'Credit restrictions and the lack of liquidity caused by the crisis could lead to a reduction in supply. While coffee fundamentals remain in a tight balance, the price outlook in the short run is likely to continue to be dominated by the instability of world financial markets,' said Nestor Osorio, executive director, ICO.
Faced with falling residential demand, home buyers are being wooed with cars, fitouts, parking discounts. People familiar with the property market say this initiative, being led mainly by property marketing companies and a few investors or speculators, is unhealthy. They are doing this as they have put their money into properties at overheated locations and are now desperate to exit.
Companies are offering services in drug discovery and validation based on pathway analysis (that is, analysis of how toxic or radioactive substances reach humans), genomics (study of gene sequences in living organisms), proteomics (large-scale study of proteins) and translational research (clinical investigation with human patients or volunteers).
Currently, the US contributes 40-45 per cent of the total IT/ITeS outsourcing and offshoring business in India and is the single largest market for India's IT/ITeS business. The real estate sector's growth is fuelled by demand. In India, the demand is derived mainly through shift in global economic conditions. Thus any change in the real economy will have an impact on the physical real estate (construction or ready office space) market.
The Indian biotech sector continues to face an acute shortage of specialists. But now there is a ray of hope, interestingly from a dark story being narrated in the pharma and biotech sectors in the United States and Europe. The sector is seeing downsizing there. This has made scientists of Indian origin explore opportunities in India. "The shortage and the noticeable gap is in terms of discovery-led drug development," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD, Biocon
Even as Karnataka plans to invest Rs 3,716 crore over the next 3 years to provide dedicated railway connectivity to the new international airport near Devanahalli from the city, experts feel that the Indian Railways' network in and around the city can be utilised to ferry passengers at a fraction of the cost. This network offers an intermediate solution that can ease some of the load from the highway.
With a US slump likely, semiconductor firms - particularly the global companies operating captive design centres in India - are expected to hire fewer engineers in the next financial year. More than 50 global companies, mostly from the US, operate captive design centres or offshore development centres, partnering Indian firms. More than 50 per cent of the Indian semiconductor firms are dependent on the US market for revenue. Hence, on-campus hiring will see general slowdown.
The move, alleged employee sources, started somewhere in mid-January. While at least 80 employees were asked to resign over the past week, one company source asserted that as many as 300 employees were being asked to leave. The company, however, dismissed the employee allegations as pure speculation.
Faced with imminent recession in the United States, Indian IT services companies might take this step from April 1, 2008.
IT services provider Collabera, formerly known as Global Consultants Inc (GCI), plans to significantly increase its presence in South India by opening more delivery centres over the next two years.
The country's largest apparel exporter, Bangalore-based Gokaldas Exports (2006-7 turnover Rs 1,045 crore or Rs 10.45 billion), sprang a surprise last year when leading global private equity firm Blackstone acquired a 50.1 per cent stake in it.
This is the first time that the company has acquired land on its own without seeking the assistance of the state government's land acquisition agency, Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board.
Most of the biotech companies are focusing on discovery-led innovation in biopharmaceuticals. The segment has been witnessing innovations in follow-on (new variants) biologics (commercial products derived from biotechnology) and vaccines with an emerging activity in discovery-led new drug development programmes.
"The company has identified a place near Channapatna, close to the 'Janapada Loka' on the highway. This will be a 6,000 square feet cafe with a kidsplay area and parking space," said Rini Dutta, Vice-President (marketing and product development), Barista Coffee Company.
More people may start meeting over a cup of coffee if the Coffee Board gets its formula right. It is aiming to entice more people into taking to coffee drinking. It will use the idiot box. The board will make short films on the different coffee-brewing methods.
Wipro Technologies, which runs the global IT business of the IT-to-soaps conglomerate, is looking to increase its business from Japan and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. It sees a strong demand for intellectual property (IP) in areas such as semiconductors, System on Chip (SoC) and Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) design coming from Japan and the APAC region, which is emerging as the new growth engine of the world.
Encouraged by their progress, many small IT firms are now exploring tier-III cities such as Udupi, Manipal, Hubli and Belgaum in Karnataka, Kozhikode in Kerala, Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, Jaipur in Rajasthan, and Durgapur and Kharagpur in West Bengal.
Research is being done in India to improve the power efficiency of devices.
With the Centre issuing the guidelines of the new semiconductor policy, companies are firming up their investment plans in India to set up plants.
Owing to a mismatch between demand and supply of office space, rentals in the Bangalore's central business district (CBD) have peaked to Rs 90 per sq ft a month.
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