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[Grapevine] For 19 Mar, 2010



The Mumbai Grapevine
Connecting Mumbaikars with Mumbai
(Published by Mumbai-Central.com)


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______News_______

  • Budget will lead TN to path of destruction: Jaya
  • Suspected Ghandy aide gets 10 days police custody
  • 'Headley's confession has strengthened 26/11 case'
  • Orissa deploys force to prevent Togadia's visit
  • No surgery for Smith, likely to recover for World T20
  • Indian Premier League not going out of India: CEO
  • Central contracts: Yousuf, Younus, Malik dropped
  • IPL III: Karthik wins toss, Delhi Daredevils to bat
  • Obama signs US jobs bill, says more must be done
  • GM Motors to launch electric Spark by year-end
  • Venezuela ups proven oil reserves by 23 percent
  • US stocks drift mixed after in-line economic data
  • Market Indices
  • Currency Rates



    Budget will lead TN to path of destruction: Jaya

    Chennai, Mar 19 (PTI) Opposition Leader and AIADMK General Secretary Jayalalithaa today said the budget would lead Tamil Nadu to a "destructive path" as it has not addressed various issues.

    "The budget has not addressed current issues like increase in prices of essential commodities, power cut and unemployment problem. This will lead the state to a destructive path," she said in a statement here today.

    Though the budget has given priority to implement new power generation schemes, Tamil Nadu continues to face severe power cuts, affecting a large number of industries.



    Suspected Ghandy aide gets 10 days police custody

    New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) A suspected associate of top Maoist leader Kobad Ghandy, arrested from Kanpur by Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorist Squad was today sent to 10 days police custody by a Delhi court.

    Arvind Joshi was today brought to the national capital in compliance with a production warrant issued against him.

    Joshi was produced before metropolitan magistrate Ashu Garg who sent him to police remand till March 29.

    Seeking custodial remand, city police contended that the accused had slipped away with the hard disk of the laptop seized from the possession of Ghandy when he was arrested here on September 20 last year.

    Police also claimed the accused acted as key facilitator for Ghandy in establishing a Maoist base in the capital city and also helped him procure fake identity card and PAN card.

    Meanwhile, the court extended the judicial custody of Ghandy till April three.



    'Headley's confession has strengthened 26/11 case'

    Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Pakistani-American David Headley's confession in a US court about his involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks has strengthened the 26/11 case, currently being heard by a special judge here, public prosecutor in the case Ujjwal Nikam said today.

    He, however, said 49-year-old Headley cannot be impleaded in the 26/11 trial here as it is nearing completion, but he can very well be put on trial in Pakistan.

    Headley's guilt plea has corroborated the confession of lone surviving terrorist Ajmal Amir Kasab in which the latter has said that 26/11 attackers were shown a film of targets in Mumbai at a training camp in Pakistan by Lashkar-e-Taiba conspirators, Nikam told PTI.

    His admission of guilty in a Chicago court has strengthened the Mumbai terror strikes case, he said.



    Orissa deploys force to prevent Togadia's visit

    Phulbani (Orissa), Mar 19 (PTI) After VHP Secretary General Pravin Togadia vowed to visit Kandhamal this evening defying a ban, the district administration has deployed police and a magistrate at the entry point to the riot-hit town to scuttle his plans, official sources said today.

    The administration has also imposed prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC to stop Togadia and other members of the VHP from visiting the town, Additional District Magistrate (ADM),Kandhamal, Arnanchal Das said.

    The VHP leader had yesterday challeged the state government to arrest him as he was all set to defy the ban order. "I will enter to Kandhamal along with 100 sadhus," Togadia said.

    The administration is also contemplating steps to seal road at Madhapur, the entry point to Kandhamal district.

    Kandhamal witnessed widespread riots from August 2008 till October 2009 following the killing of VHP leader Lakhsmananda Saraswati.



    No surgery for Smith, likely to recover for World T20

    Johannesburg, Mar 19 (PTI) South Africa can heave a sigh a relief as their captain Graeme Smith will not need a surgery for his fractured finger and he is likely to recover in time for the Twenty20 World Cup starting April 30.

    Smith had an X-ray done on the middle finger of his right hand which was fractured while taking a catch in Rajasthan Royals' Indian Premier League match against Delhi Daredevils earlier this week and he said he won't need a surgery.

    "Just left the doc, good news don't need surgery, four weeks in a splint," Smith, who has been ruled out of the remainder of IPL III, said on his 'Twitter' page.

    This is the second finger injury Smith has picked up in little more than a month.



    Indian Premier League not going out of India: CEO

    New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) There is no plan to stage Indian Premier League outside the country but franchises are free to play abroad, IPL chief executive Sundar Raman said here today.

    Dismissing reports that a second IPL is in the offing and it would be held abroad, Raman said he could only foresee a situation with the franchises playing occasional matches abroad.

    "This is Indian Premier League and will be played in India. Now if the IPL franchises want to play matches abroad, that is upto them. We did have the previous edition in South Africa, which was a blessing in disguise since it unlocked a new market for us but IPL would take place in India," said Raman.

    "We are happy to be back in India this year.



    Central contracts: Yousuf, Younus, Malik dropped

    Lahore, Mar 19 (PTI) Banned former captains Mohammad Yousuf, Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik as well as maverick pacer Shoib Akhtar were dropped from the list of players who were today awarded central contracts by Pakistan Cricket Board.

    The board, however, gave central contracts to three players - Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal - who were fined after a probe into Pakistan's disastrous tour of Australia in January-February. Afridi and Kamran were handed A-grade contracts while Umar Akmal got a C-grade.

    Yousuf and Younus have been banned for an indefinite period and Malik for 12-months and a fine of two million rupees on the recommendations of an inquiry committee that probed into the poor performances of the team in New Zealand and Australia and reports of infighting.



    IPL III: Karthik wins toss, Delhi Daredevils to bat

    New Delhi, Mar 19 (PTI) Stand-in Delhi Daredevils skipper Dinesh Karthik won the toss and decided to bat against Chennai Super Kings in their Indian Premier League match at Ferozeshah Kotla ground here today.

    The hosts have made three changes in their side. David Warner has been drafted into the side in place of injured regular skipper Gautam Gambhir.

    Farveez Maharoof has been left out and Umesh Yadav takes his place. Rajat Bhatia comes in for Sarabjit Ladda.

    Chennai made two changes, bringing in Joginder Sharma and Parthiv Patel in place of Manpreet Gony and injured regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.injured.

    The Teams:

    Delhi Dardevils: Dinesh Karthik (Capt. and wk), Virender Sehwag, Tillakaratne Dilshan, David Warner, Mithun Manhas, A B de Villiers, Pradeep Sangwan, Dirk Nannes, Umesh Yadav, Rajat Bhatia and Amit Mishra.

    Chennai Super Kings: Suresh Raina (Capt.



    Obama signs US jobs bill, says more must be done

    Washington, Mar 18 (AP) President Barack Obama has signed into law a package of tax breaks and spending designed to give the US a jobs boost.

    In a White House ceremony, Obama said the legislation will help the private sector start hiring again.

    It is the first of several jobs measures promised by Democrats in this election year. Obama called it essential but "but by no means enough."

    The legislation includes about USD 18 billion in tax breaks and USD 20 billion into highway and transit programs.

    There is scepticism that the law will do much to actually create jobs. Optimistic estimates predict the tax break could generate perhaps 250,000 jobs through the end of 2010, but that would be just a sliver of the 8.4 million jobs lost since the start of the recession.



    GM Motors to launch electric Spark by year-end

    Mumbai, Mar 19 (PTI) Automobile major General Motors today said it would launch the electric version of its small car 'Spark' in the Indian market by the end of this year.

    "We are set to launch our electric car, E-Spark, by the end of this year in India," GM Motors' Marketing Director Gaurav Gupta told PTI here.

    "It will be an electric version of our small car Spark and will be the first four-door passenger car in the world in this segment," he said.

    Considering the extra cost incurred on electric engines, Gupta said the E-Spark's price may be a little higher than the Spark.

    "The acquisition price may be slightly higher. But the operating costs will be very low," he said.

    The company is entering into the Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) segment as well this year, he said.



    Venezuela ups proven oil reserves by 23 percent

    Caracas, Mar 18 (AFP) Venezuela announced today that its proven reserves rose to 211.17 billion barrels of oil at the end of 2009, a 39.9 billion barrel increase, or 23 per cent.

    The new reserves came mainly from the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt, a southeastern area where Venezuela has intensified its investments in exploration and development, and only a small part from traditional oil fields.

    In March 2009, the country's proven reserves stood at 172.32 billion barrels.

    Venezuela, whose proven reserves had fallen to 76 billion barrels of oil in 1998, in 2005 launched a "socialist project" to boost reserves to 314 billion barrels, which would give it the world's largest reserves.

    Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil producer and exporter, currently has the world's largest reserves at 260 billion barrels.



    US stocks drift mixed after in-line economic data

    New York, Mar 19 (AFP) US stocks ended mixed after fresh economic data came nearly within expectations.

    The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45.50 points (0.42 per cent) to 10,779.17 in closing trades, marking an eight-session winning streak that took the blue-chip index to almost 18-month highs.

    The Nasdaq composite added 2.19 points (0.09 per cent) to 2,391.28 while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.39 points (0.03 per cent) to a provisional close of 1,165.82.

    Analysts said the market reacted to Labor Department data on February consumer prices and new weekly jobless insurance benefit claims that effectively showed the economy continued to slowly regain its strength after a brutal recession.

    "The slightly positive reports on jobless claims and consumer prices were offsetting fresh concerns about debt problems in Greece," said Wells Fargo Advisors senior equity market strategist Scott Marcouiller.


    ______Market Indices______

    Index Value Change
     
    BSE 30 17,578.23 Up - 58.97 (0.34%)
    AUTO INDEX 7,629.37 Up - 35.27 (0.46%)
    BANKEX 10,432.19 Up - 21.75 (0.21%)
    BSE - 100 9,302.77 Up - 27.72 (0.30%)
    BSE - 200 2,198.96 Up - 6.35 (0.29%)
    BSE - 500 6,912.97 Up - 20.01 (0.29%)
    BSE - CAPITAL GOODS 13,978.41 Up - 22.55 (0.16%)
    BSE - CONS. DURABLES 4,193.17 Up - 45.31 (1.09%)
    BSE - FMCG 2,807.53 Up - 8.71 (0.31%)
    BSE - HEALTHCARE 5,198.07 Up - 29.40 (0.57%)
    BSE - INFOTECH 5,513.39 Down -  24.94 (0.45%) 
    BSE Mid-Cap 6,764.07 Up - 4.72 (0.07%)
    BSE PUBLIC SECTOR 9,131.48 Up - 41.77 (0.46%)
    BSE Small-Cap 8,494.58 Up - 31.65 (0.37%)
    BSE TECK INDEX 3,408.56 Up - 9.89 (0.29%)
    METAL INDEX 17,901.25 Up - 63.06 (0.35%)
    OIL & GAS INDEX 10,172.15 Up - 78.51 (0.78%)
     
    S&P CNX NIFTY 5,262.80 Up - 16.90 (0.32%)
    S&P CNX DEFTY 4,009.60 Up - 13.00 (0.33%)
    CNX NIFTY Junior 10,607.00 Up - 45.80 (0.43%)
    S&P CNX 500 4,324.00 Up - 17.40 (0.40%)
    CNX MIDCAP 200 7,601.85 Up - 8.45 (0.11%)
    BANK NIFTY 9,270.80 Up - 18.50 (0.20%)
    CNX IT 6,145.45 Down -  29.25 (0.47%) 

    ______Currency Rates______

    1 U.S. $ 45.465 INR
    1 Japanese Yen 0.5029 INR
    1 British Pound 68.989 INR
    1 Canadian $ 45.056 INR
    1 Singapore $ 32.616 INR
    1 UAE Dirham 12.395 INR
    1 Saudi Arabian Riyal 12.139 INR
    1 Euro 61.721 INR
    1 Qatar Rial 12.506 INR


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