Down slide

Depression, recession, bear market... all have translated to job scares, a slowdown in demand and panic attacks. Here is a recap of the spillover effects of the ongoing economic imbroglio in the past fortnight, across the globe.

Lay -offs
- Tata Consultancy Services to lay off about 1,300 of its workforce in the next few months.
- The Malaysian government to sack 15,000 foreign employees every month.
- IT and BPO services provider, Hexaware Technologies, to trim its staff by 500.

Hiring
- Infosys plans to hire 20,000 engineering graduates this year at an average salary that is 8.3% higher than that offered last year.
- Security solutions major G4S will employ 18,000 people for its India operations this year.
- Air India to take 30-40 pilots every three months and induct 30 new aircraft during 2009-10.
- Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Health to recruit 5,000 doctors from abroad.

Bargains and deals
- 25% drop in room rates of Jaypee Hotels.
- 25-50% discount offered by Singapore Airlines on advance booking.
- Rs 40,000-70,000 less is the price of the new M&M Scorpio variants.

Extras
- In the US, every one in five persons owes more than what his home is worth, according to loan-tracker, First American CoreLogic.
- IIM Ahmedabad’s average placement salary is down by 25% from last year.
- As per property consultants JLLM, vacant office space in Mumbai and Delhi has risen 5 times from Sept 2008.

News from boardrooms

General Motors may file for bankruptcy. Subhiksha will close 20% of its outlets. The Indian government has offered a Rs 300-crore lifeline to Emaar, which is developing the Commonwealth Games Village in Delhi. Honda Cars has hiked the prices of most of its models by up to Rs 3 lakh due to a fall in the rupee versus the dollar. HSBC has launched Britain’s largest rights issue to raise $18.3 billion to help overcome its losses in the US. For the first time in its history, Hindustan Motors is looking at non-auto businesses like infrastructure, power transmission and railways as an option to stay afloat.

Brands & celebs

Househunting on hold
Russia’s richest man, Mikhail Prokhorov, has pulled out of the deal to buy the most expensive property in French Riviera, the Villa Leoplda a Belle Epoque mansion on the heights of Villefrance, near Nice. The contract was worth $500 million.

Luxury homes for less
The median price at the Hamptons, New York’s playground for the uber rich, has fallen for the first time since 2000. Discounts on houses rose to 11.1% in 2008 from the previous year, according to Miller Samuel-Prudential.

Rise in ratings
Bravo, the NBC Universal-owned cable channel that chronicles the lifestyles of the rich and the famous, reported that the ratings for February were the highest in the channel’s history, despite the recession.

Victoria Beckham

Value erosion
Celebrities such as David and Victoria Beckham (in picture), Michael Jackson and Brad Pitt are losing up to £80,000 per week on the value of their luxury properties in Dubai, as values continue to plummet.

Policies
- RBI has slashed the rates at which it lends and borrows short-term funds from banks by half a per cent. This will lead to a further cut in home, auto and other loan rates.
- The Central government has approved 29 FDI proposals worth Rs 616 crore.

Quotes

Businesses are going to start seeing opportunities for investment... People are going to get back to work. — US President Barack Obama Those who talk only about doom and gloom forget that the spirit business is growing at 20% annually. People drink in good times and seem to be drinking more in bad times. — Vijay Mallya, Chairman, UB Group and Kingfisher Not only has the economy slowed down a lot, but people’s behaviour has changed like nothing I’ve ever seen. — Warren Buffett, Chairman, Berkshire Hathaway