Kim Dotcom will remain in custody at least temporarily after a New Zealand judge delayed a decision on whether the founder of the file-sharing site Megaupload.com should be permitted to be released on bail, according to published media reports.
At a hearing Monday in Auckland, New Zealand, Dotcom denied that he is guilty of the Internet piracy charges he is facing in the United States. The New Zealand Herald reports that Dotcom’s attorney, Paul Davidson, argued that his client should be eligible for bail because “he is not a person who is inherently motivated to disappear or breach conditions. There is no flight risk.”
The judge wanted more time to make his decision about the request, “given the breadth of issues covered in this bail application and the seriousness of the issues.” The judge said his final decision would come no later than Wednesday.
FBI officials are seeking to have Dotcom and three of his cohorts extradited to the United States, where they would face charges of Internet piracy and money laundering. The charges are related to the file-sharing Web site Megaupload.com, which was shut down Jan. 20 as part of the indictment.
Shortly after news spread of the Justice Department’s action, that federal agency’s Web site went down, as did the site of Universal Music. The outages were a result of a cyberattack from the informal hacking collective known as Anonymous, which went after the sites in retaliation for the crackdown on Megaupload.
At a hearing Monday in Auckland, New Zealand, Dotcom denied that he is guilty of the Internet piracy charges he is facing in the United States. The New Zealand Herald reports that Dotcom’s attorney, Paul Davidson, argued that his client should be eligible for bail because “he is not a person who is inherently motivated to disappear or breach conditions. There is no flight risk.”
The judge wanted more time to make his decision about the request, “given the breadth of issues covered in this bail application and the seriousness of the issues.” The judge said his final decision would come no later than Wednesday.
FBI officials are seeking to have Dotcom and three of his cohorts extradited to the United States, where they would face charges of Internet piracy and money laundering. The charges are related to the file-sharing Web site Megaupload.com, which was shut down Jan. 20 as part of the indictment.
Shortly after news spread of the Justice Department’s action, that federal agency’s Web site went down, as did the site of Universal Music. The outages were a result of a cyberattack from the informal hacking collective known as Anonymous, which went after the sites in retaliation for the crackdown on Megaupload.
Yahoo dangled a $27 million pay package to lure its newly hired CEO Scott Thompson away from PayPal.
The struggling Internet company disclosed the details of Thompson's compensation in a regulatory filing late Friday. Thompson starts his new job after spending the past four years running eBay Inc's PayPal service, where revenue more than doubled during his tenure. PayPal took in an estimated $4.4 billion last year.
That kind of robust growth is a fuzzy memory for Yahoo Inc, a one-time internet star whose revenue has sagged as online advertising flowed increasingly to rivals Google Inc and Facebook.
Yahoo has promised better times under three new CEOs in less than five years, only to frustrate investors each time. They've been especially disenchanted since the company squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in May 2008. The stock hasn't traded above $20 in more than three years, with the shares closing Friday at $15.52. The last time it closed above $33 was 2006.
Thompson, 54, is highly regarded in internet circles, although some analysts question whether he is the right fit for Yahoo because he has no experience in online content or advertising, the company's financial lifeblood.
Yahoo offered Thompson a deal that includes a $1 million salary and a bonus of up to $2 million this year. Yahoo is guaranteeing to pay him $1 million of the bonus; the remaining $1 million will hinge on Yahoo's financial results this year.
Thompson also will receive stock incentives valued at $22.5 million. The stock awards could be worth more or less, depending how Yahoo's long-slumping shares fare under Thompson's leadership.
To top it off, Yahoo is paying Thompson $1.5 million to offset money he forfeited by leaving PayPal. A $6.5 million chunk of the stock awards are also meant to offset some of the compensation Thompson would have gotten at PayPal, according to the filing.
Thompson received a $10.4 million compensation package at PayPal in 2010. It included a $645,000 salary. EBay hasn't yet revealed how much it paid Thompson last year.
Unless more money and stock is added later in the year, Yahoo won't be paying Thompson as much as his predecessor, Carol Bartz, who was hired three years ago and fired four months ago. Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, had been running Yahoo since Bartz's ouster.
Bartz's compensation package during her first year on the job was valued at $47.2 million. Much of that, though, included stock incentives that haven't become as valuable as the original calculations envisioned because the company's shares remained in a funk during Bartz's regime. Bartz's salary was $1 million, like Thompson's.
Now that Yahoo has a new CEO, it may be looking to replace some of the directors on its 10-member board to placate unhappy shareholders. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has hired the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to hunt for possible replacements, according to a story published Friday on The Wall Street Journal's website. The story quoted unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Much of the shareholder anger has been aimed at Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang, who both played central roles in rebuffing Microsoft's takeover attempt. The Journal's story didn't identify which Yahoo board members might be replaced.
The struggling Internet company disclosed the details of Thompson's compensation in a regulatory filing late Friday. Thompson starts his new job after spending the past four years running eBay Inc's PayPal service, where revenue more than doubled during his tenure. PayPal took in an estimated $4.4 billion last year.
That kind of robust growth is a fuzzy memory for Yahoo Inc, a one-time internet star whose revenue has sagged as online advertising flowed increasingly to rivals Google Inc and Facebook.
Yahoo has promised better times under three new CEOs in less than five years, only to frustrate investors each time. They've been especially disenchanted since the company squandered an opportunity to sell itself to Microsoft Corp for $47.5 billion, or $33 per share, in May 2008. The stock hasn't traded above $20 in more than three years, with the shares closing Friday at $15.52. The last time it closed above $33 was 2006.
Thompson, 54, is highly regarded in internet circles, although some analysts question whether he is the right fit for Yahoo because he has no experience in online content or advertising, the company's financial lifeblood.
Yahoo offered Thompson a deal that includes a $1 million salary and a bonus of up to $2 million this year. Yahoo is guaranteeing to pay him $1 million of the bonus; the remaining $1 million will hinge on Yahoo's financial results this year.
Thompson also will receive stock incentives valued at $22.5 million. The stock awards could be worth more or less, depending how Yahoo's long-slumping shares fare under Thompson's leadership.
To top it off, Yahoo is paying Thompson $1.5 million to offset money he forfeited by leaving PayPal. A $6.5 million chunk of the stock awards are also meant to offset some of the compensation Thompson would have gotten at PayPal, according to the filing.
Thompson received a $10.4 million compensation package at PayPal in 2010. It included a $645,000 salary. EBay hasn't yet revealed how much it paid Thompson last year.
Unless more money and stock is added later in the year, Yahoo won't be paying Thompson as much as his predecessor, Carol Bartz, who was hired three years ago and fired four months ago. Tim Morse, Yahoo's chief financial officer, had been running Yahoo since Bartz's ouster.
Bartz's compensation package during her first year on the job was valued at $47.2 million. Much of that, though, included stock incentives that haven't become as valuable as the original calculations envisioned because the company's shares remained in a funk during Bartz's regime. Bartz's salary was $1 million, like Thompson's.
Now that Yahoo has a new CEO, it may be looking to replace some of the directors on its 10-member board to placate unhappy shareholders. The company, which is based in Sunnyvale, California, has hired the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. to hunt for possible replacements, according to a story published Friday on The Wall Street Journal's website. The story quoted unnamed people familiar with the matter.
Much of the shareholder anger has been aimed at Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock and co-founder Jerry Yang, who both played central roles in rebuffing Microsoft's takeover attempt. The Journal's story didn't identify which Yahoo board members might be replaced.
All sharing functionality on FileSonic is now disabled. Our service can only be used to upload and retrieve files that you have uploaded personally,” says a red banner on the Filesonic’s main page. FileSonic — a cloud locker with a payout affiliate program now In the wake of the U.S. government’s shutdown of the file-sharing site Megaupload has stopped the program.
Web services that allow customers to share and upload files should be spooked, Eric Goldman, at Santa Clara University told on Friday. “They will wonder if they have done anything different from Megaupload, and does that mean the Feds will come through their door,” he said.
For it’s part, FileSonic has changed the slogans and description of its service on its main page, though clicking through for more information on its premium plan does pull up a logo with the tagline, “Upload. Store. Download. Share. We don’t believe in limits.”
On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom (who officially changed his last name from Schmitz) said that he is innocent and is not a flight risk at a hearing in New Zealand. A judge is expected to rule this week on whether Dotcom will be granted bail, the report said.
Web services that allow customers to share and upload files should be spooked, Eric Goldman, at Santa Clara University told on Friday. “They will wonder if they have done anything different from Megaupload, and does that mean the Feds will come through their door,” he said.
For it’s part, FileSonic has changed the slogans and description of its service on its main page, though clicking through for more information on its premium plan does pull up a logo with the tagline, “Upload. Store. Download. Share. We don’t believe in limits.”
On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom (who officially changed his last name from Schmitz) said that he is innocent and is not a flight risk at a hearing in New Zealand. A judge is expected to rule this week on whether Dotcom will be granted bail, the report said.
Asian Paints Ltd today announced their financial results for the quarter and Nine months ended December 31, 2011.
For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, on consolidation of accounts of the subsidiaries and joint venture of Asian Paints – Net Sales of the Group has increased by 22% to ` 2560.5 crores from ` 2099.6 crores as compared to the previous corresponding quarter. PBDIT for the quarter was up by 15.3% to ` 419.9 crores as compared to ` 364.3 crores in the previous year. Net Profit after Minority Interest increased by 16.6% to ` 256.9 crores as compared to ` 220.3 crores in the previous year.
For the Nine Months period, Net Sales of the group increased by 23.2% to ` 7071.7 crores from ` 5740.6 crores. PBDIT was up by 10.0% to ` 1194.7 crores as compared to ` 1086.2 crores. Net Profit after Minority Interest increased by 11% to ` 729.3 as compared to ` 657.2 crores in the previous year.
“We witnessed good demand for Decorative Coatings business across the country. However, inflation and falling rupee has affected material prices, thus impacting margins” said P M Murty, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Limited.
For the quarter ended Dec 31, 2011, on consolidation of accounts of the subsidiaries and joint venture of Asian Paints – Net Sales of the Group has increased by 22% to ` 2560.5 crores from ` 2099.6 crores as compared to the previous corresponding quarter. PBDIT for the quarter was up by 15.3% to ` 419.9 crores as compared to ` 364.3 crores in the previous year. Net Profit after Minority Interest increased by 16.6% to ` 256.9 crores as compared to ` 220.3 crores in the previous year.
For the Nine Months period, Net Sales of the group increased by 23.2% to ` 7071.7 crores from ` 5740.6 crores. PBDIT was up by 10.0% to ` 1194.7 crores as compared to ` 1086.2 crores. Net Profit after Minority Interest increased by 11% to ` 729.3 as compared to ` 657.2 crores in the previous year.
“We witnessed good demand for Decorative Coatings business across the country. However, inflation and falling rupee has affected material prices, thus impacting margins” said P M Murty, Managing Director & CEO, Asian Paints Limited.
Infosys lowered its revenue target for the second time in succession, prompting disappointed investors to dump its stock and those of other IT services providers.
While announcing that it barely managed to meet sales forecast for the October-December quarter, the Bangalore-based firm blamed global economic uncertainty for the dim prognosis. Spending by clients on software services this year is expected to be about the same as last year, but decision-making is proceeding in slow motion, Infosys said.
"It's actually velocity of decision-making. Because we have visibility for deals, but when they will get closed becomes more difficult to predict," said Chief Executive Officer SD Shibulal.
Infosys shares careened lower by 8.4%, its biggest percentage drop since April 15. On the way to its lowest level in about a year, it broke the 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages. Shares of the top five IT services companies, including TCS, HCL Technologies and Wipro, lost more than 25,000 crore in value on Thursday.
On the other hand, Infosys was given a leg up by the rupee, which weakened 11% during the third quarter and helped Infosys post a profit margin of 31.1%, its best in over two years. In rupee terms, Infosys reported revenues of 9,298 crore as net profit rose 33% to 2,372 crore.
India's second-largest software exporter revised its revenue growth forecast for 2011-12 to $7.02-7.03 billion, an increase of 16.4% from a year ago. Following a revision in October, Infosys has lowered its revenue target by up to 3.6 percentage points.
"(The) big guidedown in just a quarter invariably casts a doubt on Infosys' guidance policy. Earlier, Infosys' guidance was the industry standard and the flip-flop seen from Infosys in recent times does not augur well for its PE multiples in the medium term," said Nimish Joshi from brokerage CLSA.
But CFO V Balakrishnan defended the company saying, "In an environment like this, giving a guidance itself is a very bold thing."
Infosys just about managed to meet the lower end of its forecast for the third quarter with revenues of $1,806 million.
TCS and HCL Technologies will announce earnings on January 17 and Wipro on January 20.
While announcing that it barely managed to meet sales forecast for the October-December quarter, the Bangalore-based firm blamed global economic uncertainty for the dim prognosis. Spending by clients on software services this year is expected to be about the same as last year, but decision-making is proceeding in slow motion, Infosys said.
"It's actually velocity of decision-making. Because we have visibility for deals, but when they will get closed becomes more difficult to predict," said Chief Executive Officer SD Shibulal.
Infosys shares careened lower by 8.4%, its biggest percentage drop since April 15. On the way to its lowest level in about a year, it broke the 50-, 100- and 200-day moving averages. Shares of the top five IT services companies, including TCS, HCL Technologies and Wipro, lost more than 25,000 crore in value on Thursday.
On the other hand, Infosys was given a leg up by the rupee, which weakened 11% during the third quarter and helped Infosys post a profit margin of 31.1%, its best in over two years. In rupee terms, Infosys reported revenues of 9,298 crore as net profit rose 33% to 2,372 crore.
India's second-largest software exporter revised its revenue growth forecast for 2011-12 to $7.02-7.03 billion, an increase of 16.4% from a year ago. Following a revision in October, Infosys has lowered its revenue target by up to 3.6 percentage points.
"(The) big guidedown in just a quarter invariably casts a doubt on Infosys' guidance policy. Earlier, Infosys' guidance was the industry standard and the flip-flop seen from Infosys in recent times does not augur well for its PE multiples in the medium term," said Nimish Joshi from brokerage CLSA.
But CFO V Balakrishnan defended the company saying, "In an environment like this, giving a guidance itself is a very bold thing."
Infosys just about managed to meet the lower end of its forecast for the third quarter with revenues of $1,806 million.
TCS and HCL Technologies will announce earnings on January 17 and Wipro on January 20.
Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) on Monday launched the world's first hydrogen-fuel-run three-wheeler HyAlfa that will ply in Delhi soon.
"As part of its mobility initiatives, Mahindra has aimed at providing alternative fuel technology solutions and the HyAlfa is another step towards it," said Pawan Goenka, president of the company's automotive and farm equipment sectors.
The company did not divulge the price of the vehicle which was unveiled at the Auto Expo here.
According to Goenka, a fleet of 15 vehicles have been manufactured. "We have prepared 15 vehicles for integration of the optimised engine, storage system, fuelling system and safety features for this hydrogen-fuel-enabled vehicle."
The vehicles will be refuelled at a station set up by US-based Air Products located at Pragati Maidan, where the fleet will operate.
The hydrogen-powered rickshaws and the refuelling station have been established under a project that aims to produce vehicles that would carry and use hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel, thereby reducing pollution.
Goenka added, that the company is currently developing a host of vehicles that can run on alternate-technologies such as electric, hybrid and fuel cells.
"We are already working on integrating a comprehensive eco-system of sustainable mobility solutions, encompassing alternative technologies such as electric, hybrid and fuel cells into our research, development and commercialization plans."
The vehicle has costed $1 million in development over a span of three years, with half the expenditure being co-funded by the UNIDO and International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (UNIDO-ICHET) based in Istanbul, Turkey.
"As part of its mobility initiatives, Mahindra has aimed at providing alternative fuel technology solutions and the HyAlfa is another step towards it," said Pawan Goenka, president of the company's automotive and farm equipment sectors.
The company did not divulge the price of the vehicle which was unveiled at the Auto Expo here.
According to Goenka, a fleet of 15 vehicles have been manufactured. "We have prepared 15 vehicles for integration of the optimised engine, storage system, fuelling system and safety features for this hydrogen-fuel-enabled vehicle."
The vehicles will be refuelled at a station set up by US-based Air Products located at Pragati Maidan, where the fleet will operate.
The hydrogen-powered rickshaws and the refuelling station have been established under a project that aims to produce vehicles that would carry and use hydrogen, a carbon-free fuel, thereby reducing pollution.
Goenka added, that the company is currently developing a host of vehicles that can run on alternate-technologies such as electric, hybrid and fuel cells.
"We are already working on integrating a comprehensive eco-system of sustainable mobility solutions, encompassing alternative technologies such as electric, hybrid and fuel cells into our research, development and commercialization plans."
The vehicle has costed $1 million in development over a span of three years, with half the expenditure being co-funded by the UNIDO and International Centre for Hydrogen Energy Technologies (UNIDO-ICHET) based in Istanbul, Turkey.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday that the economy would likely withstand an uncertain external environment to grow about 7 percent this fiscal year, lower than a revised forecast of about 7.5 percent growth issued by his government last month.
However, Manmohan Singh said India's high domestic savings would help achieve a 9-10 percent growth rate in the medium-term.
The Indian economy is slowing on a combination of feeble growth in the United States and Europe, a ratcheting up of interest rates to quash high inflation and a decision-making paralysis in government.
Growth at 6.9 percent in the quarter ending September was the weakest in over two years, obliging the government to pare the forecast for the fiscal year to end-March 2012 to about 7.5 percent from 9 percent made in last year's budget.
"Despite an adverse international environment, the Indian economy is expected to grow by about 7 percent this financial year ending 31st March," Singh said in an address in Jaipur at Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas,a gathering of Indians living abroad, made available by his office.
"However, we hope to bring back the rhythm of our growth processes to sustain an annual growth rate of 9-10 percent in the medium-term. Our domestic savings rate, which currently stands at 33-35 percent of our GDP, will greatly facilitate the realisation of our growth objectives."
Singh also said the fight against high inflation was yielding results, leading to an improvement in the situation.
India's headline inflation has stayed above 9 percent for a year despite 13 rate hikes by the RBI since March 2010.
However, a rapid slowdown in food inflation in December has raised hopes of a cooling in overall inflation. The food price index fell an annual 3.36 percent in mid-December, the first drop in nearly six years.
However, Manmohan Singh said India's high domestic savings would help achieve a 9-10 percent growth rate in the medium-term.
The Indian economy is slowing on a combination of feeble growth in the United States and Europe, a ratcheting up of interest rates to quash high inflation and a decision-making paralysis in government.
Growth at 6.9 percent in the quarter ending September was the weakest in over two years, obliging the government to pare the forecast for the fiscal year to end-March 2012 to about 7.5 percent from 9 percent made in last year's budget.
"Despite an adverse international environment, the Indian economy is expected to grow by about 7 percent this financial year ending 31st March," Singh said in an address in Jaipur at Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas,a gathering of Indians living abroad, made available by his office.
"However, we hope to bring back the rhythm of our growth processes to sustain an annual growth rate of 9-10 percent in the medium-term. Our domestic savings rate, which currently stands at 33-35 percent of our GDP, will greatly facilitate the realisation of our growth objectives."
Singh also said the fight against high inflation was yielding results, leading to an improvement in the situation.
India's headline inflation has stayed above 9 percent for a year despite 13 rate hikes by the RBI since March 2010.
However, a rapid slowdown in food inflation in December has raised hopes of a cooling in overall inflation. The food price index fell an annual 3.36 percent in mid-December, the first drop in nearly six years.
India's state-run oil companies reported a revenue loss of 340 billion rupees in the third quarter ending December 31 for selling subsidised fuel, an industry sources said on Monday.
At 190 billion rupees, the bulk of under-recovery was that of Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), its director finance P. K. Goel told reporters.
At 190 billion rupees, the bulk of under-recovery was that of Indian Oil Corp (IOC.NS), its director finance P. K. Goel told reporters.
Posters defaming industrialist Anil Ambani and his Group ADAG were found pasted at various locations in suburban Bandra, police said on Friday.
Following this, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) filed an FIR against unidentified persons on Thursday, they said.
According to the police, Posters carrying objectionable remarks about Ambani and his corporate entity along with its logo were found pasted at various places in suburban Bandra.
"A mobile number was also mentioned on the stickers," Mangesh Pote, Senior Inspector at Khar police station, said.
"A manager-level ADAG official lodged complaint for defamation as well as about misuse of the Group's logo," he said, adding that a probe was on to identify the culprits.
Following this, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) filed an FIR against unidentified persons on Thursday, they said.
According to the police, Posters carrying objectionable remarks about Ambani and his corporate entity along with its logo were found pasted at various places in suburban Bandra.
"A mobile number was also mentioned on the stickers," Mangesh Pote, Senior Inspector at Khar police station, said.
"A manager-level ADAG official lodged complaint for defamation as well as about misuse of the Group's logo," he said, adding that a probe was on to identify the culprits.
Japanese car maker Toyota today launched a new version of its hybrid sedan Prius in India that is priced between Rs 27.39 lakh and Rs 29.41 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, had first introduced the world's best selling hybrid car in 2010.
'The introduction of the new Prius is our sincere effort to bring in advanced hybrid technology to India to develop such market here,' Toyota Kirlosakar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Commercial) Shekar Viswanathan told reporters at the 11th Auto Expo here.
The new Prius will have solar ventilation system in addition to the exiting battery technology, he added.
The company, which is present in India through a joint venture with the Kirloskar Group, had first introduced the world's best selling hybrid car in 2010.
'The introduction of the new Prius is our sincere effort to bring in advanced hybrid technology to India to develop such market here,' Toyota Kirlosakar Motor (TKM) Deputy Managing Director (Commercial) Shekar Viswanathan told reporters at the 11th Auto Expo here.
The new Prius will have solar ventilation system in addition to the exiting battery technology, he added.
(Reuters) - The Nano is not a flop, its creator Ratan Tata said on Thursday, but he acknowledged that his Tata Motors (TAMO.NS) failed to capitalise on the early excitement surrounding the launch of the world's cheapest car.
In a wide-ranging briefing with journalists, Tata, who will retire in December as head of the Tata Group, India's biggest business house, also said the steel-to-software conglomerate had paid a price for not participating in corruption.
Four years ago Tata Motors unveiled the Nano in what was seen at the time to be a crowning achievement for the silver-haired Tata, but sales have trailed far behind early expectations following a series of setbacks.
"We never really got our act together when the 100,000 were depleted," he said, referring to the first batch of Nanos sold through a lottery system when initial demand exceeded supply.
"I don't think we were adequately ready with an advertising campaign, a dealer network," he said during a two-hour breakfast meeting with journalists on the first day of the India Auto Expo -- the same event where a euphoric Tata and his Nano stole the show four years ago.
A rising price -- the entry level Nano now costs 140,000 rupees (US$2,657), above the 100,000 rupees initially envisioned -- as well as production delays, quality concerns following two voluntary recalls, and a stigma over the car's "cheap" image have all dented demand.
"We've never pushed it as a poor man's car. We pushed it as an affordable all-weather family car. Period," said Tata, 74, who over two decades has built the Tata Group into an $83 billion conglomerate that generates two-thirds of its revenue outside of India.
While the Nano has failed to live up to expectations, Tata Motors' $2.3 billion purchase of luxury car-marker Jaguar Land Rover in 2008 has exceeded them. CLSA recently upgraded Tata Motors to outperform on the outlook for the two British brands.
"In sum, I don't consider it to be a flop. I consider that we have wasted an early opportunity," said Tata.
Tata launched a Nano that runs on compressed natural gas at the car show, but a company official said it is at least a year away from launching a diesel version, which many critics say is key to success for the Nano in a country where petrol costs 56 percent more than subsidised diesel.
The company recently rolled out a 2012 model that is more powerful, gets better mileage, and has improved suspension and steering. It has also stepped up marketing efforts and financing options, and extended dealerships to smaller towns.
"I believe that we will see a resurrection of this product as we move forward," Tata said.
Tata was speaking in his first extensive media appearance since the relatively unknown Cyrus Mistry, a family member by marriage and the son of the single largest shareholder in Tata Sons, was named in late November as the next group chairman.
Tata said the company still wants to develop a low-cost car for the European and U.S. markets, but such a car will need to be upgraded to meet safety and emissions standards and include the sorts of extras that western consumers demand.
SEASON OF SCANDALS
India has been racked for more than a year by a series of corruption scandals, including over the award of 2G telecoms licences. Tata was among the corporate titans summoned to answer questions before a parliamentary panel, although neither he nor his group has been accused of wrongdoing.
"I think the issues have shown that we were one of the victims of what took place and not the offenders," Tata said.
The Tata group, he said, "will deal with corruption the same way as they have, that is by not participating, sometimes to a great cost to the corporation," he said.
"The fact is that one hopes for an India ... where no one is above the law, and there's no preferential permits or approvals or such that are available that all aren't considered on a similar basis," he said.
Fallout from a series of scandals has battered India's ruling Congress party, stalled decision-making on project approvals, and scared off investors.
Unlike most of India's big business houses, the Tata group is not family owned and Ratan Tata is not on the Forbes list of billionaires.
Tata Sons holds the bulk of shares in key companies, and philanthropic trusts endowed by the Tata family own 66 percent of Tata Sons, and the group enjoys a reputation for integrity.
"We've never been asked to give a bribe because most of the agencies know that would not be possible for us to do," Tata said.
Jan. 5 (Bloomberg) -- As president of EBay Inc.’s PayPal unit, Scott Thompson used an eye for detail and a push into mobile payments to more than double revenue and boost the user base to more than 100 million. He’ll face a bigger challenge at the helm of Yahoo! Inc.
Thompson, 54, must lure users and advertisers back to a company besieged by declining sales and shrinking market share. His appointment yesterday as chief executive officer makes it less likely that Yahoo, the biggest U.S. Web portal, will continue to pursue strategic options such as selling the entire company, said Clayton Moran, an analyst at Benchmark Co.
“This makes it clear that they want to remain independent and try to drive a turnaround, which as we’ve seen over the years has been very difficult to achieve,” Moran said.
Thompson, whose past jobs include overseeing global technology for Visa Inc., is an accountant and engineer who helped turn PayPal’s online payments into EBay’s fastest-growing business. Still, he may lack the advertising chops he’ll need to reverse fortunes at Yahoo, once the largest Internet-search provider, now an also-ran in search behind Google Inc. and a laggard in social media to Facebook Inc.
“He’s not a proven media executive,” Moran said. “Yahoo is an advertising-driven business. So I’m a bit surprised that they again went outside the industry to tap a new leader.”
Yahoo said yesterday Thompson will join the company Jan. 9, after leading PayPal since January 2008. Thompson steps in after a failed turnaround effort by former Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz, who was fired in September after less than three years at the helm.
Leveraging Talent
In an interview yesterday, Thompson said he enjoys working through complex problems and breaking down the challenges to be tackled. Yahoo already has plenty of folks with experience in fields such as advertising, he said.
“My job is to leverage all of that talent, experience that exists in the organization already,” he said. “I know there are some things we need to change and fix, and I love it. I think that’s part of what attracted me to come here -- that it’s going to be fast-paced, fun, hard, complex with a great team of people.”
That focus should help Yahoo execute Thompson’s plan to turn around its core assets, said Herman Leung, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group, who has a “neutral” rating on the stock and doesn’t own it.
‘Execution-Focused’
“Scott is actually different from the predecessor CEOs, because the other CEOs were actually more big-picture focused and less hands-on,” he said. “I think Scott is probably the most hands-on and execution-focused type CEO that Yahoo can get.”
On a conference call yesterday, Thompson said his priorities are boosting revenue and putting the company at the forefront of innovation. Yahoo will turn its attention increasingly to mobile devices, such as tablet computers and smartphones, Thompson said. Rivals such as Facebook and Google likewise aim to take advantage of the shift to mobile computing.
“I just won’t rest until we’ve positioned this business and start to succeed,” Thompson said in the interview.
When it ousted Bartz, Yahoo undertook a review of its strategic options. One decision that is still on the “front burner” is a possible divestment of the company’s Asian assets, including its stakes in China and Japan, Moran said.
The company has been under investor pressure to realize value from its international assets, including a stake of about 40 percent in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and co-ownership of Yahoo Japan with Softbank Corp. In October, Yahoo estimated the Alibaba stake was worth about $14 billion on a pretax basis.
Jack Ma ‘Interested’
After Sunnyvale, California-based Yahoo announced the strategic review, its advisers received inquiries from “multiple parties” interested in various unspecified options, according to a September memo to employees from co-founder Jerry Yang. Later, Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma said he was “very interested” in buying Yahoo.
Yahoo also has considered offers for a minority stake from bidders including TPG Capital and a group led by Silver Lake, people familiar with the matter said in November.
Under Bartz, who joined Yahoo in 2009, the company lost market share in the display-advertising businesses, an area that it has traditionally led. The company’s piece of the $12.3 billion U.S. market fell to 13.1 percent in 2011, from 14.4 percent the previous year, according to EMarketer Inc. The New York-based researcher said Yahoo lost its No. 1 position to Facebook last year.
Revenue Challenge
While Yahoo has been cutting costs, revenue growth has eluded the company as users drift to other sites where marketers are spending money. Yahoo’s third-quarter sales, excluding revenue passed on to partner sites, declined 4.6 percent to $1.07 billion. U.S. Internet surfers spent 9.3 percent of their online time on Yahoo sites in November, down from 11 percent two years earlier, according to ComScore Inc.
Yahoo shares fell 3.1 percent to $15.78 at the close in New York yesterday. The stock has gained 22 percent since Bartz’s departure on Sept. 6.
PayPal, owned by San Jose, California-based EBay, has services that help retailers and individuals exchange funds for purchases or payments, even without a credit card. As president, Thompson contributed to an increase of the payment service’s users from 50 million to more than 100 million, helping it close in on a goal of revenue as high as $7 billion by 2013, compared with about $3.3 billion in 2010.
Thompson also engineered the company’s expansion to online daily deals and mobile payments. His Web-industry experience may give him a better chance for success than Bartz, whose previous firm specialized in software for engineers and architects, said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco.
“He’s from the Internet industry,” Sinha said. “He is always around those sort of people who are in advertising. He can easily learn. Will it take longer to learn? Sure.”