NEW DELHI, May 1: The country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India today reported 3.4 per cent increase in sales to 1,00,415 units during April, 2012.
The company had sold 97,155 units in April last year.
The domestic sales were up 3.6 per cent at 90,255 units last month, compared to 87,144 units in the same month last year, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.
The exports increased 1.5 per cent to 10,160 units in April, from 10,011 units in the year-ago period, MSI added.
Total passenger car sales in the domestic market declined by 1.3 per cent to 72,939 units last month from 73,905 units in the same month of 2011, it added.
Sales of mini-segment cars, including the M800, A-Star, Alto and WagonR, fell by 26.4 per cent to 30,720 units during the month, as against 41,744 units in April, 2011.
However, in the compact segment (comprising the Estilo, Swift and Ritz models), MSI witnessed a 43 per cent jump in sales to 26,072 units, from 18,227 units in the same month a year ago.
Sales of MSI’s DZiRE model last month increased by 31.5 per cent to 15,510 units, from 11,797 units in April last year.
MSI’s mid-sized sedan SX4’s sales slipped by 69.8 per cent to 634 units from 2,102 units in the year-ago month.
Luxury sedan Kizashi witnessed 91.4 per cent fall in sales at 3 units as against 35 units in the same month last year. (PTI)
Maruti Suzuki sales up 3 pc in Apr
Toyota Kirloskar sales up 49 pc
NEW DELHI, May 1: Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) today reported 49 per cent increase in car sales at 14,378 units during April, 2012.
It had sold 9,681 units in April last year, TKM said in a statement.
TKM, a joint venture between the world’s largest carmaker Toyota and the Kirloskar Group, said however that consumer sentiment does not appear to be positive.
“The Etios series, Innova, Fortuner continue to register growth in April. However, the market sentiments seem to be low with the enquiry levels having gone down across the industry,” TKM Deputy Managing Director (Marketing) Sandeep Singh said.
TKM’s Etios registered a 21 per cent growth with sales of 5,624 units compared to 4,657 units in April 2011.
The New Innova sold 6,582 units last month against 3,464 units in April last year, a growth of 90 per cent.
The New Fortuner sold 1,270 units, up 72 per cent over 739 units in the same month last year, while the Corolla Altis sold 881 units. (PTI)
Air Lease orders more 787 Dreamliners
UNDATED, May 1: Aircraft lessor Air Lease Corp said on Monday it had ordered eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft worth $1.8 billion at list prices for lease to Vietnam Airlines.
Deliveries of Boeing’s new lightweight carbon-composite aircraft are schedued for 2017 and 2018, the Los Angeles-based company said in a statement.
Air Lease Corp had already placed an order for four 787-9s in December last year, according to the Boeing website.
The company was founded in 2010 by Steven Udvar-Hazy, widely considered the pioneer of modern aircraft leasing.
Udvar-Hazy co-founded International Lease Finance Corp in 1973, later sold it to U.S. Insurer AIG and resigned to run his current company in February 2010.
Air Lease announced the 787 order shortly after it also emerged as a previously unidentified buyer for Boeing’s latest model, a revamped medium-haul jet called the 737 MAX.
The deal is expected to involve 60 of the fuel-efficient jets and is worth some $6 billion at list prices. It is already included in a Boeing list of commitments that still must be converted to firm orders, according to the two sources who asked not to be named because negotiations remain confidential.
The MAX, which will feature new fuel-efficient engines when it comes to market in 2017, competes with the upcoming Airbus A320neo, which also will have new engines.
Neither Air Lease nor Boeing would comment on the 737 MAX order.
Air Lease also has a pending provisional order for 36 A320neo-family aircraft and plans to close an order for a further 16 in January 2013.
Industry experts believe Air Lease could announce the MAX order at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK in July.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Air Lease was close to a deal to finalize the 737 order.
Udvar-Hazy has criticized decisions, first by Airbus and then by Boeing, to upgrade their best-selling medium-haul jets with new engines rather than completely redesigning them.
A redesign would have generated greater fuel efficiency but taken longer to bring to market.
Boeing and its European competitor have notched up more than 2,500 firm and provisional orders between them for the revamped jets, which aim to provide 12-15 percent fuel savings.
Speaking at a conference last week, Udvar-Hazy conceded neither manufacturer was likely to build an all-new model in the crucial 100- to 200-seat market soon, and indicated the leasing companies would throw their weight behind the new models.
‘For the time being, what we have is what we know,’ Udvar-Hazy told the AFCA air finance conference in Barcelona.
Udvar-Hazy said he saw most demand for aircraft at the higher end of the 100- to 200-seat category, corresponding to the 180-seat Airbus A321 and the Boeing 737 MAX 9.
‘The large end of the narrowbody spectrum is where most sales will occur,’ he said, adding the average number of seats per airline departure was gradually rising.
Leasing companies tend to place orders where they think there will be most liquidity in the market.
However, analysts say many buyers will wait for further clarity on the design of the 737 MAX before completing orders.
So far, Airbus leads the race to sell the new fuel-efficient variants. It has won 1,289 firm orders and 266 provisional ones, including the 36 Air Lease A320neo jets waiting to be finalized.
Boeing, which considered a new plane but decided to catch up with Airbus by re-engining the 737 last summer, has sold 451 MAX aircraft. It has won provisional orders for 135 more from declared customers and over 400 that remain unidentified.
United Continental is finalizing a deal with Boeing to buy at least $10 billion worth of revamped and current models after Airbus was bumped out of the race, industry sources say.
Continental, an all-Boeing airline which merged with United in 2010 to form the world’s largest carrier, already operates the larger 737 models.
The founder of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, meanwhile said on Twitter that the Malaysian low-cost carrier was set for further expansion this week, prompting speculation that it could buy conventional A320s to ensure its short-term expansion.
The airilne placed a record order for 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft at the Paris Air Show last summer, but those enhanced jets will not enter service until 2015. (AGENCIES)
Central bank seen in wait-and-see mode for while -analysts
SEOUL, May 1: South Korean exports fell in April for the third time this year, hit by crisis-battered Europe and prompting the government to warn of a downgrade of its target for exports, the main engine of growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Exports shrank 4.7 percent in April from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 1.5 percent fall forecast in a Reuters survey and following a revised 1.4 percent decline in March.
The government’s projection for about 7 percent growth in exports for the whole of this year will now need to be lowered, a deputy minister told reporters, citing the euro zone crisis and a slowing Chinese economy.
Analysts said the depressed exports and separate data on Tuesday showing that inflation in April eased to a 21-month low, also short of forecasts, put pressure on South Korea’s policymakers to shift their focus further toward fostering growth and away from fighting consumer price rises.
South Korea’s economic growth has been lacklustre, at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, while the central bank and private economists have lowered full-year forecasts as concerns mount over the uncertain global economic outlook.
TROUBLES IN EUROPE
‘We initially didn’t expect the EU fiscal crisis to deteriorate further and thought our exports to China would hold up even if economic growth there slows. But China’s exports are falling substantially,’ Deputy Minister Han Jin-hyun said.
‘Because of factors like the EU fiscal crisis, China and the base effect from (high exports to) Japan, we think (exports and the trade surplus) will be smaller than initially expected.’
The ministry has said overseas sales by the world’s seventh-largest exporter would increase to $595 billion this year from $555 billion in 2011, while the trade surplus would be $25 billion versus $31 billion last year.
Exports to the European Union fell 16.7 percent in the first 20 days of April from a year earlier, more than eclipsing small rises in exports to China and the United States. Those three markets account for 44 percent of South Korea’s exports.
Inflation in April eased for a second consecutive month to 2.5 percent on a year-on-year basis, the slowest pace since July 2010, led by farm products, although some costs for travel and private education rose.
‘Although the economy didn’t weaken sharply, momentum remains weak, and so there is an increased possibility that the Bank of Korea will prioritise growth over inflation,’ said Lee Sang-jae, chief economist at Hyundai Securities.
Still, he said the Bank of Korea, whose official rhetoric has until now put its policy priority on lowering inflation expectations, would likely adopt a wait-and-see stance for some time while assessing the global economy’s performance.
Financial markets in Seoul were closed on Tuesday for Labour Day.
The Bank of Korea has left the policy interest rate, its 7-day repurchase agreement rate, steady at 3.25 percent for 10 consecutive months after raising it by a total of 125 basis points between July 2010 and June 2011.
Its next policy review is on May 10 and the market consensus is that the central bank will stay on hold at least for the remainder of the year.
(AGENCIES)
Neo Sports entitled to 7 pc hike in fee: TDSAT to Big TV
NEW DELHI, May 1: Telecom tribunal TDSAT has held that sports broadcaster Neo Sports is entitled to 7 per cent increase in subscription fee for its channels from ADAG group firm Reliance Big TV, which provides Direct-to-Home service.
“Petitioner (Neo Sports) is entitled to 7 per cent increase on the subscription fee on and from January 1, 2009,” said a TDSAT bench headed by its Chairman Justice S B Sinha.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) further said that BiG TV “must allow the Petitioner to audit its system within two weeks from date” for calculation of the average number of subscribers.
Big TV had subscribed to the sports broadcaster’s two channels – Neo Cricket and Neo Sports – for its DTH platform.
The TDSAT’s direction came over the plea of Neo Sports, which had entered into an agreement with the ADAG group firm in June 2008.
As per the terms and conditions, Reliance Big TV had to pay the bouquet rates (at 50 per cent of the one fixed by sectoral regulator Trai) for Non-CAS areas, which came to about Rs 19.37.
However, in December, 2008, Trai brought out new regulations and allowed broadcasters a hike of seven 7 per cent from January 2009.
Following that, the Neo Sports bouquet rate came to Rs 20.73. Later, based on the SMS records submitted by Big TV, Neo Sports raised invoices.
However, dispute arose over the payability of subscription fees as per the terms of their agreement. Neo also questioned the subscriber number given by Big TV.
Neo Sports had approached TDSAT on March 31, 2011 seeking directions to Big TV for paying Rs 6.2 crore along with 18 per cent interest. (PTI)
Air Lease orders more 787 Dreamliners
UNDATED, May 1: Aircraft lessor Air Lease Corp said on Monday it had ordered eight new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft worth $1.8 billion at list prices for lease to Vietnam Airlines.
Deliveries of Boeing’s new lightweight carbon-composite aircraft are schedued for 2017 and 2018, the Los Angeles-based company said in a statement.
Air Lease Corp had already placed an order for four 787-9s in December last year, according to the Boeing website.
The company was founded in 2010 by Steven Udvar-Hazy, widely considered the pioneer of modern aircraft leasing.
Udvar-Hazy co-founded International Lease Finance Corp in 1973, later sold it to U.S. Insurer AIG and resigned to run his current company in February 2010.
Air Lease announced the 787 order shortly after it also emerged as a previously unidentified buyer for Boeing’s latest model, a revamped medium-haul jet called the 737 MAX.
The deal is expected to involve 60 of the fuel-efficient jets and is worth some $6 billion at list prices. It is already included in a Boeing list of commitments that still must be converted to firm orders, according to the two sources who asked not to be named because negotiations remain confidential.
The MAX, which will feature new fuel-efficient engines when it comes to market in 2017, competes with the upcoming Airbus A320neo, which also will have new engines.
Neither Air Lease nor Boeing would comment on the 737 MAX order.
Air Lease also has a pending provisional order for 36 A320neo-family aircraft and plans to close an order for a further 16 in January 2013.
Industry experts believe Air Lease could announce the MAX order at the Farnborough Air Show in the UK in July.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Air Lease was close to a deal to finalize the 737 order.
Udvar-Hazy has criticized decisions, first by Airbus and then by Boeing, to upgrade their best-selling medium-haul jets with new engines rather than completely redesigning them.
A redesign would have generated greater fuel efficiency but taken longer to bring to market.
Boeing and its European competitor have notched up more than 2,500 firm and provisional orders between them for the revamped jets, which aim to provide 12-15 percent fuel savings.
Speaking at a conference last week, Udvar-Hazy conceded neither manufacturer was likely to build an all-new model in the crucial 100- to 200-seat market soon, and indicated the leasing companies would throw their weight behind the new models.
‘For the time being, what we have is what we know,’ Udvar-Hazy told the AFCA air finance conference in Barcelona.
Udvar-Hazy said he saw most demand for aircraft at the higher end of the 100- to 200-seat category, corresponding to the 180-seat Airbus A321 and the Boeing 737 MAX 9.
‘The large end of the narrowbody spectrum is where most sales will occur,’ he said, adding the average number of seats per airline departure was gradually rising.
Leasing companies tend to place orders where they think there will be most liquidity in the market.
However, analysts say many buyers will wait for further clarity on the design of the 737 MAX before completing orders.
So far, Airbus leads the race to sell the new fuel-efficient variants. It has won 1,289 firm orders and 266 provisional ones, including the 36 Air Lease A320neo jets waiting to be finalized.
Boeing, which considered a new plane but decided to catch up with Airbus by re-engining the 737 last summer, has sold 451 MAX aircraft. It has won provisional orders for 135 more from declared customers and over 400 that remain unidentified.
United Continental is finalizing a deal with Boeing to buy at least $10 billion worth of revamped and current models after Airbus was bumped out of the race, industry sources say.
Continental, an all-Boeing airline which merged with United in 2010 to form the world’s largest carrier, already operates the larger 737 models.
The founder of AirAsia, Tony Fernandes, meanwhile said on Twitter that the Malaysian low-cost carrier was set for further expansion this week, prompting speculation that it could buy conventional A320s to ensure its short-term expansion.
The airilne placed a record order for 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft at the Paris Air Show last summer, but those enhanced jets will not enter service until 2015. (AGENCIES)
Central bank seen in wait-and-see mode for while -analysts
SEOUL, May 1: South Korean exports fell in April for the third time this year, hit by crisis-battered Europe and prompting the government to warn of a downgrade of its target for exports, the main engine of growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Exports shrank 4.7 percent in April from a year earlier, data from the Ministry of Knowledge Economy showed on Tuesday, a bigger drop than the 1.5 percent fall forecast in a Reuters survey and following a revised 1.4 percent decline in March.
The government’s projection for about 7 percent growth in exports for the whole of this year will now need to be lowered, a deputy minister told reporters, citing the euro zone crisis and a slowing Chinese economy.
Analysts said the depressed exports and separate data on Tuesday showing that inflation in April eased to a 21-month low, also short of forecasts, put pressure on South Korea’s policymakers to shift their focus further toward fostering growth and away from fighting consumer price rises.
South Korea’s economic growth has been lacklustre, at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the first quarter, while the central bank and private economists have lowered full-year forecasts as concerns mount over the uncertain global economic outlook.
TROUBLES IN EUROPE
‘We initially didn’t expect the EU fiscal crisis to deteriorate further and thought our exports to China would hold up even if economic growth there slows. But China’s exports are falling substantially,’ Deputy Minister Han Jin-hyun said.
‘Because of factors like the EU fiscal crisis, China and the base effect from (high exports to) Japan, we think (exports and the trade surplus) will be smaller than initially expected.’
The ministry has said overseas sales by the world’s seventh-largest exporter would increase to $595 billion this year from $555 billion in 2011, while the trade surplus would be $25 billion versus $31 billion last year.
Exports to the European Union fell 16.7 percent in the first 20 days of April from a year earlier, more than eclipsing small rises in exports to China and the United States. Those three markets account for 44 percent of South Korea’s exports.
Inflation in April eased for a second consecutive month to 2.5 percent on a year-on-year basis, the slowest pace since July 2010, led by farm products, although some costs for travel and private education rose.
‘Although the economy didn’t weaken sharply, momentum remains weak, and so there is an increased possibility that the Bank of Korea will prioritise growth over inflation,’ said Lee Sang-jae, chief economist at Hyundai Securities.
Still, he said the Bank of Korea, whose official rhetoric has until now put its policy priority on lowering inflation expectations, would likely adopt a wait-and-see stance for some time while assessing the global economy’s performance.
Financial markets in Seoul were closed on Tuesday for Labour Day.
The Bank of Korea has left the policy interest rate, its 7-day repurchase agreement rate, steady at 3.25 percent for 10 consecutive months after raising it by a total of 125 basis points between July 2010 and June 2011.
Its next policy review is on May 10 and the market consensus is that the central bank will stay on hold at least for the remainder of the year.
(AGENCIES)
Neo Sports entitled to 7 pc hike in fee: TDSAT to Big TV
NEW DELHI, May 1: Telecom tribunal TDSAT has held that sports broadcaster Neo Sports is entitled to 7 per cent increase in subscription fee for its channels from ADAG group firm Reliance Big TV, which provides Direct-to-Home service.
“Petitioner (Neo Sports) is entitled to 7 per cent increase on the subscription fee on and from January 1, 2009,” said a TDSAT bench headed by its Chairman Justice S B Sinha.
The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) further said that BiG TV “must allow the Petitioner to audit its system within two weeks from date” for calculation of the average number of subscribers.
Big TV had subscribed to the sports broadcaster’s two channels – Neo Cricket and Neo Sports – for its DTH platform.
The TDSAT’s direction came over the plea of Neo Sports, which had entered into an agreement with the ADAG group firm in June 2008.
As per the terms and conditions, Reliance Big TV had to pay the bouquet rates (at 50 per cent of the one fixed by sectoral regulator Trai) for Non-CAS areas, which came to about Rs 19.37.
However, in December, 2008, Trai brought out new regulations and allowed broadcasters a hike of seven 7 per cent from January 2009.
Following that, the Neo Sports bouquet rate came to Rs 20.73. Later, based on the SMS records submitted by Big TV, Neo Sports raised invoices.
However, dispute arose over the payability of subscription fees as per the terms of their agreement. Neo also questioned the subscriber number given by Big TV.
Neo Sports had approached TDSAT on March 31, 2011 seeking directions to Big TV for paying Rs 6.2 crore along with 18 per cent interest. (PTI)
Oil down in Asia on stockpile forecasts, eurozone fears
SINGAPORE, May 1: Oil was down in quiet Asian trade today on forecasts of a US stockpile gain as well as amplified worries over the eurozone after Spain announced that it had fallen into recession, analysts said.
New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, shed 15 cents to USD 104.72 per barrel and Brent North Sea crude for June delivery retreated 16 cents to USD 119.31.
Stock markets in China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand are closed today for a public holiday.
Expectations of a build-up in US crude inventories coupled with heightened worries over the economic state of the eurozone weighed on crude prices, said Jason Hughes, head of premium client management for IG Markets Singapore.
“The estimates coming in that US stockpiles would have increased yet again and also the uncertainty that still remains over the eurozone and the Spanish officially entering recession for the second time since 2009” hit crude prices, he told.
An analyst poll forecast that US crude stockpiles would rise by 2.3 million barrels for the week ended April 27, representing another increase in inventories after a larger than expected spike recorded last week.
The stockpile gains indicate flagging energy demand in the world’s largest oil consumer, which is bearish for oil markets.
Meanwhile, Spain’s announcement late Monday that it had officially entered a recession after its economy contracted for the second straight quarter aggravated trader fears over the state of the troubled eurozone economy. (AGENCIES)
Obese women faces discrimination during job hunt: Aus study
MELBOURNE, May 1: A new Australian study has found that obese women face discrimination when applying for jobs.
Researchers from Monash University undertook the study to analyse a series of resumes with a photo of the applicant. It was found that obese women were more likely to face discrimination when applying for a job and more likely to be paid less than their slimmer colleagues.
The university’s Kerry O’Brien was qouted by the report as saying that discrimination against obese candidates was strong in all job selection criteria, including starting salary and leadership potential.
“If they’re less likely to be in high-status jobs, it’s not because they’re lazy and stupid – which are some of the stereotypes – it’s because we actually put them there because we discriminate against them,” he said.
“We know that lower socio-economic status is associated with greater obesity, so really it’s becoming a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy with this discrimination,” he added.
It was also found that the more highly the participants rated their own physical attractiveness, the more likely they were to discriminate against obese candidates. The findings have been published in the International Journal of Obesity. (PTI)