News

1st nov – 6th nov - 2010

Asia Pacific finance ministers, including from the world's three biggest economies, met on Saturday amid mounting criticism of U.S. monetary policy and its proposals to solve economic imbalances.

The Japanese hosts said the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting will issue a statement that is expected to reaffirm commitments to fiscal discipline, free trade and infrastructure investment.

APEC ministers meet as doubts grow over U.S. approach

80 shops gutted in Lucknow fire

• As many as 80 makeshift shops were gutted in a massive fire that broke out in a market here early Saturday, officials said. No casualties were reported.

• The fire engulfed shops of Adarsh Mandi in Gomti Nagar around 2 a.m., destroying edible items worth lakhs of rupees.

• 'Majority of temporary shops were of vegetables and grocery items. As the shops were made of wood, the fire spread within no time in the Mandi area,' Lucknow Chief Fire Officer Rajendra Tiwari told reporters.

Canada becomes No. 1 country brand globally

• Canada has toppled the US to become the most respected country brand in the world, according to a report on global branding on the basis of tourism.

• In the latest Country Brand Index released by FutureBrand, a New York-based global brand consultancy, Canada has become the most respected country brand in the world after bumping the US from the top spot as it leveraged the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver to extend the global reach of its brand.

• 'After launching the revitalized tourism brand 'Canada. Keep exploring' six years ago, Canada leapfrogged from 12th place in 2006 to sixth place in 2007, and jumped again to second place in 2008, a position it held again in 2009,'

Obama heads to Asia, hopes to deliver on jobs

• President Barack Obama leaves on Friday on a trip to Asia he hopes will lead to more U.S. exports and jobs, three days after his Democratic Party sustained big election losses tied to the weak economy.

• Obama will visit India, Indonesia, South Korea and Japan on a 10-day trek blending trade talk and other economic diplomacy with assurances to Asian allies worried by an increasingly assertive China.

IMF quota overhaul puts India among top ten

• The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved proposals that will lead to a major overhaul of the Fund's quotas and governance putting India among the top ten.

• Aimed at strengthening the Fund's legitimacy and effectiveness, the quota shift announced Friday would exceed the target set out in October 2009 by ministers and governors in the International Monetary and Financial Committee

India in second place in Forbes Asia's "Best Under A Billion" list

• Indian animated movie maker Compact Disc India and software company Micro Technologies continue to members of Forbes Asia's "Best Under A Billion" list, even as 151 new companies have made their maiden appearance on the list this year.

• This year, China and Hong Kong have once again outdone the rest of Asia Pacific with the most number of small and midsize firms represented on the list. This is the third consecutive year that both economies have dominated the list with seventy one firms making the cut, down from 78 last year.

'Split between Ambani bros was good'

• Hamish McDonald, author of the recently-released book 'Ambani & Sons', said that the split in the Reliance empire has been good for India as it unlocked a lot of value.

• "Overall, its been better for India. The split has been good for the share market, it has unlocked a lot of value and helped entrepreunership," McDonald said at an event for the book's promotion in Mumbai.

• After the split in 2005, younger brother Anil went to the backward areas and Hindi belt, while elder sibling Mukesh went out and bought assests abroad, McDonald said

Google bars data from Facebook as rivalry heats up

• Google Inc will begin blocking Facebook and other Web services from accessing its users' information, highlighting an intensifying rivalry between the two Internet giants.

• Google will no longer let other services automatically import its users' email contact data for their own purposes, unless the information flows both ways. It accused Facebook in particular of siphoning up Google contact data, without allowing for the automatic import and export of Facebook users' information.

• Facebook, with more than 500 million users, relies on email services such as Google's Gmail to help new users find friends already on the network.