The auditors of India’s biggest carrier Jet Airways have issued a warning to the company to raise funds or generate cash flows in the future to meets its obligations, including financial support to its loss-making subsidiary JetLite.

In a report dated Nov. 11, Deloitte Haskins & Sells and Chaturvedi & Shah said raising money is crucial if Jet’s accounts have to be prepared on a “going concern basis” in the future.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

In September, auditors of smaller rival Kingfisher Airlines had warned the carrier needed to infuse funds to continue as a “going concern”.

Jet, which enjoys nearly a quarter of the market share, swung to a net loss in September quarter, compared with a profit a year ago, hurt by rising fuel prices and a forex loss in the quarter.

“Jet is better relative to Kingfisher in terms of financial strength. I definitely think they will make a profit over the time and shore up their capital,” said an analyst with a local brokerage who requested anonymity.

The report was released to the stock exchange on Monday.

Tags: cash flows, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher, Kingfisher Airlines

Policymakers in the United States were urged by President Barack Obama to “bite the bullet” and make the compromises needed for a deficit-reduction deal they need to reach this month for avoiding triggering automatic federal spending cuts.

It was time for the bipartisan, 12-member “super committee” to match up prudent spending curbs with tax increases and get to an agreement, according to Obama.

From news.yahoo.com:

“It feels as if people continue to try to stick with their rigid positions rather than solve the problem,” Obama said, also accusing lawmakers of “wanting to jigger the math” to avoid having to make politically unpopular decisions.

“My hope is that over the next several days the congressional leadership on the super committee will go ahead and bite the bullet and do what needs to be done.”

The special congressional committee is assigned the task of finding at least $1.2 trillion in federal budget savings over 10 years, but with a November 23 deadline looming, Republicans and Democrats on the panel have not yet sealed a deal.

“I really believe that all of the ingredients for a good resolution are there. We just need to build the will,” said House of Representatives Democrat James Clyburn, a member of the committee.

Tags: federal spending, leadership

Asian shares inched up while the euro clung to overnight gains on Friday but markets largely stayed within range as investors are awaiting a weekend meeting of European leaders for signs of progress in resolving the region’s debt crisis.

Gold and copper rebounded from the sharp falls of Thursday.

From news.yahoo.com:

European leaders said they did not expect Sunday’s meeting to give an all-cure solution to the euro zone‘s debt problems, with regional leaders still sharply divided over how to strengthen a euro zone rescue fund.

France and Germany said in a joint statement on Thursday that the leaders will discuss in detail a comprehensive solution to the euro zone crisis at the summit on Sunday but no decisions will be adopted before a second meeting to be held by Wednesday at the latest.

Paris and Berlin wanted negotiations to start immediately with the private sector for an agreement on the sustainability of Greece’s debt, according to the communique.

“Assets across the board are coming under pressure as it becomes clear that European banks, when faced with a stress test, will likely reduce their assets to strengthen their capital,” said Naohiro Niimura, a partner at research and consulting firm Market Risk Advisory Co.

Tags: debt crisis, euro zone

After euro zone policymakers moved to shore up struggling banks and fend off a financial crisis, Asian stocks rose on Friday and the euro clung to gains from a 2-cent rally.

On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced aggressive liquidity measures to throw a lifeline to lenders who have seen wholesale funding drying up as market confidence ebbed, and the European Union said it would present a plan for a coordinated recapitalization of banks by member states.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Gold, oil, copper and equities were all on course to post weekly gains on hopes that Europe’s leaders may finally be getting to grips with a two-year-old sovereign debt crisis, although the scale of the task meant caution remained high.

“There are still plenty of problems that face the European financial system,” said Greg Gibbs, strategist at RBS in Sydney. “The risk rally will probably run out to steam in the next week.”

Fears that the crisis is heading inexorably towards a default by Greece — and possibly others — that could trigger turmoil in the banking system have caused a sharp sell-off in riskier assets since late July.

U.S. stocks rose more that 1.5 percent on Thursday and S&P 500 index futures traded in Asia were mildly negative. “No one wants to take a big position ahead of the U.S. jobs report later in case there is a downside surprise,” said Koichi Ogawa, chief portfolio manager at Daiwa SB Investments in Tokyo.

Tags: debt crisis, euro zone, liquidity measures

After Amazon.com launched its Kindle Fire at a mass market-friendly $199, Asian technology companies came under pressure on Thursday to slash prices of their tablet computers.

Major Asian tablet makers, from Samsung Electronics to Sony Corp, have ambitious plans to take on Apple but none of them have however been able to gain any significant market share from Apple.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

So far, Samsung has been seen as the most credible challenger to the iPad and some analysts suggest it could lose its No. 2 position to the eagerly anticipated Fire.

The South Korean company’s tablet marketing campaign has also stumbled in recent months due to Apple’s legal attempts to ban Samsung’s tablet sales in Australia, the United States and Germany, over patent infringement, among other claims.

The Kindle Fire, while lacking many of the high-tech bells and whistles common on tablets from cameras to 3G wireless connection, may sound the death knell for a raft of devices based on Google Inc’s Android operating system.

“Amazon’s retail-based business model allows the company to subsidize the device on the premise that consumers will buy more from Amazon, be that physical goods or its digital content,” said Adam Leach, an analyst at research firm Ovum.

Tags: Amazon, Apple, Kindle Fire, marketing campaign, tablet computers

The much-awaited Kindle Fire tablet from Amazon has been introduced and priced at $199.

The tablet is the latest–and possibly biggest–challenger to Apple Inc.’s dominant iPad.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Amazon’s CEO Jeff Bezos said, “We asked ourselves, Is there some way we can bring all of these things together [web service, Prime, Kindle, instant video and its app store] into a remarkable product offering customers would love. Yes there is Kindle Fire,” during the launch.

The cheapest new Kindle will cost $79, and dispenses with the keyboard the Kindles have carried since the first model launched in 2007. Previously, the cheapest Kindle cost $114.

Amazon is also bringing out the first black-and-white Kindle with a touch screen. It will cost $99 and is reminiscent of Barnes & Noble’s latest Nook. A version with access to AT&T’s cellular network for book downloads will cost $149.

The Kindle Fire tablet will run on modified version of Google’s Android operating system has a 7-inch screen. The tablet will go on sale from Nov 15 and the pre-orders started on September 28, 2011.

Tags: Amazon, Android operating system, instant video, iPad, Kindle, Kindle Fire tablet, Prime, web service

UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel said he has the support of his board despite the recent rogue trading scandal that cost the bank $2.3 billion and prompted calls for tougher regulation of risky investment bank practices.

Gruebel is expected to ask the UBS board to back plans, under his leadership, for a radical overhaul of investment banking.

From news.yahoo.com:

London-based UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was charged on Friday with fraud and false accounting dating back to 2008 relating to the losses.

UBS said in a statement on Sunday that he concealed “unauthorized speculative trading” in equity index futures over the last three months” by creating fictitious hedging positions in internal systems.

Gruebel said on Sunday he would “bear the consequences” of the trading loss that was discovered last week but did not want to quit, adding the affair would influence the future strategy of the investment bank.

The board will not be rushed into dumping the investment bank following the rogue trades, a source at the bank told Reuters.

Tags: equity index futures, investment bank, investment banking, speculative trading, trading scandal, UBS

The Business Standard newspaper reported on Monday quoting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) might not increase its key lending rate further as it will impact growth.

“As far as tightening monetary policy is concerned, if these policies need to be extended, then it will have some impact on overall growth scenario. But I am optimistic that it will not have to be extended,” the paper quoted Mukherjee as saying in Kolkata.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Mukherjee said food inflation would settle at 6-7 percent by the end of the current financial year in March, according to the report.

India’s food price index rose 10.05 percent, its highest in nearly six months, and the fuel price index climbed 12.55 percent in the year to Aug. 20.

Gross domestic product growth in Asia’s third-largest economy slipped to 7.7 percent in the three months through June, slightly exceeding the median forecast in a Reuters poll for an annual rise of 7.6 percent.

The next rate setting meet of the RBI is scheduled on Sept 16.

Tags: Gross domestic product, inflation, lending rate, monetary policy, RBI

Four new smartphone models have been unveiled by Samsung Electronics under its flagship Galaxy line on Wednesday. With this, the company has expanded its offerings of cheaper phones to tap growth in emerging markets.

The move also signals an intensifying battle with Samsung’s biggest competitor and customer, Apple, according to sources.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

“Smartphone makers are increasingly moving down the value chain to target the low-end segment and attract mass customers, especially those in China and India,” said Lee Seung-woo, an analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

“It’s an inevitable trend but will at the same time lower margins. Only a handful of top-tier manufacturers can survive in that end.”

Samsung forecast on Wednesday cheap models costing below $200 would account for more than half the overall smartphone market by 2015 in volume terms, up sharply from last year’s 16 percent.

“Samsung seeks to expand market share in the emerging market with models costing around $200, as those markets have lower smartphone penetration rates compared with advanced markets,” a Samsung group spokeswoman quoted an executive from Samsung Electronics’ mobile division.

Tags: Apple, emerging markets, Samsung, smartphone

The world’s No.3 PC brand, Lenovo Group Ltd, has reported a near doubling of its first-quarter net profit to beat expectations, thanks to acquisitions and growth in key emerging markets such as China.

The world’s No. 2 PC maker, Dell, slashed its 2012 revenue forecast because of an already weak outlook for technology spending this year worsened.

From in.finance.yahoo.com:

Lenovo, the most well-known Chinese PC brand, is trying to grab more market share in its mainstay PC business, a sector whose growth has been stunted by handheld gadgets that allow users to make calls, surf the Internet and check emails.

“Although the worldwide PC market has shown marginal improvement and returned to growth during the fiscal quarter one, challenges to worldwide PC demand remain such as the pace of global economic recovery and the on-going debt crisis in Western Europe,” Lenovo said in a statement.

Net profit of Lenovo was $108.8 million for the quarter ended June, up from a revised $54.9 million a year earlier.

Tags: debt crisis, dell, economic recovery, emerging markets, Lenovo