Tomato prices soar to Rs 80 per kg

 
New Delhi: After onion, retail prices of tomatoes have soared up to Rs 80 per kg in the national capital on lower supplies from Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Mother Dairy, which has about 400 retail outlets in the national capital region, is selling tomatoes at Rs 64 per kg, while local vendors are charging Rs 70-80 per kg.

Last week, tomoato prices were ruling at Rs 40 per kg.

According to traders at Delhi's wholesale mandi at Azadpur, tomato prices have gone up sharply as arrivals from Himachal Pradesh have almost stopped with onset of winter, while supplies from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are also low.

Arrival of tomatoes have declined in Delhi to 15-20 trucks against 35-40 trucks before Diwali, they added.

Onion prices have moderated to 60 per kg, down from peak of Rs 100 kg last month.

Potato, onion and tomatoes are the three most common vegetables used in every household.

As per the government data, tomato was being sold at Rs 80 per kg in Port Blair and Rs 70 in Aizwal. It was cheapest Rs 15 per kg in Bhopal. The average for 57 cities was Rs 40 per kg.

Tomato was ruling at Rs 60 per kg in Jammu, Cuttack and Rourkela and Rs 45 in Thiruvananthapuram. The data put price ruling in Delhi at Rs 48 per kg even though retail rates were as high as Rs 80 per kg.

Besides the household demand, the commodity was being sought in greater numbers by manufacturers of tomato ketchup and purees, putting pressure on the prices

Twitter IPO set to price today

 
Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The Twitter IPO is set to price on Wednesday, with shares to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday. The previous price range was $17 to $20 a share.

The new pricing would value the company at up to $13.6 billion, or about 12.5 to 13.6 times forecast 2014 revenue of $1 billion, according to eMarketer. Both Facebook and LinkedIn Corp trade at about 12 times forecast 2014 revenue.

Several equity research analysts said they expect Twitter shares to rise after they begin trading, with some setting their one-year price target as high as $52.

"We would participate within the $23-$25 range, albeit, simple math would dictate that management should price at the bottom end of the new range," BTIG's Richard Greenfield said in a note Monday after the price was raised.

Year to date, 2013 has been the strongest for IPOs since 2007 in the United States, with more than 178 companies going public, according to Thomson Reuters data. Equity markets are climbing and investor uncertainty has subsided, at least for now, over the U.S. debt ceiling crisis and political gridlock.

Shares of Container Store Group Inc doubled on their first day of trade on November 1, joining strong debuts from more than half a dozen companies, including restaurant chains Noodles & Co and Potbelly Corp and software company Benefitfocus Inc.

Twitter management has been traveling the United States over the past week, speaking with potential investors.

Google launches new commerce platform, 'Helpouts'

San Francisco: Google on Wednesday launched a new online service called "Helpouts," aiming to connect businesses and consumers to solve problems or get advice on a range of issues.

The service is similar to Google's "Hangouts" with live video for paid services in areas ranging from computer tech support to weight loss.

"What if getting help for a computer glitch, a leaky pipe, or a homework problem was as easy as clicking a button?" Google's Udi Manber said in a blog post announcing the new service.

"What if you could get someone knowledgeable to get you 'unstuck' when you really need it?"

Manber said some of the services now are "how to fix your garage door, or how to remove a computer virus; or it might be guidance completing a project, like building a deck. "

But he added that "on Wednesday is just the beginning. We're starting small and in a few categories."

The categories being offered initially include art and music, computers, cooking, education and careers, fashion and beauty, fitness and nutrition, health and home and garden.

The Helpouts range from free to USD 240 or more. Some examples include chemistry tutoring and homework, learning to play guitar, yoga instruction, French language lessons, fixing computer problems or refrigerator repair.

"With Helpouts, you can choose who you get help from based on their qualifications, their availability, their price, their ratings and reviews," Manber said

Sensex reclaims 21K level on fresh buying

Mumbai: After a brief pause yesterday, the S&P BSE benchmark Sensex reclaimed the 21K level and was quoted at 21,012.77 in late morning trade due to fresh buying on the back of persistent foreign capital inflows.

Market also got a boost after Finance Minister P Chidambaram exuded confidence that the country's current account deficit will be contained below USD 60 billion in current financial year.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 162.53 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

The Sensex resumed higher at 21,004.54 and hovered in a range of 21,045.38 and 20,944.50 before quoting at 21,012.77 at 1030 hrs, showing a gain of 37.98 points or 0.18 percent from its last close.

The NSE-50 share Nifty also moved up by 2.20 points or 0.04 percent to 6,255.35 at 1030 hrs.

Major gainers were TCS (1.83 percent), Wipro (1.62 percent), Cipla (1.40 percent), Sun Pharma (1.36 percent), Coal India (1.35 percent), Tata Motors (1.24 percent) and ITC (1.02 percent).

Most Asian stocks reversed intra-day losses today. Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Japan rose 0.07 percent to 0.47 percent while indices in Singapore and South Korea fell 0.11 percent to 0.12 percent. China's Shanghai Composite was flat

Gold prices snaps 2-day rally, slips on reduced offtake

Gold prices on Friday snapped two days of gains, falling by Rs 10 to Rs 32,400 per 10 gram in the national capital, on reduced offtake at existing higher levels amid a weak global trend.

Weak global trend, as investors weighed speculation that the US Fed will delay a reduction in stimulus against signs of reduced demand in world's biggest consumer - China, also influenced the sentiment, traders said.

Gold in Singapore, which normally sets price trend on the domestic front, fell by 0.5 per cent to $1,340.44 an ounce and silver by 1.2 per cent to $22.42 an ounce.

On the domestic front, gold of 99.9 and 99.5 per cent purity slipped by Rs 10 each to Rs 32,400 and Rs 32,200 per ten gram, respectively. It had gained Rs 785 in last two days.

Sovereign held steady at Rs 25,300 per piece of eight gram.

Similarly, silver ready dropped by Rs 750 to Rs 49,450 per kg and weekly-based delivery by Rs 350 to Rs 49,650 per kg. The white metal had surged by Rs 1,190 on Wednesday.

On the other hand, silver coins continued to be asked at last level of Rs 88,000 for buying and Rs 89,000 for selling of 100 pieces.

Ford CEO 'denies' comment on Microsoft top job speculations

 
Alan Mulally, the man who has led Ford Motor Co's turnaround from near financial ruin, continues to keep mum on whether he has talked to Microsoft about the CEO job at the software giant.

Ford is set to report its fifth-straight profitable year under Mulally. The No. 2 US automaker reported a $1.3 billion third-quarter net profit.

He has held the top post since 2006, when he was hired from aviation giant Boeing to rescue the company. Mulally, 68, repeated that there's no change in Ford's plan for him to stay as CEO through the end of 2014.

"We don't comment on the speculation," he said on Thursday in response to a question from The Associated Press on the company's third-quarter earnings conference call.

Mulally said nothing has changed since last November, when Ford announced that he would stay through 2014 and that veteran executive Mark Fields would take over day-to-day business as chief operating officer.

Fields ran the company's Americas operations for seven years, turning them into a profit machine. His appointment as COO is a strong indication that the board favours him to replace Mulally.

Washington-based Microsoft Corp is reportedly considering Mulally as a replacement for CEO Steve Ballmer, who intends to step down in less than a year.

Mulally on his part hasn't denied reports that tech giant is courting him. His name surfaced shortly after Ballmer said in August that he would retire. The two are friends, and Mulally still has a home in the Seattle area. Ballmer even spoke with Mulally over coffee about a wide-ranging reorganization that Microsoft announced in July.

A management expert said the Ford CEO's no-comment indicates that he has some interest in the Microsoft job.

"His non-denial denial means that he's either talking to them or that he wishes he were talking to them," said Yale University management and law professor Jonathan Macey, who has written a book on corporate governance.

Microsoft beats forecasts as Q1 profit jumps 17 per cent

Microsoft Corp cruised past Wall Street's quarterly profit and revenue forecasts, helped by strong sales of its Office and server software to businesses, sending its shares up 6 per cent after hours.

For the first quarter, the technology giant posted a 17 per cent increase in profit to $5.2 billion, or 62 cents per share, up from $4.5 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue rose 16 per cent to $18.5 billion, helped by rising sales of its Office software.

Analysts had trimmed profit estimates for Microsoft over the past three months, concerned by the launch of an ambitious reorganisation by retiring Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and the pricey acquisition of Nokia's handset business, even as the company's core personal computer market ebbs away.

"The earnings report will positively surprise the market, especially in the context of the soft expectations going in and the dismal report last quarter," said Todd Lowenstein, a portfolio manager at fund firm HighMark Capital. "Beating on revenue and earnings handily will boost confidence that the reorganization is pivoting them in the right direction."

Technology is proving one of the most resilient sectors in an uncertain US economy, with 84 per cent of tech companies beating analysts' earnings estimates for the latest quarter.

Microsoft, the world's largest software company, is the latest tech firm to surprise investors with a powerful performance, coming the same day as Amazon.com Inc eased past average revenue forecasts.

As part of its reinvention as a "devices and services" company, Microsoft now reports under two main groups - one covering its devices and consumer business, and one its commercial business.

The commercial side was the stronger in the quarter, posting a 10 per cent increase in revenue, chiefly from selling Office and server software to businesses. The consumer and hardware group's revenue rose a more modest 4 per cent, held back by another poor quarter for the Windows system as sales of personal computers continue to decline.

According to industry research firm Gartner, PC shipments fell 8.6 per cent last quarter, confirming a worldwide trend towards tablets that has benefited Apple Inc and Google Inc but hurt traditional PC stalwarts Microsoft and Intel Corp.

PC sales have been sliding for the last 18 months, although Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Amy Hood said on Thursday that there were "signs of stabilisation".

Microsoft said nothing on Thursday about the board's search for a new CEO after Ballmer announced in August that he plans to retire within 12 months.

Its shares rose to $35.65 after hours, after closing at $33.72 on Nasdaq.