January 2010

Slight improvement in Dutch housing market prices

The Dutch housing market is recovering slowly, with prices slightly higher in the last quarter of the year. This comes from preliminary figures from the Dutch Association of Estate Agents (NVM) on Thursday. read more

India projects optimistic FY10 GDP growth

An increase in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for November 2009 by 11.7 percent as compared to the previous year is making India feel optimistic of achieving over 7 percent growth with an overall economic growth at 7-7.5 percent in FY2010.

The November year-on-year growth was seen in consumer durables goods (37.3 percent), manufacturing production (12.7 percent), power generation (3.3 percent) and mining output (10 percent).

Europe to emerge as top outsourcing continent in 2009

According to a recent research report by TPI, a global player in the business of data sourcing and advisory, Europe is set to surge ahead of North America in the volume of outsourcing expenditure. The report looks at how much was spent on outsourcing by G2000 companies in various continents. G2000 companies are those rated by Forbes magazine as the most successful companies in the world. read more

Heineken acquires Mexican brewery for 3.8 bln

The Dutch multinational Heineken has purchased the Mexican brewer Femsa Cerveza for 3.8 billion euros.

It is the second major acquisition by the Dutch brewer in the last few years. In 2008, the Amsterdam-based company purchased the British Scottish & Newcastle in a joint acquisition with Danish brewer Carlsberg, paying 7.8 billion pounds sterling.

Heineken hopes its newest expansion will strengthen its hold on the Latin American market. Femsa Cerveza is the brewer of Sol, Dos Equis, Tecate and other beers. read more

Merrill Lynch puts Dutch growth at 2.2%

The Dutch economy will grow 2.2% this year, according to economists from merchant bank Merrill Lynch quoted in the Financieele Dagblad on Friday.

The forecast is well above the 1.5% growth estimate made in December by the government’s macroeconomic think tank CPB. Worldwide, Merrill Lynch puts the growth figure at 4%. read more

Economy likely to grow 9 pct in FY12 - Ahluwalia

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The economy is likely to return to an annual growth rate of 9 percent by the fiscal year ending in March 2012, a top policy adviser said on Saturday.

Asia’s third-largest economy expanded 6.7 percent in 2008/09 (April-March), slower than the 9 percent or more recorded in the previous three years. read more

Air India eyes top-end clients

In true spirit of Maharaja, Air India has decided to stick to its full service business model despite the whole of domestic civil aviation market is moving the low-fare way.

Its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, would however, be strengthened in due course to offer low-fare services.
“We have made a conscious decision to remain full service. Passengers have certain aspirations from a brand and when they don’t get the desired service, it affects the brand in the long run,” said Arvind Jadhav, CMD, Air India. read more