Markets and Industry Roundup - week ending March 6, 2009

Markets Roundup:

• Stocks fell sharply and broadly during the week, depressed by investors' ongoing worries about the global economy and financial sector
• Dow Jones Index fell below 7,000 for the first time since 1997
• Stocks rose on Wednesday based on reports that Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao may announce new economic stimulus measures and higher commodities prices (with the exception of gold), though lost more ground on Thursday
• Mixed reaction to US unemployment data for February announced on Friday - nonfarm payroll fell 651,000 and unemployment rate rose to 8.1% in line with consensus estimates
• AIG's posted the largest loss in US corporate history of $62 billion in the fourth quarter and received fresh bailout money
• Automakers posted weak Feb sales
• Berkshire Hathaway reported its worst year ever and Warren Buffett commented that the economy is in “shambles” for 2009

Industry Roundup:

• Tech services sector fell 9% last week amidst noises of anti-offshoring legislations
• Wachovia downgraded Cognizant, Infosys, Syntel and Wipro to Underperform
• ET reported that as most of the clients from U.S. and Europe are tightening their IT budget and seek to renegotiate the existing contracts, Indian IT firms such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL are forced to sign new outsourcing contracts at 15-20 percent lower billing rates than last year
• IBM announced creation of software, Sametime 3D, for holding face-to-face meetings in virtual world
• Accenture announced laying off almost half its workforce of around 1,000 in the Philippine capital of Manila due to the effects of the global financial crisis
• HP CEO Mark Hurd said he sees “caution in the air” and reiterated a prediction that technology demand won’t improve the rest of the year
• HP announced more than a dozen products, solutions and services aimed at small- to medium-sized businesses, as part of the company's Total Care initiative aimed at midmarket companies
• Infosys says new projects momentum has come down and witnessing pricing pressures. Infosys completed absorbing all 20,000 campus offers made last year.
• Satyam announced that it has received approval from SEBI to facilitate a global competitive bidding process, contemplates the selection of an investor to acquire a 51% interest in the Company; IBM said to be leading the race
• Patni announced that it has formed a local SAP services partnership with SAP Japan aimed at the Japanese market
• Syntel announced that it has signed a partnership agreement with Global Analytics to provide bankcard fraud detection services for its customers worldwide
• Genpact to host Investor Day on March 17