1) Deutsche Bank received a stay order from the Delhi High Court preventing Vishal Retail from selling assets, putting its planned sale to Shriram Group and TPG in question. Deutsche Bank and its asset management arm are lenders to Vishal Retail. 2) Heavy rains have dampened sales for Coca-Cola and PepsiCo in India as impulse buying declined. Both companies reported lower volume growth compared to previous quarters. 3) While Indian stock indices rose past 20,000, broader market movements indicated investors are locking in profits rather than waiting for further gains, still nursing losses from 2008. Global funds have invested $16 billion in Indian equities this year.

1. 20 SEPT – 26 SEPTWEEKLY NEWS

2. Deutsche Bank gets HC stay on Vishal Retail saleDEUTSCHE Bank and its asset management arm—lenders to retail major Vishal Retail—have received stay orders from the Delhi High Court which has asked Vishal not to dispose assets, putting a question mark on the struggling retailer’s plans to sell its business to Chennai-based Shriram Group and private equity fund Texas Pacific Group for 100 crore. Deutsche Trustees Services had filed the winding-up petition in February this year after it failed to recover 50 crore it had invested in the discount retailer through subscription of non-convertible debentures in June 2008. Slated to mature in February 2009, the debentures were rolled over till August 2009 as Vishal Retail could not repay Deutsche. At that time, Vishal Retail issued three post-dated cheques towards the payment of interest and principal of the debentures. The cheques bounced. Deutsche Bank had provided a loan of 10 crore.

3. Rains take the fizz out of cola majors’ sales After a scorching show, Coke and Pepsi see dip in demand as heavy rains hit impulse buying INCESSANT and prolonged rains have dampened sales for beverage majors Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.Though neither Coca-Cola nor PepsiCo divulged numbers, beverage industry officials said unit case volume growth is down to about 8-9%. PepsiCo India (beverages) CEO Praveen Someshwar said: “The unusual rains have impacted growth.” Coca-Cola had posted unit case volume growth of 37% in the July-September FY09 quarter, PepsiCo had recorded an all-time high 50% volume growth in the same quarter last yearIn the April-June quarter this year, Coca-Cola India’s unit case volume had expanded by 22% while PepsiCo’s growth in the quarter was about 19%.

4. STREET LOGIC: LOCAL INVESTORS SIT OUT THE GLOBAL RALLY 20000, But Who’s Got Richer? INDIAN stocks breezed past the psychological level of 20,000 after 32 months Amid the customary celebrations and excitement over initial public offers that are getting huge subscriptions, the mood was cautious as many are still nursing the wounds of the 2008 credit crisis, with several erstwhile blue-chips languishing. The BSE Sensex ended 0.5% higher at 20,001.55, off highs of 20,088.96 and 6% below its all-time high. The 50-share S&P CNX Nifty gained 0.5% to 6,009.05. Although the indices rose, price movements in the broader market, with nearly three shares falling for every gaining share, indicated that investors are locking up profits instead of waiting for more and seeing their fortunes slide. Global funds have invested close to $16 billion in Indian equities this yearThe Indian economy expanded 8.8% in the June quarter and industrial output grew 13.8% in July. RBI, which raised interest rates five times this year to fight inflation, may pause, erasing fears of higher funding costs.

5. FIIs can invest $10 b more in bonds now THE government has raised the ceiling for investment in government and corporate bonds by foreign funds, which will ease pressure on banks to raise rates with rising demand for loans to build roads, ports and power plants. The finance ministry revised the cap for investment by foreign portfolio investors in government securities from $5 billion to $10 billion, and in corporate bonds from $15 billion to $20 billion. Corporate bond yields eased after the government’s announcement, helped also by a marginal reduction in borrowings for the second half of the financial yearThe 10-year benchmark bond yield ended down 4 basis points at 7.90%, its lowest since September 9.

6. BID TO LIMIT INCONVENIENCE SMS ban:Telcos told to exempt banks, airlines THE government has asked cellphone companies to exempt alerts from services, such as banks and airlinesThe telecom department on Friday clarified that the ban aimed at preventing cellphones from being used to spread rumours, distribute objectionable content and create panic during the days leading to a possible verdict on the Ayodhya title dispute will not cover financial services. The government on Friday extended Wednesday’s ban on bulk text and picture messages until September 30Mr Mathews said telcos often sell bulk capacity to an aggregator, which in turn has contracts with banks and other commercial institutions.The ban has affected a host of services, including alerts from banks, brokerages, radio taxis, entertainment portals and multiplex chains that confirm transactions and bookings through text messages.

7. India willing to discuss all issues with Pakistan INDIA has said that the high-decibel rhetoric of the past few days not withstanding, it was ready to discuss all issues with PakistanExternal affairs minister SM Krishna, however, made it clear that there will be no third-party intervention on the issue of KashmirThe minister also stressed that as a victim of terror attacks, India is concerned about terrorist activity in the Pakistani territory; “this is a core issue for India”. This move by India comes after Pakistan made several attempts to draw in the United States into the Kashmir issueThe external affairs minister was reacting to Pakistani foreign minister’s remarks seeking US intervention in Kashmir and the Pakistani foreign office statement that there could be no result-oriented discussions with India until it stops treating Kashmir as its integral part.