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ICICI Bank set to raise 20,000 crore in India through public and ADR issues

Gautam — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 22:19:14 +0000

The second largest bank in India, ICICI bank would be raising 20,000 crores in the month of June. The bank would be raising 15,000 crore through public issue and the rest of the money through ADR issue. In India this is the biggest ever fund raising plan by any Indian bank. It is also opting for a greenshoe option which could double the net worth of the bank to Rs 24,313. As a result its paid up equity would rise by around twenty percent depending upon the share of the bank.

K V Kamath, managing director and CEO, ICICU Bank stated:

We have to look at India in the context of the existing investment pipeline of $500 million over the next three years. We would see doubling of the infrastructure and manufacturing capacity and we have to prepare ourselves for the future.

The money collected would be used for supporting credit growth for the next three years and this is for the third time that bank will be raising money. Lat time it was in October 2005 when the bank had raised 8,000 crores through a combination of domestic and ADR issues.

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Via: business standard

Microsoft develops nanotechnology barcodes for DVDs and games

Gautam — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 21:34:06 +0000

Microsoft has developed a nanotechnology based color barcode system which will be attached to DVDs. Nanotechnology is being used for controlling counterfeiting. In this case nanoparticles will be embedded into the code for countering piracy. To be integrated into the code and packaging structure the material will be illuminated under a particular frequency of light and a handheld digital reader will be used for detection. Even cell phones with cameras and webcams will be used for interacting with the barcodes.

Now it will offer more security and even link to any bonus feature or movie trailer. There are some cons of using these nanotechnology labels since besides requiring color even high quality printing is required which might be expensive for some. Also, special scanner is needed and standard bar code scanners would be rendered redundant. As of now, these codes would be used in case of high value commercial media such as video games, movies and other recordings.

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Via nanowerk

Nanoclothing can shield you from cold and flu

Gautam — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 09:55:45 +0000

Now nanotechnology has been embraced by the fashion world too. Fiber scientists and fashion designers have come together to create a piece of clothing which can not only shield you from flu and cold but does not even require any washing. The other piece of clothing which has also been created using nanotechnology not only offers protection against smog and air pollution but also safeguards you against dangerous gases.

If you look closely at these pieces of clothing with a microscope you will realize that these are group electrostatically charged nanoparticles which create a protective shield around the cotton fibers in the dress. Created using solutions containing nanoparticles the color achieved is not the result of any dye but reflections of manipulation of nanoparticles. It looks certain that nanotechnology would get the needed popularity through the world of fashion.

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Via: medlaunches

Royal Bank of Scotland offers amazing mortgage deals for first time home buyers

Gautam — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 21:14:00 +0000

First time home buyers can really thank Royal Bank of Scotland since it has introduced a number of mortgage deals which would impress them. The offer is open to both first tim and repeat buyers. The bank has now announced a two year fixed rate mortgage carrying an interest rate of 5.19 per cent. This seems to be a real good deal and it would also not pinch much.

This can be labeled as a competitive deal and one can avail loan amount up till seventy five percent. One can even avail a further two year fixed rate mortgage carrying an interest rate of 4.99%.

Darrell Evans, Commercial and product director, RBS mortgages stated:

We’ve provided a great choice of competitive deals to match the needs of either first time buyers, switchers or those remortgaging.

This deal would surely be picked up by first time home borrowers who will find it easy to repay since it carries an attractive rate of interest. In order to know more about this deal click here.

Via firstrungnow

Brand Management is all set to rise in the future

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 21:58:33 +0000

There has been an increase the number of Australian companies outsourcing the management of signage and in the next five years it is expected to grow even more. The reason for the growth can be attributed to increase in the frequency of re-branding and also as more and more companies look to make sure that there is consistency across the branded assets.

As per brand asset management group, Signmanager the outsourcing of signage management has now reached a level of 4% of the $500 million that are spent every year on signage in Australia. It is quite visible that in the past six years there has been a significant drop in the life cycle of a brand. Earlier the life cycle of a brand was 15 years after which there was a need of re-branding. Now the life cycle has fallen to as low as 5-7 years. This has made it almost necessary to go for re-branding.

Via openpr

HP to use nanotechnology for manufacturing powerful semiconductors economically

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:36:27 +0000

HP has entered into its first nanotechnology licensing deal which would make it possible to manufacture powerful semiconductors in a cheap manner. Technique based on HP approach to nanoimprint lithography has been developed by Nanolithosolutions which would be used for stamping out patterns for wires for making computer chips. This is the first deal with regards to nanotechnology that the company has signed in the past twelve years.

The technology costs one tenth of the existing systems and this tool can help in adapting existing equipment to high resolution nanoimprint lithography machines and then are used for creation of miniaturized patterns which can be measured in nanometers. After creation of master mold copies can be stamped out in a quick manner and filled with wires for a manufacturing process in order to develop powerful chips at effective costs. As of now prototypes have been created with fifteen nanometers width of wire which is just one third of the size of the advanced chips.

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Via: iht

What is the reason behind nonprime mortgage business debacle?

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:28:27 +0000

Even in the boom years nonprime mortgage business has failed to take off. This is probably a sad instance for such business. As long as everybody agreed to risky borrowers it clicked and everybody made money but now this is not the case. It is being said that the home loan industry buckled under pressure with a lot of attention was being paid to credit scores of borrowers and very less importance was being paid to the size of down payments, value of property and borrowers debt to income ratios.

Anthony Sanders, Professor of finance, Ohio State University stated:

Bringing back 20 percent down payments would ‘cure all these defaults’. Anything that teases someone into getting into a house on the cheap is inherently dangerous.

With regards to putting the blame on the debacle of nonprime mortgage the market looks really crowded on moral high ground. It is being said that if down payments are brought down by twenty percent and this can help in taking care of all the defaults.

Via naplesnews

Real estate biggies employ tax tricks for escaping its claws

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:03:07 +0000

You could use your real estate for bringing down your level of taxes and you don’t need to be armed with innumerable bank accounts or CPAs, only working around with the tax code can simply help.

Sandy Botkin, Chief executive, Tax Reduction Institute stated:

There’s a reason why the rich are rich. In real estate, people are missing things they shouldn’t be missing, and it’s costing them a fortune.

I agree with Sandy on this and one needs to have a sharp eye for prediction of future housing and neighborhood value for buying fixer uppers. Most of the times real estate tax planning is quite simple and payoffs can be good if one is quite wealthy. While going for a real estate transaction one can end up paying hundreds and thousands of dollars in fees and expenses and everything is taxable. One of the tactics would be to challenge a valuation which is a deciding factor in case of property taxes. There are a host of tax tricks which are deployed by people to escape the tax net and the list is surely endless.

Aerospace outsourcing on the rise

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:57:16 +0000

Aerospace market is booming like never before and so is outsourcing. A number of prime aerospace contractors are looking to outsource their regular machining and for that purpose are looking for qualified people to undertake the work. Take for example Boeing which has outsourced around seventy percent of the parts for their new aircraft. Not only aircrafts but even helicopter parts are being outsourced. Companies are outsourcing some of the functions and are leaving behind their core competencies and that surely makes sense.

Companies are looking to gel with those suppliers which are financially healthy and can bond for a longer duration of time. It was probably thirty years ago when the wave of outsourcing hit the automotive industry and now the aerospace industry is looking to gain from it. With the US aerospace industry registering sales worth $184 billion in 2006 the trend of outsourcing in this industry is expected to just go northward.

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Via americanmachinist

Chengdu: China's outsourcing trump card

Gautam — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:48:23 +0000

India has now got an outsourcing competitor in the form of Chengdu. You must be wondering what is Chengdu? It is not any specific person but is the capital of Sichuan Province in China which is all geared up to excel in the field of outsourcing so that it can emerge as a leader in the areas of central and western China. It is looking to capture work from American, European and Japanese markets so that it can achieve revenues of $100-200 million per year and by 2010 cross the mark of $500 million. Up till now Chengdu was a manufacturing hub but now it is looking to diversify in the areas of outsourcing too.

What makes Chengdu an attractive destination for outsourcing is its vast pool of talented people and government support it enjoys. It is also an important educational and scientific research center and more than sixty thousand people are engaged in the software sector. MNCs are getting attracted to Chengdu and they are including it in their list of outsourcing investments.

With China looking to develop ten outsourcing base by 2010 India needs to look at it pretty seriously.

Via chinadaily