis.
• Ethiopian men gained 13 years of "healthy life expectancy" between 1990 and 2010, the most of any group in the world.
• There's a "homicide belt" in Latin America and a "suicide belt" in Asia.
The package of seven papers totaling 196 pages is being published in the Lancet. It is the first time an entire issue of the journal has been given over to one research study.
Although population aging, declining poverty and smaller family size have been the major forces changing the world's health profile over the two decades, improvements in medicine and public health have also made a huge difference. Measles tells the story.
In 1990, 631,000 people died from that childhood infection, which was the world's 19th-leading cause of death. In 2010, only 125,000 people died from measles, which had fallen to the No. 62 cause.
"There have been very, very big payoffs in all the investments made to improve child survival," said Alan Lopez, the dean of the school of population health at the University of Queensland in Australia, who with Murray led the project.
Those investments include vaccines, vitamin A and zinc supplements, antibiotics for children with pneumonia, insecticide-treated mosquito nets for children to sleep under in malaria zones, and better obstetrical care.
The risk of dying prematurely from many "adult" diseases (such as heart attacks and cancer) has fallen because of better treatment and prevention. As a result, the average age of the world's population is getting older. Soon after 2015, for the first time in history, there will be more people older than 65 than younger than 5. That has had two consequences.
More people are surviving to die of diseases that occur only in old age. These include Alzheimer's disease, deaths from which tripled from 1990 to 2010, and Parkinson's disease, whose deaths doubled. At the same time, people are living with conditions that don't kill them but that affect their health.
People are living longer lives, but the time they are gaining isn't entirely time with good health. For every year of life expectancy added since 1990, about 9 ½ months is time in good health. The rest is time in a diminished state — in pain, immobility, mental incapacity or medical support such as dialysis.
The trend of adding increasing amounts of bad health to life is known as the "expansion of morbidity." It is likely to be the biggest challenge to patients, doctors and people who pay for medical care for the next few centuries.
Mary Elizabeth Essa, the second of two University of Colorado students accused of sickening a professor and seven classmates last week with marijuana-infused brownies, formally was charged with 18 felonies Thursday in Boulder County court.
Essa, 19, was charged with eight counts of second-degree assault and eight counts of inducing the consumption of a controlled substance. She also is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to induce consumption of a controlled substance. She and Thomas Ricardo Cunningham are alleged to have worked together.
Cunningham, 21, was charged with identical counts Wednesday.
Boulder County Judge Noel Blum granted a travel request allowing Essa to leave the state. According to police records, Essa is from Nevada.
Essa and her lawyer Jon Banashek declined to comment after the hearing.
She and Cunningham have been released on $5,000 bond each. They are due for arraignment Jan. 25.
According to police and court records, Cunningham and Essa brought marijuana-laced brownies to their history class last week but did not tell anyone else in the class that the food was laced with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.
CU police said Cunningham and Essa have admitted that the brownies contained marijuana.
Half of Denver's longest-lasting TV anchor team signed off Thursday, as Libby Weaver ended her tenure at KDVR and, most likely, in broadcasting. Her co-anchor, Ron Zappolo, is preparing to exit the anchor chair in March, although he'll remain at the station, shifting his attention to sports.
Weaver and Zappolo, an on-air team since the station's news department launched in 2000, clicked from the beginning and have been trading easy ad-libs ever since. (When they've verged on too cute, there has always been BBC World News on Channel 6 for balance.)
Weaver has said she's not retiring, just seeking a change. Would the station have extended her contract? It never got that far.
"It was her decision," Fox31 news director Ed Ostrow's Off the Record Blog
View the Original article
Denver police Detective Alan Breneman wouldn't necessarily advise others to do what Patrick Morris did the night gunshots sounded outside his southwest Denver home. But he is glad Morris did it, nevertheless.
As it had too many times before, the gunfire on South Umatilla Street rustled Morris awake. But rather than hit the floor in fear, Morris got dressed and ventured outside, determined to find its source.
Soon enough, he did. As Morris started driving, he spotted a man hanging out of the passenger-side window of a maroon Mitsubishi, waving a handgun. So he did what any other concerned — and admittedly a little insane — citizen would do: He followed the car.
His calls to 911 and persistence Dec. 11, 2011, helped officers corral their suspect, Fernando Marquez. They also earned Morris a commendation Thursday from the Police Department, which described his efforts as "a valiant act in the face of danger."
Also honored were 12-year-old Giana Rispoli, daughter of Officer Michael Rispoli, who helped save a drowning child, and Gunnar Greenemeier, who installed windows on a woman's vehicle after it was riddled with bullets in a gang-related shooting.
Morris' case landed on Breneman's desk. Had Morris not cornered the gunman, the detective said, the crime might have gone unsolved. Such gang-related shootings often happen overnight, and no one sees or hears a thing.
"It's really frustrating," Breneman said. But this time, he had "something workable."
"He confessed to shooting the gun randomly, that he wasn't targeting a specific house," Breneman said. Marquez, 22, described by Breneman as an associate of a Denver gang, pleaded guilty to illegal discharge of a firearm and is in prison for three years.
Morris, a 43-year-old plumber, later learned that gunshots pierced the home of an elderly couple.
"It goes on around here all the time, at 3:30 a.m. If I don't try to find out who it is, no one else will," said Morris, who is something of a neighborhood vigilante. He said he has been trying to help police capture criminals for 20 years, and it's not the first time he has been successful. "I don't want to see these people do it. I want it to come to an end."
Sadie Gurman: 303-954-1661, sgurman
View the Original article
After hearing Denver Mayor Michael Hancock's appeal on behalf of a land exchange that could lead to a domestic-violence center, the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board on Thursday refused to approve the deal between Denver Public Schools and the city.
The board was asked to remove an open-space designation from part of an 11.5-acre parcel abutting Paul H. Hentzell Park in east Denver's Hampden Heights.
The school district hopes to build an elementary school and possibly an early-learning center for kindergarten- and preschool-age children on the site.
In exchange, the city would get a building on Fox Street that currently houses DPS administrative offices. The mayor wants to convert that building to a domestic-violence resource center.
But by a vote of 11-6, the board decided not to recommend removing the open-space designation that currently exists on 9 of the 11.5 acres. One board member, a DPS employee, abstained.
Their recommendation is nonbinding.
The parks and recreation department manager will make a recommendation to the Denver City Council, which will make the final decision on the open-space designation.
The advisory board's vote came after two long meetings in which dozens of residents addressed both sides of the issue.
Hancock told the board Thursday he was committed to adding more open space to the city.
But he said going ahead with the land swap would be "a good transaction for the city of Denver, a good transaction for Denver Public Schools," and for all residents.
That didn't sway the more than 20 residents who spoke against the proposal, most emphasizing that open space is priceless and that removing an open-space designation would set a dangerous precedent.
Several board members said they were unhappy at being asked to choose between open space and much-needed schools and aid for victims of domestic violence.
But the majority concluded their function was to protect parks and open space and therefore voted no.
Karen Augé: 303-954-1733, kauge
View the Original article
Former Army infantryman Mike Petschel says the overriding message of the military is "team" — to the point where the word "individual" carries very negative connotations.
So what happens after soldiers return to school after completing their service? How do they choose classes or pick a major or know where to go for help, whether it's getting a tuition bill paid or finding a printer? How do they go from there to the next step — writing a résumé and searching for a job?
"To come from that environment, where you never do anything alone, to this one, where you're basically by yourself and alone, is pretty daunting for a lot of guys," Petschel said. "The business world is just different."
But he says he's a lot better off now than he was a few years ago.
That's in part because of Boots to Suits, a program he helped develop to assist veteran students with the transition from the military to school and then establishing a career in the civilian world.
Boots to Suits is already making an impact locally, and the hope is to eventually do the same nationally.
"We're going to have a big problem with people getting out of the military as the war winds down," said Petschel, who will graduate Saturday from the University of Colorado Denver with a pair of master's degrees in business administration. "Veterans are going to have trouble finding jobs, and businesses are going to have trouble employing veterans. We want to create an open dialogue — tell them what we can bring to the workforce, while at the same time learn what they're looking for and what their future needs are."
Since February, Boots to Suits has paired veteran students with mentors from local companies such as Coors Brewing, with more contacts being developed through connections with the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and other organizations.
Boots to Suits director Izzy Abbass says veterans aren't the only ones searching American HomecomingsAmerican Homecomings websiteFind resources for veteransAbout American HomecomingsRead more Veterans' StoriesRead Veterans NewsSubscribe to American HomecomingsAre you a veteran? If you have a photo to share from your time away or your time back home, email it to us. (Be sure to include your name, where you live and a description of the moment captured in the photo)Subscribe to American Homecomings
Enter your email address:
Subscribe to Homecomings NewsEnter your email address:
» More subscription optionsfor ways to make a connection."It used to be that everyone knew someone who was in the military — that's not the case any more," said Abbass, a Gulf War veteran. "So now, you get situations where business people are coming up to me and going, 'What do I say to a veteran? How do I talk to him?' "
There was a student organization for veterans when Petschel enrolled at CU Denver, but it had grown dormant — and there certainly wasn't any outlet to help them with areas such as networking or career advice.
A group of veterans got together and developed three goals: creating a veteran student center on campus, helping the transition into the workforce and creating college credit for military experience.
A little more than two years later, each goal has been accomplished.
The Office of Veteran Student Services now houses the largest student group on campus, with Boots to Suits at its center.
Still, there's plenty more to be done, Petschel says.
More people are willing to serve as mentors than veteran students have signed up, so Abbass is calling every junior and senior veteran at the school to let them know about the opportunity.
Petschel also has scheduled meetings with vets on the Boulder campus, hoping to take Boots to Suits to the entire University of Colorado system.
"After that, maybe we can shoot it out across the country, create a database," he said. "In the military, you're a transient individual, with the government moving you around every few years, so you may have a veteran from Seattle, but he served his time in Fort Bragg in North Carolina."
The program could help a student veteran wishing to go home network to find academic connections and career mentors and, perhaps, job leads, Petschel said.
"The best thing we can be doing for each other is sharing information," Petschel said, "becoming a team again."
Anthony Cotton: 303-954-1292, acotton
View the Original article
At a private luncheon hosted today by the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the United States’ Departments of State and Commerce, he addressed more than 100 local executives to outline investment opportunities in the Basra region for American firms:
“Our provincial income has expanded 500% over the past several years. This growth in revenue has exceeded the province’s ability to manage and implement projects, so with this in mind, we are looking for expert consultants and quality companies that can help Basra fulfill and fully utilize our ever-expanding spending power.“Basra is currently Iraq’s most promising province for foreign entrepreneurs. In addition to federal government allocations, the province has its own budget which it draws from the so-called petro-dollar project.
Under the petro-dollar programme, Iraqi provinces are entitled to $2 for each barrel of oil produced from their oil fields.
(Sources: Azzaman, Business Wire)
.reportBy John Lee.
Two areas of land have been allocated for new forestry in Muthanna province.
AIN reports that 200 acres has been designated in the Um Akaf district, with a further 50 acres in Salman district.
Consent has also been obtained for an animal feed factory on a site of 5 acres in western Shrakiya district.
(Source: AIN)
.reportBy John Lee.
A British contractor has agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in a deal to supply vehicles to Iraqi police, according to Associated Press.
APTx was to receive $5.7 million as a subcontractor in an August 2004 deal to procure 51 vehicles for the Iraqi Police Authority.
The US Department of Justice said that in 2005 the company tried to draw down the letters of credit it was paid with by claiming the vehicles were ready to ship to Iraq even though they hadn’t been built.
Massachusetts businessman and APTx representative Benjamin Kafka pleaded guilty in 2009 to concealing his knowledge of the scheme.
The company has agreed to pay a $1 million criminal fine.
(Source: Associated Press)
.reportTransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline has been a lightning rod for controversy since it first entered the public discourse several years ago.
Environmentalists argue that it will pose a significant threat to public health and speed up the development of Canada's "tar sands," which are believed cause more carbon emissions than traditional oil field production.
Meanwhile, the pipeline's supporters say it will capitalize on U.S. refining capabilities to create domestic jobs and reduce the country's dependence on petroleum imports from unstable nations in the Middle East.
President Obama rejected TransCanada's original proposal, citing the risks involved in routing the pipeline over the Ogallala Aquifer, which is a major source of water for both drinking and irrigating farmland. However, the company was encouraged to begin construction on a Southern section of the pipeline that would relieve a bottleneck in Cushing, Oklahoma and facilitate the transportation of crude oil to refineries in Texas.
Now, Michael Bishop, who owns 20 acres in the town of Douglass, about 160 miles north of Houston, is throwing a wrench in TransCanada's plans with a lawsuit seeking to halt the pipeline's construction.
Bishop claims the company lied to Texas landowners when it said the pipeline would transport "crude oil." Although TransCanada holds that tar sands are a form of crude, Judge Jack Sinz signed an injunction barring further work on the pipeline until after a December 19 hearing.
In a press release, the company asserted that the injunction will not affect its construction timeline. However, there is a risk that the case will drag on and begin to cause problems.
There are many opportunities for growth in the Houston oil and gas sector, but businesses constantly face the risk that legal challenges will prevent them from reaching their goals. Experienced Houston attorneys can help firms operating in the area settle disputes and move forward with their ventures.
The spokesperson, however, insisted that the routine lobbying disclosure before the US Congress, as mandated by law, does not reflect any improper conduct in India. “The allegation that a routine US lobbying disclosure form reflects improper conduct in India is false.
“These disclosures have nothing to do with political or governmental contacts with Indian government officials,” the spokesperson said. “It shows that our business interest in India was discussed with US Government officials
View the Original article
During the transition, Mistry had asked him for approval and validation constantly. He had responded by telling him that he should look at things as “if I were not there because you should be your own person”. He had told Mistry, “if you want my inputs I will give it to you but be your own man and be yourself and just be driven by the fact that every act you do and every move you make has to stand the test of public scrutiny”.
That, he said, was the test he had given himself. “If it stands the test of public scrutiny, do it….if it doesn’t stand the test of public scrutiny then don’t do it.”
Asked if his counsel would be available to his successor, Tata replied, “Yes, certainly. He knows where to reach me and, we in fact, would talk business and stay in touch after I leave.”
He then disclosed that the two of them would have lunch every couple of weeks “over something and we will talk about whatever he wants to talk about”.
Need to start thinking like a shareholder, not a chairman
When probed over whether he still had large influence over the group since he would continue to remain chairman at various Tata trusts, he said ” I think I would have to wear a different hat of being the major shareholder. The same kind of view that a shareholder might have, not a Chairman’s view of the company”.
“I should not be involved in the business of the company or how the company goes about its growth. But at the same time I should be concerned about the return I get on my shares because it is the only income that the trusts have.”
The dividend from Tata Sons was to be distributed for charity by the trusts. “So I should protect that,” he said. Looking ahead to the future of the group, Tata said that he personally believed that it was poised to grow.
Cyrus should define how the company should grow, not me
“Where it would grow, I think Cyrus Mistry should have his space and define where he would like it to grow,” he said. His 20 years at the helm was enough time to charter course. Quite often an organisation has played out one course and is ready to go in a different direction, he said. Often, an unwillingness to have that “course correction brings about the demise of an organisation because when you bring fresh blood into it, he sees things in another way,” Tata said.
He went on to say that Cyrus will bring new ideas and new things.” I feel very confident that the organisation and his leadership will grow.”
Tata wanted a flat organisation with informal working relationships
Asked about the changes he had not been able to achieve in the group, Tata said that he had wanted a more open, flat organisation where there is not much hierarchy, where there is much more informal working relationship at all levels.
“We are very hierarchical, not feudal–given to honouring years of experience… We don’t touch each other’s feet but we still almost bow down every time when one passes.”
Flying is what got Ratan Tata closer to JRD Tata
Describing his long tenure as a “journey of great learning”, Tata said that he had a role model to look up to in Mr J R D Tata whom he had got to know about six years after he joined the group. He knew him but was not close to him and they had come close together because they were both pilots.
“I have been flying since I was 17 and when he came to Jamshedpur, it was flying which he liked to do and I liked to do. That brought us close and created a friendship between us which grew over the years,” he said of the elder Tata.
“So it was a period of learning, a period of frustration also from time to time. Things didn’t happen which as a young man I thought should happen.
Tata tried to uphold the values and ethical standards that were there
“As an older person I understand being told as I was at that time that you have to be patient and so on as things don’t happen as you might wish them to be.” Summing up his life with the 144-year-old conglomerate, Tata said, “On the whole it has been a very rewarding experience. I tried to uphold the values and ethical standards that were there.”
Asked about moments of frustration, Tata said that there were many, recalling his first job in the foundries of TELCO where when one asked why something was being done in a particular way, one was told, ‘this is the way we have done it and it is the best way’.
Has that changed in the group now?, Tata was asked. “I have tried to change. I have been constantly telling people to encourage people to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas, new processes to get things done.
Some pockets have still not changed
“It has changed to some extent. I would be arrogant and lying if I were to say it has really changed. There are pockets which have changed and there are pockets which continue to be just as they were,” he replied.
Tata didn’t succeed much on restructuring the group into a more cohesive one
Asked about the goals he had set for himself when he took over as chairman in 1991, Tata replied that one of the fundamental goals he had set was to restructure the group into a more cohesive one with lesser number of activities and companies. But he had not succeeded very much. The first company he had tried to divest was TOMCO, Tata Oil Mills, which at that time had a large market share and was competing with Hindustan Unilever. He had negotiated a sale to Levers which he thought “was very dignified”. It was a sale of shares and Lever would give an undertaking that they would not touch any TOMCO employee for three years at least.
“But the banging that I got from the media, from the stock market, from our own people who said I was destroying a tradition. My father who was also an earlier MD of TOMCO was against me.
“That really frightened me as a new chairman and that was the last major restructuring I did. Then I did some movement of shareholding within the company to make it more cogent…. that was possibly one area in which I did set goals to myself and failed.”
Tata wants to spend more time on technology and flying planes post retirement
What is it that he wanted to do and has not been able to do?
“I will spend more time on technology, for example, which is quite a passion with me. As an architect I would like to once again go back to it.
“Actually I do it even today but would now implement what I do on the drawing board. Then there are things like piano which I learnt when I was nine years old. I haven’t played it since and would like to relearn to play the piano,” he said.
About his passion for flying, Tata, a licenced pilot, said, “The day I am not able to fly will be a sad day for me.”
Asked about his other hobby of scuba diving, he said he had given it up about four years ago “because I perforated my ear drum too many times”.
Which is the best car he had driven, Tata, Chairman of the group that makes BMW and Land Rover, was asked?
I have two or three cars that I like but today Ferrari would be the best car I have driven in terms of being an impressive car,” he replied.
No regrets in life
“No, I don’t like to look back. There are many things that, if I have to relive, may be I will do it another way. But I would not like to look back and think what I have not been able to.”
The legacy he would leave at the Tatas ..
“Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one–that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be.
“I may have hurt some people along the way but I would like to be seen as somebody who has done his best to do the right thing for any situation and not compromised,” the Tata patriarch, one of the world’s most influential business leaders, concluded.
.pagination_articleThe sources also tell us that some three-wheeler makers are keen that the formulation of norms for quadricycles should be delayed by three-four years so they get adequate time to prepare themselves to enter this space.
Car makers perhaps fear that their cars in the commercial segment as taxis would suffer if quadricycles are allowed; even semi-urban and rural transport options such as light commercial vehicles (example Tata Ace) and vikrams used at present may get affected.
A quadricycle, if allowed in its present form of about 400 kg weight and maximum power of 20 horse power, could well be priced somewhere in between a two-wheeler and the Tata Nano and Maruti Alto.
Speaking to Firstpost, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Sanjay Bandopadhyay denied there was any delay in formulating norms.
He said that a committee with representations from the Government, ICAT, ARAI and industry has already begun work on formulating norms and its recommendations should be available for consideration within the next fortnight. “A notification should be possible within the next 2-3 months”.
An industry representative said the government may place restrictions on speed and engine power and also ban the use of quadricycle-based vehicles on highways as part of comprehensive norms for this kind of vehicles.
But the real bone of contention appears to be a move to consider applying crash testing and other stringent safety norms for such vehicles, as are in force for cars.
Rajiv Bajaj, Managing Director of Bajaj Auto says it is wrong to compare quadricycles to cars and norms for quadricycles should be those which are already prevalent in Europe with suitable modification for Indian conditions.
He points out that at present, 40,000 Indians buys three-wheelers and a million others buy scooters and bikes every month and that none of these products have crash testing or other safety norms which are mandatory for cars.
“A quadricycle is much more comfortable and safe than a three-wheeler so all I am saying is norms for qudricycles be made on their own merits rather than in the context of cars.”
Crash testing and other safety norms for cars are made keeping in mind vehicle weight, its top speed etc. Since there appear to be none for three-wheelers, perhaps the government needs to first formulate them for three-wheelers before moving on to quadricycles.
Bajaj explained that India should match European norms for emission, noise levels, lighting, safety and braking of quadricycles.
The RE60, which was showcased at the Auto Expo in January this year, carries a 200 cc petrol engine fitted to the rear of vehicle. Besides petrol, RE60 may also be available in LPG and CNG variants.
The company had said earlier that RE60 has half the carbon emission of other four-wheelers at 60 grams of carbon per kilometer.
.pagination_articleThe third position among wealth creators has gone to the private sector HDFC Bank, which has jumped three spots from last year’s rankings. The study identifies and analyzes the top 100 wealth creators in the Indian stock market for the period 2007-12.
According to the study, neither Reliance nor ONGC even made it to the top 100 wealth creators after dominating the rankings for years. Reliance had dominated these rankings for the past five years, and ONGC for the three years prior to that.
However, serious market underperformance saw these two oil and gas majors drop out of this year’s top 100. The 2007-12 stock price compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) was just 4 percent for ONGC and only 2 percent for Reliance, against 6 percent for the BSE Sensex.
The study defines wealth created as the difference in market capitalisation over these five years, after adjusting for equity dilution. Hitherto, it ranked the top 100 wealth creators based on a simple listing of companies in descending order of absolute wealth created.
This year, the study introduces a condition that during the study period, the company’s stock price should have at least outperformed the benchmark index, the BSE Sensex. Speed of wealth creation is price CAGR during the period under study.
Based on thematic findings, the study says Indian banking will be a serious sector to watch out for on the wealth creation front, and HDFC Bank may be the pick of the lot soon enough for the top slot.
Importantly, while ITC, which also has a serious fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) play, has emerged the winner this year, Hindustan Unilever also makes a comeback into the top 10 list, at number 9, after a long gap of 12 years. The study says most leading consumer goods companies are likely to be ‘fountainheads’ of wealth creation going forward.
In value terms, ITC created wealth of a hefty Rs 1,18,700 crore during the year, while TCS came a close second with Rs 1,08,200 crore and HDFC Bank with Rs 74,400 crore, according to the study.
In the fastest wealth creators category, TTK Prestige emerges the winner for the period 2007-12, during which period its stock multiplied 24 times, translating into an annualised return of 89 percent. Despite this performance, this is the slowest recorded since 1998, the study points out.
In a signal that the FMCG companies are coming in with a big impact on wealth creation, four consumer companies, including TTK, make it to this year’s fastest wealth creators list. Bata India, Titan Industries and GSK Consumer are the others.
Kotak Mahindra Bank retains its top place as the most consistent wealth creator. Siemens, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints also feature at numbers 2,3 and 4, respectively, in the most consistent list.
A key finding of the study is that while it was generally seen that consumer goods companies and are more in the category of steady growth businesses, not necessarily high returns, a number of consumer companies appear to be enjoying the benefits of the next trillion dollar of GDP concept and are breaking into the fastest-growing wealth creators mode.
.pagination_articleEurope’s largest automaker said Friday it sold 8.29 million vehicles from January through November, up 10.4 percent over the same period last year and more than the 8.16 million it sold over the whole of 2011. November sales totaled 794,500
View the Original article
