Sobhan Babu passes Away

Telugu star Shoban Babu passes away

Chennai, March 21, 2008
First Published: 19:53 IST(21/3/2008)

Romantic Telugu hero of yesteryears Shobhan Babu, who had won the hearts of millions as a style icon in a three-decade long career, died here today following cardiac arrest. He was 71 and survived by wife, three daughters and a son.

Shobhan, whose roles in soft family entertainers earned him a massive fan following among women, was counted among the top four Telugu stars of his time, sharing laurels with N T Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageshwara Rao and Krishna.

Shobhan, a fitness buff, collapsed while performing yoga at his home. He was shifted to Apollo hospital when he started bleeding from his nose. The doctors said he died of a massive heart attack.

After making a mark in the tinsel world for over three decades, he has been leading a reclusive life, away from media glare, since 1997.

Shobhan, who made his debut in 1965 with mythological film Veerabhimanyu, kept himself away from public functions and film industry for the last ten years.

It is said in film circles that the reason for the veteran actor not appearing in public is that he did not want his fans to see him as an old man.

"He wanted to live in the hearts of his fans as a young, romantic hero. That is why he did not want to make public appearance," a well-known script writer P Gopalakrishna said.

Born in Krishna district on Jan 14, 1937 as Uppu Shobana Chalapathi Rao, Shobhan, an arts graduate, epitomized a "perfect family man", both on-screen and off-screen.

Known for his strict regimentation and discipline, Shobhan acted in about 200 films, many of them becoming box office hits.
Some of his popular films were Manushulu Marali, Bangaru Panjaram, Jeevana Tarangalu, Soggadu, Jeevan Jyothi, Balipeetham, Gorintaku , Kodenagu, Gorintaaku, Puttinillu- Mettinillu, Andaru Dongale and Kaarthika Deepam.

His performance in 1970 film "Bangaru Panjaram" earned him the central government award for the best classical film hero. In a career spanning 32 years, he won the coveted best actor awards from the Andhra Pradesh government five times and four Filmfare awards.

Shobhan worked with leading directors and production houses of his time. He acted in nine films made by veteran producer D Rama Naidu.

After bidding good-bye to the films a decade ago, he settled down in Chennai and switched over to real estate business. He has not allowed any of his children to take to films.

Ferrari Strikes at the end

Sunday, March 23, 2008 (Sepang)
Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen finally kicked off the defence of his crown on Sunday when, a week after a dreadful day at Melbourne, he won the Malaysian Grand Prix for Ferrari.

But the Italian team's hopes of a dream one-two finish just a week after their embarrassment in Australia where both cars failed to complete the race were wrecked by Brazilian Felipe Massa spinning off while running second.

The Latin American's error gave Pole Robert Kubica in his BMW a perfect opportunity to grab his career-best finish in second and he did so with a calm and solid performance to come ahead of steadily-improving Finn Heikki Kovalainen for McLaren Mercedes-Benz.

Kovalainen's McLaren team-mate Briton Lewis Hamilton, who won in Australia, battled through a topsy-turvy race and various problems with pit-stops and tactics, to finish fifth behind Italian Jarno Trulli in a Toyota.

His efforts kept him on top of the drivers' championship after two rounds.

Both McLaren men were forced to start five places back on the grid from their original qualifying places after being charged with blocking other cars inadvertently at the end of Saturday's qualifying session.

Raikkonen's win was the 16th of his career and proved he is carrying no "negative baggage" after his dismal outing at Albert Park where he spun twice, but still managed to collect a point for being classified eighth.

It was also Raikkonen's seventh win for Ferrari and his second win in Malaysia.

"That was good, it was what we wanted," said the Finn. "I got a good start and I stayed behind Felipe until the pit stops hoping I could pass him there and that is how it worked out.

"The conditions were not too bad. It was hotter in Australia, but here it is more humid. For me, though it was ok. It is always nice to be at the front - everything seems easier when you are there."

His win increased his total of points for the season to 11 after two races. This cut Hamilton's lead at the top to just three points, the Englishman collecting four points.

Kubica said: "That was a long time coming for me and I am happy for myself and for the team. It is just great for everyone."

Kovalainen said: "After the penalties and everything that happened, we have to be happy with the podium finish. I just tried to do my best."

German Nick Heidfeld finished sixth behind Hamilton in the second BMW after being caught up in a dramatic sequence of events at turn one on the opening lap.

Australian Mark Webber made up for his bad luck in his home race in Australia last Sunday by finishing seventh ahead of double champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso was eighth for Renault.

Two Britons David Coulthard and Jenson Button finished ninth and 10th for Red Bull and Honda on a day when, in contast to last weekend's contest of attrition that saw only seven finishers, 17 cars reached the conclusion.

Massa made a fine start and survived a first-corner challenge from his team-mate before pulling clear at the front, with Raikkonen following close behind on a sensational first lap.

This saw Hamilton make a flying start and demonstrate just why he is regarded as the most exciting driver in Formula One.

From ninth on the grid, he weaved through the field to take fifth place at the end of the first lap.

As they crossed the line, the two Ferraris led, ahead of Kubica, Webber and Hamilton with Trulli sixth, Kovalainen seventh and Coulthard eighth.

But behind the leaders, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais spun off at turn six and German Timo Glock was forced to retire his

Toyota after a collision with compatriot Nico Rosberg, of Williams, who was forced to pit for a new front wing.

Bourdais said: "I was outside and running wide and I just lost it there. I get that is just part of the learning experience."

Glock said: "He got very close and hit me and broke my suspension and that was it for me."

The luckless Glock also crashed out of the Australian race.

The loser in the opening lap scrapping, that saw Hamilton weave between Kovalainen and Trulli on his way through, was German Nick Heidfeld, in his BMW. He fell back to 10th place and did not rise to eighth until lap four.

German Adrian Sutil in his Force India went out on lap seven as the field settled down until the first round of pit stops, which produced more drama.

Massa was the second man in and after a slow 'out' lap found himself running behind Raikkonen who put in a fast lap and stop to take the lead.

Kubica led briefly and remained third after the stops, but Webber, the first man to stop, and Hamilton, who had a problem with his front right wheel and was at a standstill for nearly 20 seconds, both dropped places in the pits.

When all the stops were done, Hamilton was running seventh behind Webber with Raikkonen leading, Massa second and Kubica third. Kovalainen was fourth, Trulli fifth and Webber sixth.

Ferrari's dream of a one-two finish was wrecked on lap 31 when Massa spun off at turn seven into the gravel trap. It looked like driver error and it meant that after two races the Brazilian was still pointless. This lifted Hamilton to sixth.

"I don't know what happened, I just lost control of the car. It was very strange at the rear," said Massa. The team said their telemetry readings showed there was nothing wrong with the car.

Following Massa's mistake, Raikkonen led comfortably by 24.5 seconds ahead of Kubica, Kovalainen and Trulli with Webber fifth and Hamilton sixth.

It was clearly the Finn's race to win or lose and he pitted for the second time at the end of lap 38 in just 8.5 seconds.

Raikkonen rejoined in second behind Kubica, who still had to make a second stop, with Kovalainen third.

His McLaren team-mate Hamilton remained held up behind Webber where though he had the speed to get close, he could not easily pass him.

It looked as if Hamilton was suffering from continuing difficulties with his right-front wheel where the 'spinner', a kind of aerodynamic hubcap, seemed to be loose.

Webber eventually pitted again after 39 laps allowing Hamilton through to fifth, with a stop remaining. Trulli soon followed, leaving Hamilton running fourth and pushing to make up time.

Kubica was able to hang on in the lead with a 6.2 seconds advantage ahead of Raikkonen until lap 42 when he pitted and the Finn took command again.

That left the flying Finn out in front to pull clear and win with Kubica second and Kovalainen third. Hamilton chased Trulli hard but to no avail.

Stock Market

Sensex down 572 points in early trade
Posted March 10th, 2008 by Mohit Joshi

* Stock Markets
* India
* Mumbai

Sensex down 572 points in early tradeMumbai, Mar 10: The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) benchmark Sensex lost 572 points and was pegged at 15,404 in early trade today on selling by funds in heavy-weight stocks, led by capital goods.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty is down by 135 points at 4,636.

Stocks opened sharply lower today, extending losses in markets overseas as prospects of a US recession and worsening global credit conditions taunted investors.

Sectorwise, capital goods, real estate and banking shares were the worst hit.
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Sensex dips by over 500 points
Posted March 7th, 2008 by Mohit Joshi

* Stock Markets
* India
* Mumbai

Sensex dips by over 500 pointsMumbai, Mar 7: The Sensex shed 3.5 per cent or 578 points in early morning trading on Friday and when reports last came in, it was pegged at 15,964 due to extremely weak global cues.

Asian markets were also sharply down following a fresh slide in American stocks yesterday as a number of the US mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures continued to rise in the fourth quarter

In the broader markets, the Nifty is in red by 166 points or 3.4 per cent. It is trading at 4,755 levels. Selling is evident in real estate, banking and information technology counters.

BSE stock exchange

Indian Stock Markets open weak
Posted February 11th, 2008 by Shalini Kakkad

* Stock Markets
* Stock Trading
* Featured

Indian Stock Markets Weak
Indian Stock Markets opened weak and NSE Nifty touched a low of 4975 in first 10 minutes of trade. NSE Nifty opened at 5120.55 slightly above last close of 5120.35 and touched a high of 5126. The index witnessed a sudden fall and touched a low of 4975. At 10.07 a.m. was down by 87 points or 1.65 %. There was some recovery as buying in some select counters at lower level helped markets to gain some points.

The markets were very volatile and day traders should stay away from markets. If someone wants to trade in this volatile market, the exposure should be less and we will suggest trading in delivery segment only.
Major losers among blue chips were Reliance Industries, HDFC, Reliance Energy and Tata Power.

Pharmaceutical major Ranbaxy was trading in positive. The stock gained over 1 percent. Satyam Computers was also among gainers. The stock was marginally up at Rs 412. Technology counters were major gainers on Friday.

VSNL was up by nearly 5%. VSNL may soon sell land in four metro cities. The land sale may help VSNL to raise over Rs. 10,000 crore.

There are many stocks which are looking interesting at lower levels. Torrent Power is a good stock in power sector. The stock is currently available within 158 – 162 range. The stock looks good for long term investment.

India holds up CB series

India beat Australia to win tri-series

Tuesday March 4, 07:07 PM


SYDNEY (Reuters) - India ended their troubled tour of Australia on a high note when they beat the hosts by nine runs on Tuesday to win their best-of-three finals series 2-0.

Sachin Tendulkar scored a superb 91 and paceman Praveen Kumar went on to capture four wickets as the tourists followed up Sunday's six-wicket win in Sydney with a thrilling victory at the Gabba in Brisbane.

It was a sweet victory for the Indians after they lost the test series 2-1 and have been embroiled in a long-running feud with their opponents all summer.

The tour was almost cancelled after the Australians accused Harbhajan Singh of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the second test.

The rival captains agreed to a truce after the International Cricket Council (ICC) called in a mediator to resolve their dispute but the tensions remained throughout the tour.

Australia captain Ricky Ponting was gracious in defeat, saying the Indians fully deserved their victory.

"All credit has to go to the Indian team for the way they've played in the last week," Ponting said at the televised presentation.

"Our level of cricket over the last week has dropped off so that's disappointing ... but we can't take anything away from India, they dominated us in these two games."

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni said his team's unexpected victory with a youthful team was a great sign for the future.

"It's very important because I believe this is a building stage of my team because of our youngsters and that we left off a lot of older players," he said.

Tendulkar just missed out on back-to-back centuries after helping India post 258 for nine after they won the toss and batted first.

He followed up his unbeaten hundred in Sydney with a patient display to set India on the road to victory.

TERRIBLE START

The Australians, who also lost last year's tri-series finals at home to England, recovered from a terrible start to give themselves a glimmer of hope when James Hopes (63) and Matthew Hayden (55) made half-centuries, only to come up short.

The tourists were heading for a much bigger total when Tendulkar and Robin Uthappa (30) piled on 94 for the first wicket before Australia's bowlers struck back.

Part-time spinner Michael Clarke (3-52) captured three wickets, including the prize scalp of Tendulkar, while paceman Nathan Bracken (3-31) also picked up three wickets in the frantic final few overs.

Yuvraj Singh made a run-a-ball 38 in a 54-run stand with Tendulkar but their dismissals triggered a lower-order batting collapse.

The Indians lost six wickets for 50 runs in the last 11 overs after looking as though they would get closer to 300.

The Australians made a terrible start to their run-chase when they lost three wickets in the first nine overs.

Adam Gilchrist, in his final appearance before retiring from international cricket, was caught behind for two off the third ball of the innings then Ponting (one) and Clarke (17) quickly followed.

Hayden and Symonds steadied the innings with a fourth wicket partnership of 89 before they both departed in the same over, Hayden run out at the non-strikers end for 55 and Symonds was trapped lbw by Harbhajan for 42.

Mike Hussey (44) and James Hopes (63) kept Australia in the hunt with a stand of 76 but the wickets began tumbling as the world champions were forced to take risks to reduce the required run-rate.

Australia needed 13 runs from the last over but were bowled out for 249 with two balls to spare with Hopes the last man out.

"It's just been a magic ride," Gilchrist said. "It hasn't been the fairytale ending tonight but it's certainly been a fairytale career."

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Chidambaram's Budget 2008

India spends more on poor in budget 2008-09

* $15.05bn debt relief for farmers, economic growth slows, cuts excise duty on autos, inflation at 4.89 percent

NEW DELHI: India’s Congress-led government announced Friday huge debt relief for farmers as it reached out to its traditional rural support base in possibly its last budget before the next polls.

Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram offered a debt relief package for farmers of 600 billion rupees ($15.05 billion) in the budget for the year starting April 1, even as India’s economic growth began to slow.

He told parliament 30 million indebted farmers would have their loans fully waived by the end of June and another 10 million would receive aid.

Through the loan waiver scheme, “the country is discharging a deep debt and sense of gratitude to farmers,” he said.

The government intends “to make growth more inclusive”, the minister said. “We are raising our sights and doing more.”

The farm sector is crucial as it provides a living for two-thirds of India’s 1.1 billion populations. T.N. Ninan, publisher of leading financial daily Business Standard told India’s NDTV news that the debt relief programme was “the single biggest giveaway in India’s fiscal and banking history.”

But he questioned how it would be applied, noting many farmers’ debts were to moneylenders. Farm growth is forecast to slow to 2.6 percent this fiscal year from 3.8 percent the previous year.

Analysts attributed the market’s unhappiness to a knee-jerk investor response to an increase in the short-term capital gains tax to 15 percent from 10 percent. Chidambaram said he was confident the economy would grow nearly nine percent in the current fiscal year to March 2008, down from 9.6 percent the previous year due to aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation. But the Indian economy would still be the second fastest-growing in the world after China’s.

Data released Friday showed economic growth slowed to 8.4 percent for the third quarter ended December 31, 2007, compared with 9.1 percent in the same period the previous year as a slew of interest rates hikes hit consumer and infrastructure spending and industrial production.

India’s economy under the communist-backed United Progressive Alliance coalition government, which took office in 2004, had grown by over eight percent during 12 successive quarters since 2005.

“We need an ambitious scheme... to revive agriculture,” he said.

Economic growth slows to 8.4 percent in Q3: India’s economy grew by 8.4 percent in the third quarter, its slowest pace in two years, on lower farm and industrial output from the same period a year ago. The data showed that the economy expanded almost in line with a forecast of 8.7 percent for the year ending March. But the pace is well off the 9.6 percent growth reported in the previous year.

The slowdown for the quarter ended December has been attributed to aggressive monetary tightening to tame prices and a 12 percent gain for the rupee against the dollar in the past year. The rupee’s rise has dented export earnings for Asia’s third biggest economy. Farm growth rose 3.2 percent in the third quarter, down from 3.4 percent a year earlier, while manufacturing gained 9.3 percent from 11.3 percent.

JP Morgan estimates the economy will slow down further in the next financial year and expand at 7.5 percent.

India’s central bank has increased interest rates nine times since October 2004 to check inflation, which jumped to 4.89 percent for the week ended February 16 — the highest since June 2007.

“Growth stability with reasonable price stability is the main objective of our government,” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after the annual budget was presented Friday. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said that he was confident the economy will grow nearly nine percent in the current financial year.

Automakers cheer tax cut plans: Shares in Indian vehicle makers rose on Friday after the government proposed to cut excise duties in the fiscal year 2008-09, which analysts say will encourage demand, particularly for small cars.

The finance minister proposed to cut excise duties on buses and chassis, as well as small cars, to 12 percent from 16 percent in his annual budget. He also cut duty on hybrid cars to 14 percent from 24 percent and on two- and three-wheelers to 16 percent from 24 percent.

Indian inflation rises to highest level since June 2007: India’s annual inflation rate spiked to its highest level since June 2007 on higher food and fuel prices, data showed on Friday.

Inflation climbed to 4.89 percent for the week ended February 16 from 4.35 percent the previous week, according to the wholesale price index, India’s most watched cost-of-living monitor.

Wholesale prices stood at a then two-year peak of 6.73 percent in the same period a year ago.

Inflation in Asia’s third largest economy has fluctuated in recent months but has been inching closer to the central bank’s ceiling of five percent for the fiscal year to March 31, 2008. agencies