Today's Hot Stories - April 17, 2013 - PT education

Today's Hot Stories - April 17, 2013

10 Headlines for Today

(1) Supreme Court gives Sanjay Dutt four more weeks to surrender
(2) Bomb blast near BJP office in Bangalore, several injured
(3) Indian techies welcome US immigration bill
(4) Airlines may get direct subsidy
(5) India, EU fail to clinch trade deal
(6) Post appraisal, Cognizant asks underperformers to go
(7) Golf: Masters victory lifts Scott to third place
(8) SFL: Pokam, Schneider win titles
(9) Dimitrov beats Janko in Monte Carlo
(10) Nizam's pink diamond smashes records, sells for Rs.200 crore

5 Stories for Today

(1) PM: India to double renewable energy capacity by 2017
(2) Boston Marathon bombs made from pressure cookers
(3) Rural India turns good hiring ground: Report
(4) Tesco quits US as profits fall for first time in 20 years
(5) IMF cuts world growth forecast for 2013

(1) PM: India to double renewable energy capacity by 2017


Voicing concern over “painfully slow” progress in climate talks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said the goal of stabilising global temperatures was “nowhere in sight” and pitched for individual countries to take action to increase energy efficiency.

Dr. Singh also made it clear that rich nations, who were responsible for a bulk of greenhouse gas emissions, were best placed to provide workable solutions to mitigate climate change.

They (industrialised nations) also have high per capita incomes, which gives them the highest capacity to bear the burden. They are technically most advanced, and to that extent best placed to provide workable solutions not only for themselves but for the whole world,” he said.

“Unfortunately, progress in these negotiations is painfully slow. The goal of stabilising global temperatures at acceptable levels is nowhere in sight,” he told Energy Ministers of 20 leading economies gathered in Delhi to discuss speedy transition to a global clean energy economy.

Dr. Singh said while it must be ensured that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process reaches some acceptable outcome, individual countries have to take action to increase energy efficiency and also to promote clean energy.

The Prime Minister said India was taking steps to exploit non-conventional clean energy sources like solar and wind power and has proposed to double renewable energy capacity in the country from 25,000 MW in 2012 to 55,000 MW by 2017.

Source: The Hindu

(2) Boston Marathon bombs made from pressure cookers


American confidence about having staved off a terror attack on mainland USA after 9/11 was dented on Monday following blasts that killed three people and injured close to 150, 17 of them critically, near the finish of the iconic Boston marathon. Among the victims was an eight-year-old boy who was watching his father run the race.

Nearly 24 hours after the bloody incident, it was still not clear if the attack came from the domestic disgruntled or foreign elements. President Barack Obama called for avoiding a rush to judgment while pledging the perpetrators would be brought to justice. Authorities said late Tuesday that the two bombs were built using pressure cookers and were packed with gunpowder and ball bearings.

Obama did not use the word "terror" or "terrorism" in his initial remarks, but administration officials left little doubt that whether domestic or foreign, this was a terror attack different from the school shootings and other random gun violence endemic in the US.

But on Tuesday morning, some 24 hours later, the President said "given what we now know about what took place, the FBI is investigating it as an act of terrorism."

"Any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians it is an act of terror," Obama said in a statement, adding, "What we don't yet know, however, is who carried out this attack, or why; whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual." He said authorities were at the beginning of the investigations.

There were reports of a 20-year Saudi student being questioned even as the Saudi foreign minister was in the US Capital, but the initial finger of suspicion pointed to a home-grown, lone-person attack given the relative crudeness of the explosives despite its lethal nature.

Still, the debate was between whether it was an "Eric Rudolph-like case or a Faisal Shahzad operation." Rudolph was an anti-gay, anti-abortion wingnut who undertook the Atlanta Olympics bombing; Shahzad was a Pakistan-American responsible for the Times Square bombing.

In either case, it was the first successful terror strike of this kind on mainland USA after the 9/11 attack. The incident brought to mind dozens of such strikes that have occurred in India over the years.

Indeed, one of the witnesses interviewed on television recalled the Mumbai carnage that took place when she was visiting. Incidentally, there were no Indians reported among the victims although Boston has a significant population from the sub-continent because of its reputation as a center of learning and technology hub.

But on a beautiful spring day, it was the historic marathon, which has been held since 1897, that was the target of the horrific bombing. Hundreds of runners were converging on the finish line when the two explosions, about 12 seconds apart, went off.

The race clock showed a little past 4 hours and nine minutes, which means the top class runners, who typically finish in less than two and half hours, had already finished the race. It was the middle-rangers who were converging on the finish.

The bombs stunned the runners, many of whom ran helter-skelter or turned around to run back. But there was also the incredible scene of 78-year old Bill Iffrig, who was knocked down by the explosion some 15 feet before the tape, but after being helped up to his feet by a race official, ran the remaining length to finish the race. He later said he wasn't going to give up after running 26 miles.

A similar resilience marked the approach of grim-faced law enforcement authorities as they set about the investigation even as the administration promised to bring the culprits to book. Time and again, there were exhortations not to rush to conclusions like it happened with the Atlanta Olympic Park bombing when a security guard who helped find a bomb was considered a suspect after initially being hailed a hero. It was months before he was exonerated and Rudolph was tracked down.

"We still do not know who did this or why," President Obama said at a White House briefing, cautioning people against jumping to conclusions because of such errors. "But make no mistake, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will find out who did this, we'll find out why they did this."

Source: The Times of India

(3) Rural India turns good hiring ground: Report


Companies across sectors are positive about business and recruitment in the first half of this fiscal year and the smaller cities will face the greener side of hiring, staffing solutions company TeamLease Services said today.

According to the TeamLease Services April-September FY'14 Employment Outlook Report, there is a 4 per cent rise in the employment outlook index to 79 when compared to the previous half year (October 2012 to March 2013), when it stood at 75.

The net employment outlook is the difference in the proportion of respondents reporting an increase in hiring needs and those reporting a decrease.

Commenting on the report, TeamLease Services Senior Vice- President & Co-Founder Sangeeta Lala said: "It is surprising that despite the economic downturn, the job market this half year shows a positive outlook in almost all the major sectors."

The business outlook too has grown by 2 per cent when compared to the previous half year (October-March 2013).

Hiring in Tier-I cities will see a marginal increase of 1 per cent in the April-September period, while recruitment for Tier II & III cities, are likely to register a 4 per cent rise, the report said.

"Tier-II cities are emerging as hiring grounds for cost effective talent, giving the mid level companies an opportunity to boost their employee base. Companies will also

face new challenges for retaining the top level talent and calibrating the wrongly hired talent in the past," Lala said.

The report further noted rural BPOs that have emerged at locations such as Hosur, Kochi, Udupi, Falda and Chindwara are a good ground for hiring cost-effective support staff.

Hiring at middle and junior levels is set to be more popular in the April-September period, and in terms of functional areas, blue collar and engineering are far ahead of the rest, the report said. In terms of employment and business outlook, ITeS and healthcare were the front runners. While, retail is projected to rise by 5 percentage points in employment outlook, the business outlook for the infrastructure sector is weak.

City trends point to Mumbai as the leader. The other gainers include Bangalore and Delhi.

The TeamLease Employment Outlook Report, which covered 614 companies in the latest round, focuses on the employment growth potential, the business outlook and hiring forecasts with relation to the location and the company profile.

Source: The Indian Express

(4) Tesco quits US as profits fall for first time in 20 years


Tesco, Britain's biggest retailer, will exit its loss-making business in the United States, taking a $1.5 billion writeoff that caused its annual profit to fall for the first time in 20 years.

The group also wrote down the value of its property in Britain by 800 million pounds and its businesses in Poland, Czech Republic and Turkey by half a billion pounds and said growth in its core home market had slowed despite huge investment.

Shares in the group were down 2.8 percent in early trade giving the group a market valuation of 30.3 billion pounds.

The announcements were designed to signal a turning point in the fightback for what was once one of Britain's most consistently performing companies - the world's third largest retailer after Wal-Mart and Carrefour.

"The announcements made today are natural consequences of the strategic changes we first began over a year ago and which conclude today," Chief Executive Philip Clarke said.

"I've been working for Tesco for nearly 40 years and I can tell you this - it already looks, feels and acts like a different and a better business."

It made a pretax profit of 1.96 billion pounds in the year to Feb. 13, down 51.5 percent. It also reported a 14.5 percent fall in underlying full-year profit, largely reflecting the cost of a turnaround plan for its home market, launched after a shock profit warning in January last year.

Despite the heavy investment, the group said fourth quarter sales at British stores open over a year, excluding fuel and VAT sales tax, grew 0.5 percent - a slowdown from growth of 1.8 percent in the six weeks to Jan. 5.

That was however at the top end of a range of forecasts of 0 to 0.5 percent and the strongest quarterly growth for three years, the company said.

Tesco's 1 billion pound fightback plan for Britain focused on more staff, refurbished stores, revamped food ranges and price initiatives - all aimed at reversing years of underinvestment and halting a loss of market share to rivals like J Sainsbury and Asda.

As it reviewed the British business, it also took a writedown of 804 million pounds on its property investments. The writedown on the operations in Poland, Czech Republic and Turkey hit half a billion pounds.

Tesco also said it had increased its provision to cover the possible miss-selling of insurance products at its Tesco Bank to 115 million pounds.

The group's earnings have also been hit by restrictions on store opening times in South Korea.

Back on track?

Following the retrenchment in the U.S., it now expects to deliver mid single digit trading profit growth, a return on capital employed within a range of 12 to 15 percent and dividend growth broadly in line with underlying earnings.

"Tesco's ignominious exit from the US will grab all the headlines but the truth is that even without the Fresh & Easy debacle the supermarket would probably still have seen its profits fall for the first time in 20 years," said Phil Dorrell, director of retail consultants, Retail Remedy.

"Slowly, things are getting back on track in the UK. The question now is can Tesco sustain its newfound momentum and increase profits in a still challenging global climate? 2013 is shaping up to be a critical year."

In the United States, it has decided to cut its losses and exit altogether.

Source: The Economic Times

(5) IMF cuts world growth forecast for 2013


The IMF cut its world growth forecast for 2013 on Tuesday as the eurozone recession continued to drag, but predicted growth overall would pick up in the second half of the year.

In its newest assessment of the global economy, the International Monetary Fund said world output would expand by 3.3% in 2013, compared to the 3.5% it predicted in January.

That left the pace of the world economic expansion virtually flat from 2012's 3.2%, with slower-than-expected growth in the United States and prolonged stagnation in the euro area the key reasons behind the downgrade.

Despite some promising signs, though, the IMF expressed concerns over a global fragmentation between the dynamism of the emerging countries, the United States just puttering along in second gear, and the eurozone stagnating.

"We are in a better place but... we're not out of the woods," said Olivier Blanchard, IMF chief economist, at a news conference.

The global crisis lender said that short-term risks still loomed especially in the eurozone, where Cyprus's fresh bailout and Italy's weaknesses could still spark fresh setbacks.

"The slump in the eurozone is worrisome," said Blanchard.

But the IMF also saw growth slower in large emerging economies like Russia, China, Brazil and India, underscoring the global sense of economic weakness.

"Global prospects have improved again but the road to recovery in the advanced economies will remain bumpy," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook report.

"In the medium term, the key risks relate to adjustment fatigue, insufficient institutional reform, and prolonged stagnation in the euro area as well as high fiscal deficits and debt in the United States and Japan.

"In this setting, policymakers cannot afford to relax their efforts."

With immediate crises out of the way, the Fund stuck close to its previous estimate for global growth in 2014, predicting a 4.0% expansion, "assuming that policymakers avoid setbacks and deliver on their commitments."

Generally prospects were better since last year after two of the largest short-term threats to the global recovery were defused: the threat of a breakup of the eurozone and a potentially sharp contraction in the United States driven by extreme budget cuts and tax hikes.

Even so, the two giant economies continue to drag. US growth was forecast at 1.9% this year, due to larger-than-expected government spending cuts, and the eurozone was expected to contract 0.3%.

Even in Europe's powerhouse Germany, growth is forecast at less than 1% in 2013.

Although markets are giving struggling eurozone governments better terms for financing, that improvement is not passing through to businesses and households, mainly because banks remain hobbled by bad debt and weak capital, the Fund said.

The immediate threat, though, remains "uncertainty about the fallout from events in Cyprus and politics in Italy as well as vulnerabilities in the periphery."

The IMF upped its growth forecast for long-stagnant Japan, to 1.6% from 1.2%, as the Bank of Japan launches an ambitious stimulus plan to reflate the economy.

But that also promised to elevate further Tokyo's massive debt load, which the IMF says is an important point of concern without a medium-term plan to reduce its debt.

Among emerging economies, the IMF lowered its 2013 forecast for China's growth by 0.1% point to 8.0% - still better than 2012's pace - and Brazil by 0.5% points to 3.0%.

On Monday, Beijing said growth in the first quarter ran a lower-than-expected pace of 7.7% fueling fears that a rebound in the world's number-two economy is faltering on weak overseas demand.

The IMF said that Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa remain supported by resilient domestic consumer demand, and should improve if growth in the eurozone, US and other advanced economies picks up.

But the Middle East-North Africa region is still struggling with political reforms, and inflation and foreign exchange market pressures are setting tough challenges in some Latin American countries.

The IMF said the "bumpy" progress of the advanced economies was making it difficult for developing countries themselves to get traction as well as to manage gushes of capital and upward pressure on currencies.

Although worldwide inflation was generally under control, it warned advanced-economy central banks stoking their markets with liquidity to remain on guard for a change in price expectations.

However, it said, growing complaints about competitive exchange rate devaluations "appear overblown."

"The US dollar and the euro appear moderately overvalued and the renminbi moderately undervalued. The evidence on valuation of the yen is mixed."

"The challenge for recipient countries is to accommodate the underlying trends while reducing the volatility of the flows when they threaten macro or financial stability."

Source: Hindustan Times

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