German billionaire kills himself

German billionaire Adolf Merckle has committed suicide after his business empire ran into trouble in the global economic slowdown.

In a statement his family said he had been "broken" by the financial crisis, and had taken his own life.

Mr Merckle ran up losses of about 400m euros (£363m;$535m) last year due to wrong-way bets on Volkswagen shares.

He was ranked as the world's 94th richest person in 2008, and his family controls a number of German companies.

The 74-year-old's body was found on Monday near railway tracks in southern Germany. Officials said there was no evidence that anyone else was to blame.

Volkswagen losses

His family, which had reported him missing after he failed to return home, said in a statement: "Adolf Merckle lived and worked for his family and his firms."

"The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life."

Bank of America in Chinese sale

Bank of America is to sell a stake in China Construction Bank, in a move that is expected to raise some $3bn (£2bn), the Chinese bank has said.

The US bank said the sale was because of "its own financial conditions under the current severe turbulence of the international financial crisis".

The sale of 5.62 billion shares represents around 12% of the US company's stake in the finance firm.

Other firms are tipped to make similar moves in China as a way to raise funds.

"The news had been expected but investors will still take it hard because Bank of America will most definitely sell more. They need the money," said Francis Lun, general manager for Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong.

Shares in China Construction Bank dropped nearly 6% following the news.

Alcoa cuts 13,500 workers' jobs

The US aluminium-maker Alcoa is to cut 13,500 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, due to the economic slowdown.

The latest cost-cutting and job losses come on top of savings which were announced in October.

Alcoa said it would cut its yearly output of aluminium by 18% because of falling demand.

The Pittsburgh-based company is also planning to sell four of its non-core businesses and is imposing a global salary and hiring freeze.

Alcoa has not given any breakdown of the job losses on a country-by-country basis.

Falling prices

As a result of its actions, Alcoa expects total fourth-quarter charges of up to $950m, and annual savings of about $450m.

In October, Alcoa saw a 52% fall in third-quarter profit due to sharply lower aluminium prices and weaker demand. Its next quarterly results are due on 12 January.

Alcoa's president Klaus Kleinfeld said: "These are extraordinary times, requiring speed and decisiveness to address the current economic downturn."

As part of the plan, Alcoa said it would sell off its electrical and electronic systems, global foil, cast car wheels and European transport products businesses.

These subsidiaries employ a total of 22,600 people and had combined revenues of $1.8bn in 2008.

The production cuts are expected to be completed by the end of March.

However some analysts doubted whether Alcoa's production cuts would help stabilise falling aluminium prices, which fell to roughly 65 cents per pound a few weeks ago from $1.50 a pound last July.

"The problem is a lack of demand. With the lower price, Alcoa has got to try to bring its costs down. There is no way they can make money at 65-cent aluminium," said Charles Bradford of Bradford Research/Soleil Securities.

Satyam plunges 73 pc to decade's low of Rs 48

IT major Satyam Computer on Wednesday fell to its lowest level in over a decade to Rs 48.90, nosediving as much as 73 percent, following the resignation of company's Chairman B Ramalinga Raju and revelation of malpractices in the firm's accounting methods.

Shares of Satyam plunged as much as 72.70 percent to a low of Rs 48.90, but was later trading at Rs 50, down 72.08 percent in the afternoon trade on the BSE.

The scrip, which had opened at Rs 179.10, plunged within minutes of Satyam Chairman and Managing Director tendering their resignation.

Analysts believe investor confidence has shattered completely as the company was operating its business based on entirely false balance sheet.

"The Satyam case is entirely disastrous and the investors have been completely misguided and misled. People will not think more in the company as some more frauds may be revealed in the near future," Ashika Stock Brokers' Research head Paras Bothra said.

Ramalinga Raju, who had been under attack over the 1.6-billion-dollar acquisition fiasco of firms promoted by his family, on Wednesday resigned as Satyam Chairman after admitting to major financial wrong doings and saying his last-ditch efforts, to fill the "fictitious assets with real ones" through Maytas acquisition, failed.

The counter saw frantic selling on the bourses after the news broke out, and nearly 27 crore shares had changed hands on both the bourses till the afternoon trade.

Satyam stock holds a 1.56 percent weight in the 30-share bluechip index Sensex. Following the same, the benchmark index also plunged over 400 points and was trading down nearly 4 percent at 9,922 points in the noon trade on the BSE.



The scrip has revisited the Rs 49 levels after a gap of nearly 12 years, as in March, 1997 the stock had been around Rs 49.75.


The resignations, ahead of the 10th January board meeting, has pushed the company into crisis and paved way for immediate restructuring of the board and the management.

On the National Stock Exchange, the scrip plunged 72.59 percent to an intra-day low of Rs 49.05. It was later quoted at Rs 50.80, down 71.61 percent in the afternoon trade.


Satyam's American Depository Receipts, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, had closed up four percent at 9.35 dollar on Tuesday, and are expected to witness a sharp plunge when the American markets open.


"The ADRs are likely to cues from the domestic market and may plunge as much as 80 per cent, as the investors know that the company's fundamental have been completely shaken and their confidence has been totally shattered," Arun Kejriwal director of Kejriwal Research and Investment Services said.

Raju quits Satyam; Ram Mynampati appointed as interim CEO

Satyam Computer Services on Wednesday accepted the resignation of its Founder Chairman B Ramalinga Raju who has quit accepting financial irregularities and appointed Ram Mynampati as interim CEO, who said shareholders and employees are top priority now.

Mynampati has been mandated by the Board to steer the company through this crisis, said a company statement.

"We are obviously shocked by the contents of the letter sent by Raju to the company. The senior leaders of Satyam stand united in their commitment to customers, associates, suppliers and all shareholders. We have gathered together at Hyderabad to strategise the way forward in light of this startling revelation," said Ram Mynampati, Interim CEO, whose appointment has to be ratified by the Board.

Earlier Satyam said it has received on Wednesday a letter from its Chairman and Founder B Ramalinga Raju. Mynampati was earlier a member of the Board.

"This letter, January 7, 2009, has been circulated to all existing members of the board, several senior leaders and copied to the Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the stock exchanges where Satyam is listed," the company said in a statement.

Its immediate priorities are to protect the interests of its shareholders, protect the careers and security of its approximately 53,000 associates, and meet all its commitments to its customers and suppliers, it added.

"We recognise that our associates have committed a significant part of their careers to build Satyam. We will pursue all avenues to secure their future in the company," added Mynampati.



Satyam believes that its underlying business model, customer assets and growth prospects remained sound, even in the current challenging financial environment, he said.

The company's leadership is confident that it will be able to overcome this latest development and continue to provide excellent service to clients, while delivering value to shareholders in the medium to long term.

Satyam is committed to uphold the highest levels of corporate transparency and will cooperate with the relevant regulatory authorities to conduct detailed investigations into this matter. Satyam will keep stakeholders informed of the developments on a regular basis, the new interim CEO added.