2009: Top 10 business stories
2009 has been an eventful year for India in terms of business, economy and other developments in the financial sphere.
From the clash of Titans in the RIL and RNRL dispute, to the people's man Ratan Tata assuring Indians that they can soon afford a car and an apartment, these were the big stories on the business front.
On the economic front, the year begun carrying forward the gloom of the global economy meltdown. Problems continued, but with a little support Indian as well as global economy started to show signs of recovery.
The Top 10 business and financial stories of 2009 are listed below:
Companies
1.
RIL
Vs
RNRL
The
Ambani
brothers' dispute,
without
doubt,
claimed
the
business
limelight
for
2009.
The ongoing dispute between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) and Anil Ambani-led Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) over the pricing of natural gas found in the Krishna Godavari basin is being fought in the Supreme Court of India.
2.
Tata
Nano
Cars
and
Housing
Besides
unveiling
the
word's
cheapest
car
Tata
Nano
in
Jan
200,
Ratan
Tata
gave
the
country
hopes
of
affordable
housing
as
well.
Before handing over the people's car to the country in Jul, the Indian industrialist introduced a low-cost housing initiative or 'Nano' housing in May 2009.
3.
Satyam
Scam
Just
a
week
into
the
new
year,
Satyam
Computer
Services
founder-chairman
B
Ramalinga
Raju
shocked
the
country
when
he
admitted
to
orchestrating
a
multi-crore
fraud
in
the
company"s
accounts
and
resigned.
While the leading outsourcing company struggled to survive this huge blow, the Indian IT industry hoped to not be affected by Ramalinga Raju's revelation.
4.
Tech
Mahindra
takes
over
of
Satyam
computers
With
the
highest
bid
of
Rs
58
per
share,
Tech
Mahindra
bagged
the
scandal-hit
Satyam
Computer
Services
Ltd
on
Apr
13.
Tech Mahindra thwarted competition from Larsen & Toubro and billionaire tycoon Wilbur Ross to acquire the IT major just four months after the founder Ramalinga Raju confessed to inflating the books to over 1 billion dollars above their worth.
Tech Mahindra wins bid for Satyam Computers
The company was then christened Mahindra Satyam.
Stock Markets
5.
Circuit
breaker
After
the
people's
mandate
gave
power
to
Congress-led
United
Progressive
Alliance
on
Saturday,
May
16,
the
stock
markets
celebrated
the
news
on
Monday,
May
18
with
a
circuit
breaker.
The markets zoomed to the upper circuit levels as soon as they opened. The unusually bullish trend forced the trading to be suspended for some time.
Mkts hit 20pc upper circuit, trading closes
When the markets refused to cool down and the index moved up by 20 percent, the markets were closed for the day even before noon.
6.
Extending
trading
hours
In
Oct,
the
Securities
and
Exchange
Board
of
India
(SEBI)
gave
its
approval
for
long
trading
hours
in
the
country's
premier
stock
exchanges
-
Bombay
Stock
Exchange
(BSE)
and
National
Stock
Exchange
(NSE).
The stock exchanges are expected to advance the timings starting from Jan 2010 to gain from the Asian and global markets and boost volumes.
Economy
7.
GDP
and
IIP
Both
GDP
and
Industrial
Production
suffered
the
aftermath
of
the
global
financial
crisis
in
the
beginning
of
the
year
(Q1FY2009).
However,
the
numbers
began
to
rise
subsequently
with
government
stimulus
packages,
foreign
investment
and
domestic
demand.
In Q12009, India"s GDP grew at 6.1 per cent, which rose to 7.9 per cent in Q32009.
GDP up at 6.1 pc, spurs hopes of economic recovery
Index of Industrial Production (IIP) started increasing at more than 9 per cent only from Aug 2009. India Inc also posted impressive numbers in Q2FY2010.
8.
Inflation
dips
below
zero
In
Jun
2009,
India's
Inflation
rate
dipped
below
zero
and
entered
the
negative
zone.
The
inflation
rate
was
last
in
the
negative
zone
in
1977-1978.
India's inflation drops to negative, at -1.61pc
India's inflation for the week ended Jun 6 was at -1.61 per cent, forcing the government and the central Reserve Bank of India (RBI) into damage control action.
However, prices of primarily food articles broke levels of government and RBI, and surged due to supply constraints.
International developments
9.
Layoffs
and
cost
cutting
continues
'Leaner,
Meaner,
Greener',
continued
to
be
the
mantra
of
companies
and
firms
across
the
world.
Despite
signs
of
recovery
from
the
worst
economic
slump,
companies
were
forced
to
undertake
cost
cutting
measures
and
layoffs
to
stay
afloat
in
the
times
of
recession,
making
2009
a
troubled
year
with
unemployment
issues,
government
bailouts
and
more.
This affected India as outsourcing MNCs not only indulged in cost cutting steps but also took back the jobs to their own countries to create employment there, and a big example of this trend is Obama's famous 'choose Buffalo over Bangalore' statement.
10.
Dubai
Debt
Crisis
On
Nov
29,
Dubai
announced
that
two
of
its
flagship
firms
Dubai
World
and
Nakheel
planned
to
delay
repayment
of
billions
of
dollars
in
debt.
Stock markets across the globe plunged and the world feared a second global economic slump.
All about the Dubai debt crisis
Even though the Indian authorities calmed the nerves of the country by saying that the exposure to the crisis was small, many Indians working in Dubai were handed out pink slips.
OneIndia News