Nokia hands over headquarters to Microsoft

 
Helsinki: Finnish telecom equipment maker Nokia said on Thursday it would hand over its headquarters outside Helsinki to US software giant Microsoft, which has acquired the group`s mobile business.

The building is located in Espoo, a suburb of the capital.

According to Nokia, most of the staff in the building work for the mobile division, which explains why it will house the Microsoft offices after the transaction is completed.

The employees who remain at Nokia, now focused on the telecom business, will be transferred to other buildings in Espoo.

Nokia`s headquarters, a symbol of Finnish economic success in the 1990s and 2000s, will now also be a reminder of the fall of what was once the world`s biggest mobile phone maker.

Dubbed the "Nokia House", the building was built by the Baltic Sea in the 1990s, at a time when the booming mobile phone market seemed to grant the company a promising future.

In December last year, loss-making Nokia sold it to a real estate company, but agreed to lease it back on a long-term basis.

On Tuesday, Nokia`s shareholders approved the sale of the mobile phone business to Microsoft for 5.44 billion euro (USD 7.30 billion), hoping that the deal will get the company back on the profit track.

US jury awards Apple $290 mn in retrial Vs Samsung

New York: A US jury awarded Apple Inc about USD 290 million in a damages retrial against Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, restoring a large chunk of a historic verdict the iPhone maker won last year.

After a week long trial, the jury deliberated for nearly two days before reaching a decision on Thursday in a San Jose, California federal court. Apple had requested USD 379.8 million, while Samsung argued that it should have to pay USD 52.7 million.

Apple and Samsung have been fighting in the courts for over two years. Apple was awarded over USD 1 billion last year after it convinced a jury that Samsung copied various iPhone features - like using fingers to pinch and zoom on the screen - along with design touches like the phone's flat, black glass screen.

Earlier this year U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh upheld nearly USD 640 million of that verdict but ordered a retrial on the rest, ruling that the previous jury had made some errors in its calculations. Combined with the retrial verdict of USD 290.5 million on Thursday, Apple has now been awarded USD 929.8 million in the case.

Apple called its marketing chief Phil Schiller to testify during the trial. Samsung did not call any senior executives, a fact hammered on by Apple attorneys during closing argument. Juror Barry Goldman-Hall, 60, said the six-woman two-man jury discussed the disparity.

"We felt like we had way more information from Apple and we were left wondering why we hadn't gotten other information from Samsung," said Goldman-Hall, a therapist.

Samsung spokeswoman Lauren Restuccia said the company is disappointed by the verdict, especially because one of the patents in the case has been recently deemed invalid by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Apple is contesting that finding.

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said it was grateful to the jury for imposing costs on Samsung, though she said the case has been more about protecting innovation than winning money.

Samsung manufactures phones that use the Android operating system, which is developed by Google (GOOG.O). In addition to the fight over money, Apple is seeking a permanent injunction against several older Samsung phones. Koh had previously rejected such a sales ban, but earlier this week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered her to reconsider.

Nick Rodelli, a lawyer and adviser to institutional investors for CFRA Research in Maryland, said injunctions are much more important in these legal battles than monetary awards. Still, he said, the verdict shows that Apple's narrative was persuasive to a second jury drawn from Silicon Valley.

"A jury award on the high end of the range is a modestly positive signal for Apple," Rodelli said.

Colleen Allen, the jury forewoman, said Apple did not enjoy a home field advantage from having the trial so close to the iPhone maker's headquarters in Cupertino. Both companies are global players, she said, and while Apple engineers may be based in Northern California, its products are manufactured overseas.

The jurors based their decision on the evidence, said Allen, a 36-year old nurse.

"Samsung could've come up with a little more evidence," Allen said.

The case is likely to drag on as Samsung appeals both verdicts, said Brian Love, a professor at Santa Clara Law in Silicon Valley.

"Litigation between the parties is far from over, and there is no end in sight," Love said.

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, 11-1846.

Rupee fall not to trigger rating action: Fitch

 
Effects of the rupee depreciation have not been significant enough to impact India's credit rating so far, said global agency Fitch on Thursday, attributing the decline to low growth, high inflation and widening current account deficit (CAD).

Economic growth in the current fiscal is expected to decline to 4.8 per cent, from 5 per cent in 2012-13 but it could recover to 5.8 per cent in 2014-15, it said.

"The spillover effects of a weaker rupee have not significantly hurt India's creditworthiness, and hence would not trigger any rating action at this point," Fitch said in its report, 'India: Repercussions from the emerging markets sell-off'.

The agency has a 'stable outlook' on India's 'BBB-' sovereign rating.

The rupee declined close to 30 per cent against the US dollar between April and August. It touched a record low of 68.85 against the American currency on August 28, but has recovered since then. It closed at 62.93 on Thursday.

The sharp depreciation of the Indian rupee in mid-2013 highlights the country's difficult transition following an extended period of low growth, high inflation and a widening in the CAD, Fitch said.

The ability to implement fiscal consolidation and continue with the overall economic adjustment process would be supportive developments for ratings, it said.

However, the government's resolve "to implement both tighter fiscal and monetary policies may still be tested as the general election approaches", it said. The election are due by May 2014.

Fitch said the government will heavily cut expenditures in the second half of the fiscal to trim fiscal deficit to 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP). The fiscal deficit in the first half of the fiscal has crossed 76 per cent of budget estimates.

Fitch forecast CAD to decline to 3.1 per cent of GDP in 2013-14. This fall, however, will not be enough to shield India from further pressures related to the eventual start of Fed tapering, it added.

The government expects to bring down CAD to below $56 billion, from last year's $88 billion.

CAD, which is the difference between the inflow and outflow of foreign currency, touched a high of 4.8 per cent of GDP in 2012-13. The government has taken a host of measures, including gold import curbs, to bring it down.

Overall, Fitch said: "The modest economic recovery, however, will continue to undermine India's banking sector, which is facing a combination of weakening asset quality, eroding profit and declining capital.

"Nonetheless, these factors are likely to have only a moderate effect on the banking sector's ability to supply credit to the economy."

Retail banking grows despite economic slowdown Anand Adhikari

 
Leading banks in India continue to grow their retail banking business. A report by the Reserve Bank of India on 'Trends and Progress of Banking in India 2012-13' says that "… even in a period of overall slowdown in credit growth, retail credit maintained its growth."

SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Axis Bank , among others, are aggressive in retail banking. In fact, retail banking is actually compensating for the lower credit growth in the corporate book.

There appears to be little hope of recovery in corporate loans for banks in the near future. Many corporates have already built large capacities but demand has been hit because of the economic slowdown.    

The share of retail loans in the total loans has risen from 18.4 per cent in 2011/12 to 18.8 per cent in 2012/13. In absolute terms, the retail loan portfolio expanded 15 percent, from Rs 4,11,800 crore in 2011/12 to Rs 4,75,400 crore in 2012/13.  

The growth in the retail portfolio was lead by a double-digit growth in housing loans . Auto loans also saw healthy growth.  Meanwhile, the number of credit cards issued grew 10 per cent, from 17.7 million in 2011/12 to 19.5 million in 2012/13. The private banks were the most aggressive in issuing more cards and their numbers improved from 9.7 million to 11.1 million. The credit card transaction value witnessed a rise of 27.3 per cent in 2012/13 at Rs 1, 23,000 crore.  Debit cards have been a more popular mode of electronic money than credit cards in India, according to the report. The total number of debit cards increased from 278.4 million to 331.2 million. The debit card transaction value saw a jump of 39 per cent in 2012/13 at Rs 74,300 crore.

Don't use retro amendment of tax laws to raise revenue: Parthasarathi Shome

Amid long-pending dispute between the UK-based telecom giant Vodafone and the tax authorities, finance minister's advisor Parthasarathi Shome on Wednesday said the government should not use retrospective amendment of tax laws to raise revenues. "We have to take away risk and uncertainty. We can't use retrospective amendment of tax laws to raise revenue. I have always given example of Brazil and Sweden where they have constitutionally removed retrospective taxation," said Shome without referring to the tax dispute between Vodafone and the Income Tax department. He is also the chairman of the Tax Administration Reform Commission and was speaking at a CII event in New Delhi. Vodafone is facing a tax liability of over Rs 11,200 crore, along with interest, for its 2007 acquisition of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa's stake in Hutchison Essar, an Indian telecom company. Vodafone has expressed keenness to reach an amicable settlement of the matter. Its India chief Analjit Singh had met Finance Minister P Chidambaram to settle the dispute. A committee was set up under Shome to recommend measures to deal with the retrospective amendment of income tax laws and suggest ways of treating taxation cases which involve indirect transfer of Indian assets, of the likes of the Vodafone-Hutchison deal. The committee had recommended last year that either the retrospective tax amendment should be withdrawn or penalty/ interest, if covered under taxes should be waived off.