Daily News Roundup - March 17 2009

HCL Tech wins US$350mn Readers Digest deal (ET)

ONGC may suffer Rs30bn losses as the Government is yet to decide on raising the price of natural gas (BL)

Tata Power may divest parts of its stake in Mundra UMPP (BS)

RIL may re-open petrol pumps that were closed after the company made losses (BL)

ONGC may sell 19% stake in Dahej plant (BS)

Tata Sons pledges more stake in TCS (BS)

NTPC eyes generation assets abroad and retail distribution business (FE)

Hindalco going for financial restructuring to reduce the impact of acquisitions on operating results (FE)

SAIL yet to re-negotiate coking coal prices with suppliers (BS)

L&T in talks with PE players for joint Satyam bid (ET)

Essar Oil has deferred expansion plans at its Vadinar refinery for a year (ET)

Infosys sets sights on BPO, KPO acquisitions (ET)

Videocon puts mobile phone plans on hold (BS)

NMDC expects 5% decline in production and sales in the current fiscal (BL)

Telstra ends US$32mn contract with Satyam (BS)

Around 46 customers of Satyam have moved their outsourcing contracts to rivals (ET)

Tata Motors and Castrol are working on a specialized low-cost lubricant for Nano (ET)

JSW Steel expects to run its plants at maximum capacity till June 2009 to meet higher demand from the rural sector (BL)

Tata Communication expects to earn US$800mn from emerging markets (ET)

MTNL is examining plans to hive-off its real estate and mobile towers worth more than Rs60bn to fund its expansion (ET)

Pantaloon Retail may spin-off two of its biggest revenue grosser, Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, to a new entity (ET)

Mercator Lines plans to invest US$110mn for purchase of two additional dredgers (ET)

LIC Housing cuts rates by 75 bps for existing customers (ET)

Bhushan Infra raises stake in Bhushan Steel to 3.3% (BS)

Mr.Pramod Khera steps down as Aptech MD & CEO (BL)

Allahabad Bank to complete capital raising by month-end (BL)

Cavin Care to set-up its own distribution arm with over 700 people on its rolls (BL)

Everonn Systems has received a letter of intent from a Bangalore-based college to set-up studio for process of e-learning (BL)

Banks have asked for relaxation of RBI norms for restructuring of loans (ET)

RBI extends deadline for FCCB buyback by nine months to December 2009 (ET)

PC sales decline by 19% in Q3 FY09 to 1.4mn units (BL)

FDI in January 2009 grows by 55% after declining yoy in the previous three months (BS)

India’s oil output may grow by 4.8% in FY10, as per CMIE (BS)

Drug companies gets nod to raise prices for insulin, multi-vitamin syrups (FE)