Apple, Samsung to renew smartphone, tablet patent war in court

Apple and Samsung are reportedly gearing up for another patent war round as both companies plan on returning to the federal court in the heart of Silicon Valley.

The two tech giants are renewing their battle over smartphone and tablet patents.

According to News 24, the rivals will face off once again before District Court Judge Lucy Koh in the California city of San Jose.

Intellectual property analyst Florian Mueller said that the parties tried hard to accuse each other's latest and greatest products, but US patent litigation is slow, which is why this 2014 trial will be about 2012 and pre-2012 products.

Source: Technology News

From DNA News

P-notes investment hits 3-month high in February

Investments into Indian shares through participatory notes (P-Notes), a preferred route for HNIs and hedge funds from abroad, surged to the highest level in three months at around Rs 1.73 lakh crore (about $28 billion) in February.

According to the latest data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the total value of P-Note investments in Indian markets (equity, debt and derivatives) rose to Rs 1,72,738 crore at the end of February from Rs 1,63,348 crore in the preceding month.

This was the highest level since December 2013, when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 1,67,566 crore.

P-Notes, mostly used by overseas HNIs (High Networth Individuals), hedge funds and other foreign institutions, allow them to invest in Indian markets through registered Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), while saving on time and costs associated with direct registrations.

According to market analysts, investment into equity market via P-Notes have been rising in the past few months mainly on hopes of a stable government after general elections starting next month.

"It can also be attributed to moderation in our current account deficit as well as stability in the rupee value against the US dollar," an analyst said.

Besides, the value of P-Notes issued with derivatives as underlying, stood at Rs 1.13 lakh crore as on February 28, 2014.

The quantum of FII investments through P-Notes grew 11.7 per cent in February from 11.5 per cent in the previous month...

Source: Latest News in Hindi

Sensex touches record high during pre-noon trade

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets soared to a new high of 21,866.51 points during pre-noon trade Friday. It gained 213.87 points or 0.99% during pre-noon trade session.

A benchmark index of Indian equities markets soared to a new high of 21,866.51 points during pre-noon trade Friday. It gained 213.87 points or 0.99% during pre-noon trade session.

Good buying was observed in banking index (bankex), capital goods,oil and gas and auto sectors, while selling pressure was seen in IT and healthcare sectors.

The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the S&P Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 21,539.44 points, was trading at 21,727.74 points in the pre-noon session, up 213.87 points or 0.99% from the previous day's close at 21,513.87 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 21,866.51 points and a low of 21,539.44 points during the trade so far..

Source: Top News in Hindi

From DNA News

Goldman Reversal Mirrors Rupee’s Trade Improvement: Currencies

Firms from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to Deutsche Bank AG are putting their faith in India’s rupee as the country looks forward to the biggest improvement in its broadest measure of trade in a decade.

Goldman Sachs, which ranked India as the most vulnerable Asian market in September, now predicts the rupee will beat peers from Brazil to South Africa and Turkey. Deutsche Bank, the largest foreign-exchange trader, and Barclays Plc say it’s their favorite emerging-market currency. The rupee has risen 6.2 percent against the dollar over the past six months, the most among 11 Asian currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

Investors are seeking safe, high-yielding assets as the U.S. Federal Reserve reduces stimulus and after a slowdown in China contributed to the worst start to a year for emerging-market currencies since 2009. For many, India fits the bill, as policy makers take steps to reverse a slump that sent the rupee tumbling to a record last August.

“India looks in much better shape now than it did six months back,” Kim Jin Ha, a global fixed-income fund manager in Seoul at Mirae Asset Management Co., which oversees about $59 billion, said by e-mail March 3. “Capital flows can continue.”

Source: Latest News in Hindi

From bloomberg News

India poised to bounce back? 5 factors that may make magic for economy

India's economic growth may have plunged below the 5% level, but a slew of recent economic indicators and global investors' sentiment may be just what the economy needs to get back on the path to sustained recovery. In fact, a growth turnaround seems very much on the cards.

Multiple factors such as sharp measures to curb a worrying Current Account Deficit (CAD), a resilient rupee - thanks to the timely measures by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and the upcoming elections have worked to swing the mood positively.

GDP growth for the third quarter (Q3, October-December) is now estimated at a lacklustre 4.7%, but it is entirely possible that Q1 and Q2 figures would be significantly revised upwards once provisional figures are out in May.

Note that the growth rate for 2012-13 has since undergone downward revision, which would mean a lower base, or a statistical upside, for the current fiscal year. So, it seems quite likely that 2013-14 would not, after all, be the second successive year of below-5% GDP growth.

We take a look at five major factors that may well work to improving India's growth prospects:

Sharp narrowing in CAD: CAD fell to its lowest in eight years due to government-imposed curbs on gold imports and as the Reserve Bank of India's subsidy for non-resident Indians' US dollar deposits boosted capital flows.

The December quarter CAD, the excess of spending overseas than earnings, fell to 0.9% of the gross domestic product, from 6.5% a year earlier. For the April-December period, it was 2.3% of the GDP, down from 5.2% the same period earlier, data from the ..

Source: Top News in Hindi

From ET News

Bad loans biggest challenge facing state-run banks: FM

Public sector banks could report higher non-performing assets in the current financial year ending March, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said after a performance review meeting with public sector banks and financial institutions.

“(PSU banks’) NPAs at the end of March 2013 are 3.84(%). So we have to wait and watch and see what it will be for March 2014. It is likely to be a little higher. But we have to wait and see”, the minister said adding that NPAs and asset quality of loans are the biggest challenges for banks.

The minister refused to detail the NPA level for the first three quarters of the fiscal, saying the numbers could be misleading.

“NPA levels should be looked only at the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, they can give you a very misleading picture, so I am not going to give you anything as on Sep 2013 or Dec 2013, as that can give you a very misleading picture,” Chidambaram said.

He said bad loans had increased due to the stress in large corporate accounts, the small-scale industry, and small and medium enterprises.

“They (PSU banks) will focus on asset quality, they will focus on credit appraisal, they will also focus on recovery,” the minister said.

During the first three quarters of the current financial year, PSU banks had recovered 189.3 bln rupees worth bad loans, and have further upgraded accounts worth 219.8 bln rupees, he said.

The government is monitoring the top 30 NPA accounts in the banking system, the minister said.

Chidambaram said that United Bank of India has recovered non-performing assets of 4 bln rupees and upgraded NPAs of 8 bln rupees in the past two months.

“United Bank of India issue did not come up for discussion as such… they have recovered 400 crore (4 bln) rupees in cash, they have upgraded Rs 800 crore (8 bln) worth of accounts. Their NPAs have been reduced by 1,200 crore (12 bln) rupees,” he said.

United Bank of India issue will be discussed separately with the Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan in Delhi on Friday, the minister said. The government has initiated administrative inquiry into suppression of non-performing assets by state-owned United Bank of India. ..

Source: Latest News in Hindi

From freepressjournal.n News