1. WEEKLY NEWS (5 September 2010 – 12 September 2010) Submitted by JasmeetKaur MBA 2C Punjab College Of Technical Education, Ludhiana

2. Piramal completes sale of domestic biz to Abbott5 september 2010 Piramal Healthcare said it has completed the sale of its domestic formulations business to US-based Abbott Healthcare and has received Rs 10,271 crore as initial consideration for the same. Piramal will not engage in generic pharmaceutical business in the country for the next eight years. The completion of the deal would also lead to transfer of more than 5,000 employees of the domestic formulation business to Abbott.

4. Sun Pharma claims victory over Taro8 september 2010 Sun Pharma, which was fighting a takeover battle with Israeli pharma major Taro, said that the Supreme Court (SC) of Israel has given the ruling in favour of the company. In 2008, Sun Pharma had launched an open offer for acquiring additional shares of Taro which was challenged in the SC and prohibited Sun Pharma from closing the offer until the court gives a ruling. Sun Pharma, which is the single largest shareholder in Taro with 36 per cent stake, has been trying to take control of the company ever since their USD 454 million merger deal of 2007 was unilaterally terminated by the Israeli firm in 2008.

5. After this both companies had filed cases against each other and the matter is pending in the SC. On Wednesday, the SC said that the Israeli Special Tender Offer (STO ) rules do not apply to the tender offer by Sun's arm Alkaloida Chemical Company Exclusive Group Ltd, to buy all outstanding ordinary shares of Taro for USD 7.75 per piece in cash. Boosted by the development, shares of Sun Pharma zoomed 6.44 per cent to hit a month high of Rs 1,831.95 in the early trade on BSE.

6. Banks may get to fix interest rate on savings a/c9 september 2010 Guaranteed return on savings banks deposits may soon be a thing of the past. The Reserve Bank of India has moved a step forward in its proposal to deregulate this interest rate. Deregulation would mean that banks would have the freedom to set the interest rate on savings accounts based on their need for funds. Since banks have put in place a system where interest rate is calculated on daily balances, a transition to deregulated interest rates on savings account does not have any technical challenges. Most banks are in a position to determine their liquidity requirement and price their savings deposits accordingly.

7. Former RBI deputy governor SS Tarapore has been a strong proponent of freeing interest rates on savings deposits. MrTarapore had said: “The interests of small depositors have been, for all practical purposes, bartered away. With the Consumer Price Index (CPI) showing a year-on-year increase of 13-14% and the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) an increase of 10%, the interest rate on savings bank accounts of 3.5% reflects high negative rates of return. A rock-like savings bank deposit rate of 3.5%, irrespective of the overall situation, reflects policy paralysis.”

8. Govt proposes relaxing FDI rules governing JVs10 september 2010 Proposing a major relaxation in a 12-year FDI rule, the industry ministry on Friday made a case for allowing foreign investors to bring in fresh money and technology to India irrespective of the impact on local partners in any existing joint venture. Under the present dispensation, a foreign player who entered India before January 12, 2005 has to take government approval and "demonstrate" that fresh investment in the same field would not affect interest of his domestic joint venture partner. This step is being taken because "Competition today is not only between domestic players inter-se but also between international and domestic players. If an industry is discouraged from being set up in India, it could be set up in a neighbouring country.”

10. Margins are likely to slip as wholesale debt markets deepen and corporate customers access the wholesale markets directly.

12. Fifth interest rate hike expected as India battles inflation12 september 2010 India is expected to hike interest rates this week for a fifth time in six months after a surge in industrial output strengthened the case for another dose of monetary tightening. Analysts are looking for a 25-basis-point increase in the bank's repo rate, the rate at which it lends to commercial banks, and a 25-to-50 basis-point rise for the reverse repo, the rate the Reserve Bank pays to banks for deposits.