Crisis meter

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 last fortnight, across the globe.

LAY-OFFS
• Reliance Industries Ltd. Navi Mumbai SEZ sacks 160 contractual employees.

• Tata M o tors set to remove up to 3,000 temporary workers at its Pune factory.

• Citigroup to axe 50,000 jobs (1,000+ employees in India), in addition to 23,000 job cuts earlier.

• American Express to lay off 7,000 employees.

• ArcelorMittal to slash 9,000 jobs, mostly white-collar staff.

HIRING
• SBI plans to hire 25,000 staff members and open 2,000 branches in this fiscal year.

• Accenture to hire 10,000 people.

• TCS, Infosys to employ 25,000-30,000 hands.

• L&T plans to recruit 10,000 people.

NEWS FROM BOARD ROOMS
• Tata Motors idles its Jamshedpur plant again— the second time in less than a month.

• PwC cancels its year-end Christmas party in India as a cost-cutting measure.

• Infosys offers a sabbatical to its employees—they won’t have to come for work, but will be able to draw half their salary.

• GE Money to shut down nearly half of its 170 branches in India.

• Sales of high-end cars fell 30.51% in October to 2,859 units, compared with 4,114 units in October last year, according to SIAM reports.

• Two-thirds of China’s small-toy exporters shut shop in the first nine months of this year.

• Nokia plans to stop selling mobile phones in Japan—except for its luxury brand, Vertu—after struggling to expand its presence.

BARGAINS AND DEALS
£620,000 Buy a Salsa Inmobiliaria home (Spain) and bag a flat.

£100,000 Premier Yacht (Russia) is selling two boats for the price of one.

£18,255 Two-for-one deal in the UK on Dodge Avenger cars.

Extras

• A record 110 companies, compared with 94 last year, participated in IIM Lucknow’s summer placements.

• Venture capital investment in India grew 36% to $290 million in the third quarter of this financial year (till September 30). Meanwhile, in mainland China, VC investments grew 22% to $964 million in the same period.

The rich & famous

Highest-paid PM to take a salary cut
Politicians taking a salary cut? Unfortunately, it’s not happening in India...yet. Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s salary of $2.4 million (Rs 12.3 crore), five times more than that of US President George W. Bush, will be slashed by 20%.

Crisis hits Tiger Woods
Even the richest names in sport aren’t immune to the credit crunch. The world’s top golfer, Tiger Woods, has lost out on a sponsorship deal with GM worth over $10 million (Rs 50.12 crore) a year.

Free of cost
Hot meals and juices on Kingfisher Red flights.

6-month grace period
Offered by Royal Bank of Scotland before initiating repossession.

QUOTES

"There will be a slowdown, but we will remain the second fastest growing economy in the world."
— P. Chidambaram, Home Minister

"As many as 40% of exporters have closed down their factories and 50% of people in the four most-affected clusters have lost their jobs."
— Sudhir Tyagi, Vice-Chairman, All India Handicraft Board

"There is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington, and people coming off them with tin cups in their hands."
— Gary Ackerman, New York Congressman, at a hearing of House Financial Services Committee

POLICIES
• The Citigroup bailout package announced by the US government guarantees $306 billion in troubled assets and $20 billion in cash injection.
• Sebi will now extend crossmargin facility to all market participants as opposed to institutional investors only.