MSCI Asia ex-Japan steady, Nikkei opens down 0.1%; dollar off highs but steady
Asian shares steadied on Friday and the dollar took a breather after its recent broad rally spurred some profit taking, but a fresh batch of data suggesting the US economy may be picking up momentum underpinned investor sentiment.

The MSCI Asia Pacific ex-Japan index was barely changed and Japan’s Nikkei opened down 0.1% after rising to an 8-month high on Thursday.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index on Thursday closed above 1,400 for the first time since June 2008, having risen about 11.5% this year without a major pullback. Some analysts have called for a consolidation while others see ongoing momentum.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares finished 0.35% higher, and up 10% this year to nearly recover from last year’s 10.7% drop.

“The market is still going through a relief rally more than chasing a new trend on global growth,” Barclays Capital analysts said. “We are getting into profit-taking territory,” they added.

The number of Americans claiming new jobless benefits fell back to a four-year low last week, while the New York Federal Reserve said on Thursday its Empire State general business conditions index rose to its highest since June 2010 last month. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s business activity index also showed manufacturing kept growing in the region this month.

“The New York Fed, Philadelphia Fed and the jobless claims data overnight were again favourable, so we can expect to see strong support for markets,” said Yumi Nishimura, senior technical analyst at Daiwa Securities.

The dollar stood at ¥83.40, retreating from a 11-month high of 84.17 touched on Thursday, and also off a two-month high against a basket of major currencies of 80.738 hit the previous day. The US currency steadied against the euro at $1.3080, easing from Thursday’s one-month high of $1.3004.

The US economy shows encouraging signs of early expansion but still faces tough challenges that call for measures to create jobs to help restore fiscal sustainability, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday.

Oil rebounded after a sharp decline on Thursday when Reuters, citing two British sources, reported that Britain decided to cooperate with the United States in an agreement to release oil from government-controlled strategic reserves.

US crude was up 0.4% to $105.50 a barrel on Friday, after settling down 0.3% at $105.11 a barrel. US crude futures fell to a session low of $103.78 on Thursday. Brent crude fell 1.14% to settle at $123.55 a barrel on Thursday.

Asian credit markets were slightly firmer early on Friday, with the spread on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index narrowing by 2 basis points.

Global telecom industry revenue to grow at 5.3% annually

The global telecommunications industry continues to expand as spending by consumers and businesses for wireless services fuels industry revenue growth, a market analysis report from the Insight Research Corp. says.

According to the report, "The 2012 Telecommunications Industry Review: An Anthology of Market Facts and Forecasts," telecommunications services revenue on a worldwide basis will grow from $2.1 trillion in 2012 to $2.7 trillion in 2017 at a combined average growth rate of 5.3%.

"Despite global economic uncertainty, the telecommunications industry is showing strong revenue growth, which is being driven by consumer Internet usage and business mobility solutions. These are enabling new applications," said Fran Caulfield, research director for Insight Research.

Wireless subscriber growth, particularly in Asia and other emerging markets, will raise wireless revenues 64% from current levels, while wireline revenues will show only modest growth, according to the report.

North America is expected to have the slowest CAGR, at less than 4% over the forecast period. From 2012 to 2017, the region’s carrier revenue will grow from $459 billion to $554 billion at a CAGR of 3.8%.

Europe, Middle East, and Africa will have stronger growth, primarily from developing countries. From 2012 to 2017, carrier revenue in the region will grow from $683 billion to $893 billion, a CAGR of 5.5%.

"Asia and the Pacific Rim (AP) and Latin America and the Caribbean (LA) are the fastest-growing regions, driven by the economies of China, Korea, Mexico and Brazil. Many of the countries in these regions have a combination of a rapidly expanding middle class and increased privatization of key industries. The resulting demand for telecommunications services, much of which is satisfied by wireless services, is reflected in their higher CAGR relative to the worldwide composite," the report said.

Carrier revenue in Latin America and the Caribbean will grow from $157 billion to $207 billion at a CAGR of 5.7% from 2012 to 2017, while carrier revenue in Asia and the Pacific Rim will growth from $775 billion to $1 trillion at a CAGR of 5.9%.

The report also states that most of the growth is expected to occur in broadband services, with wireless 3G and 4G broadband services projected to grow at a CAGR of 24% over the forecast period and wireline broadband services projected to grow at a CAGR of 13%.


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Investment banking drags down Barclays Q4 profit

Barclays reported a pretax profit of £5.9 billion for 2011, down 3% on the year and below analysts’ forecast of 6.1 billion.

Barclays said its key investment bank arm ended last year with its worst quarter for three years as the euro zone debt crisis hit bond trading activity, dragging the British bank’s annual profit down on the year before. 

Barclays, Britain’s fourth-biggest bank by market value, on Friday reported a pretax profit of £5.9 billion ($9.4 billion) for 2011, down 3% on the year and below analysts’ forecast of 6.1 billion, according to a company poll.
Income at investment bank arm Barclays Capital fell to £1.8 billion in the fourth quarter, down 19% on the previous three months.

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Suzlon Group Company wins 150MW order in US:

RE Power Systems SE, the German unit of Indian wind turbine supplier Suzlon Group, said on Thursday that it has won an order to supply 73 turbines with an overall power output of 150MW.

The order, from an unnamed US wind power developer based on the east coast of the country, are destined for a project in Oklahoma. This is the group’s second largest project in the US market.

“This order once again underscores our strong competitive positioning as a group in the US market. With our competitive product portfolio, extensive service capabilities and a robust track record, we are well positioned to grab opportunities in the high growth expected in the US market in 2012,” Suzlon group chairman Tulsi Tanti said in an exchange filing.

The delivery and initial operation of the turbines is planned for the second half of 2012.

The world’s fifth-largest wind turbine maker and its subsidiaries had a collective order backlog of 4,734MW, worth around $6.5 billion as on 21 October. It has since announced additional orders worth 997.5MW, including the current order.

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Gujarat International Finance Tech-City or GIFT is an under-construction city in the Indian state of Gujarat. Work on the proposed Rs 78,000-crore nano city has now started, and the first occupant may move in by March.

By the time the first phase is completed in three-and-a-half years, this special economic zone (SEZ) would have tried out, on a small scale, some contemporary urban design ideas.

GIFT would have a command and control centre to monitor the IT infrastructure and respond quickly during emergencies (a fire anywhere, for example, will trigger an automatic response). The city will use the energy-efficient district cooling system instead of air-conditioning.

It will also use an automated waste collection system that sucks away garbage from buildings at high speed. Says GIFT Director Ramakant Jha: "We will now try on a pilot scale many technologies that will be used when the city is developed fully."

District cooling, which uses chilled water to cool buildings, is being tried in a few places such as Toronto, Cornell University and Masdar City in Abu Dhabi. Its proponents say the technology consumes 90% less energy compared with traditional air-conditioning.

In automated vacuum waste collection systems, garbage is sorted out and then sucked away at high speed through underground tubes to a central location, which can be as far as 20 km away. It is being used in cities such as London, Montreal, Stockholm and Barcelona. No Indian city has these technologies yet.

GIFT was conceived in 2007 and the idea was developed initially by a set of consultants such as McKinsey and urban development specialist Fairwood Consultants. It is being planned as a top-notch global financial centre to rival London, New York and Hong Kong.


The stock exchanges of London, Tokyo and Singapore have evinced interest in setting up offices in GIFT, as have many Indian banks. Singapore Co-operation Enterprises, a government agency, has just signed an agreement with GIFT to develop a banking enclave.

"Liberty to transact in foreign currency at the IFSC in GIFT will significantly raise foreign firms' investment and participation in India," says SS Thakur, former chairman of HDFC and former controller of foreign exchange in the Reserve Bank of India. Similar financial centres in Hong Kong, Dubai, China, Malaysia, the UK (London) and the US (New York) contribute 5-60% of GDP of their respective countries. GIFT is expected to create 10 lakh jobs in 10 years.

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LAP commonly known as property loan is a loan provided by the bank/financial institution against the mortgage of your property (residential or commercial) provided the same has not been put up as security for any other purpose. LAP differs from a mortgage/home loan which is a taken to buy a property. LAP is a loan taken by putting up the existing property as a security against the loan.

When you find yourself in a spot of bother as far as finances are concerned, due to medical emergencies or losses in business or requirements to fund your child’s education or any other need, let not liquidation/sale of assets be your only option to solve the current cash flow problems. Financial markets now provide several loan products that will help you to keep intact your assets but at the same time provide you with the finances you need to tide over the situation. Some of the products available include personal loans and Loan against property (LAP)

Personal loans:

These are loans given to individuals without any security, collateral or guarantor on the same. Hence they are unsecured loans. The quantum of loan to be given will be based on the credit rating and the monthly income of the individual. The processing of this loan is very quick because of minimal paper work. The rate of interest on this type of loan is very high and is second only to the interest rates charged by credit card companies.

When is a personal best taken?

If there is an urgent need for cash, personal loans may be an option because of the quick processing.
Paying off your credit card dues because the interest charged on credit cards is very high. Therefore taking a personal loan may reduce the amount of interest that you will pay. Personal loans are very expensive and should be resorted to only if you have no other choice and you are in need of short-term cash.

Loan against property (LAP)  :

LAP commonly known as property loan is a loan provided by the bank/financial institution against the mortgage of your property (residential or commercial) provided the same has not been put up as security for any other purpose. LAP differs from a mortgage/home loan which is a taken to buy a property. LAP is a loan taken by putting up the existing property as a security against the loan. The maximum loan amount would be anywhere in the range of 40% and 60% depending on the market conditions and other factors. The borrower can either opt for an overdraft option where he is required to pay interest only on the amount withdrawn or a lump sum loan amount. The disadvantage of an overdraft facility is that the interest rate charged may be higher, in some cases up to 0.5% and also annual processing fees will be charged. Besides, if you want the overdraft facility, you have to take the loan only from the bank as other financial institutions do not offer saving/current account. In case of a lump sum loan, processing fees are charged only once when the loan is taken and also the individual can approach either a bank or financial institution for the loan.

When is an LAP best taken?

• Long tenure loans: For individuals requiring funding for a long periods of time, LAP can come very handy because the tenure of these loans can be a maximum period of 15 years
• Large Loan amount: Individuals requiring substantial funds also should consider this loan option as a large loan is possible. Of course it depends on the property value. There is no restriction as in case of personal loans where the maximum loan permissible is Rs. 10 lakhs.
• Lower rate of interest: On account of the security provided in terms of the house, the rate of interest charged by banks tends to be much lower than personal loans