Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Saved by a mere whisker!

Deputy CM Sushil Modi wins a reprieve, albeit temporary, in Bihar

Prominent BJP leader and Bihar’s deputy chief minister (CM), Sushil Modi, has managed a reprieve beating his nearest party rivals 35-32 in a show of strength that was baffling at best and shady at worst. It could only happen in the Republic of Bihar that a leader of legislators in the state assembly, has had to seek a vote to continue in that position! That swords were out for Modi in the Bihar BJP is no revelation. What came as a surprise was the way in which dissidence was controlled in pure BJP style. When it became clear that their deputy chief ministerial candidate was in trouble if voting took place, the party promptly brought in 14 MLCs into the voting fray – through the backdoor. Not surprisingly, Modi sailed through. Troubles for Modi began as soon as the Bihar Cabinet was announced.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

A Bridge on the Palk Straits

Will the government take Ram Setu to ASI and show its hand?

Is the government’s policy on Ram Setu about to be put to test? There is a good chance it will be after the Supreme Court asks the UPA government to consider holding an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) investigation to ascertain whether Ram Setu is indeed an “ancient monument”. A bench headed by Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan asked the government to explore “the possibility of carrying out the project through any other channels (alignments).”

The UPA government’s policy of vacillating in the extreme on Ram Setu (not knowing whether it would lead to appeasement or alienation) has led to the Court to demand more consistency on issues such as Ram Setu, even while acknowledging that it is nearly impossible to lay down guidelines of any kind in a democracy.

Not surprisingly, the court’s order has been welcomed by all those who are opposed to the dismantling of Ram Setu. Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, a petitioner in the case, said the government could not ignore the directive in light of the recent Madras High Court order. The next hearing is on July 22. In the interregnum, the Bench said the Centre could consider both these aspects, just as the High Court directed on June 19 of last year. Appearing for the Centre, senior advocate Fali S. Nariman agreed with the court’s current stand.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, November 19, 2012

GLOBAL BUSINESS: JOB CUTS

US slowdown is affecting employment across the globe, but the financial services sector leads the rest

Leading the race is America’s largest bank – Citibank – which posted an overall loss of $5.11 billion for Q1, 2008 and plans to ‘do the pink’ to as many as 9,000 workers (it had 21,000 job cuts in 2007). Royal Bank of Scotland announced in April that 7,000 employees could hit fleet street soon enough. Loss making Merrill Lynch, too, revealed plans to axe 4,000 jobs globally. The Confederation of British Industry announced last month how this quarter would see over 10,000 job cuts in UK’s financial sector. The Challenger US employment report shows that US, in January & February 2008 together, had a killing 147,077 job cuts, with the global financial sector taking up a significant majority (22,056 in February itself). Globally, firms like UBS, JPMorgan Chase & Co. are all ‘pinking’ it.

What about the near future? Ian Stewart, associate director of Deloitte Research revealed in a recent report that “Over half of (global financial) companies plan to slow down hiring and almost 40% are considering cutting workforces.” Did you hear about the world tour Aerosmith undertook last year? Do you know that they’re planning to do it again? Uhh


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.


 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, November 15, 2012

PAKISTAN: BALLOT POWER

Nothing could please the country's friends more

Gilani’s ascent could moreover help in containing the insurgency in Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province, where the al-Qaeda – or what operates in its name – has been steadily regrouping.

Gilani has now proposed talks with the militants – the only item on his agenda that is difficult to realise. This is because the Islamists are simply too fanatical to be amenable to any kind of dialogue, bar with the Allah whose name they vainly invoke as they merrily shed blood and spread mayhem. The Pakistani voter, certainly, has unambiguously rejected this unholy premise.

Significantly General Ashfaq Kiyani, like PM Gilani, is strictly against meddling in civilian affairs and American public opinion continues to be crushingly anti-Bush. What more could Pakistan and its friends want?
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Patented out, legally redeemed

As lawyer Kindler loses court battles, army man Clark strengthens his defences with a flanking strategy

Every time a new face takes on the mantle of a CEO in a pharma company, bold promises and impressive statements are the order of the day, giving aggrieved shareholders assurance of better times ahead. But perhaps, deep inside, every incoming CEO of a pharma company is well aware that he could be in for several sleepless nights ahead, as he simultaneously keeps track of expiring patents, lawsuits, litigations, et al, not to mention sluggish sales volumes and increasing generic competition. Some make the cut and some don’t and the story of the head honchos of Pfizer & Merck illustrates this perfectly.

When Jeffrey Kindler took the helm of the $139.5 billion Pfizer Inc. in 2006, he dauntlessly proclaimed to completely transform virtually every aspect of doing business with concrete, hard-hitting action plans. The appointment of Harvard Law School alumni Kindler reflected the Board’s decision to elevate a relatively new employee and to reiterate the dominance of legal issues in the pharma sector. In a similar vein, Richard T. Clark, an ex-Lieutenant in the US Army, announced on his appointment as CEO of the $88.7 billion worth Merck & Co. in 2005 that his top priorities would be “meeting needs of patients and building shareholder values.” So here we had two CEOs taking over the helm of two iconic US-based pharma companies facing not-so-iconic prospects. But that’s where the similarities pretty much ended.

Merck & Co. was reeling in the face of litigations against its painkiller Vioxx (introduced in 1999), after receiving complaints of increased heart attacks and strokes from customers. The lawsuits were seriously undermining Merck’s future prospects. Understanding this, Clark ensured that Merck increased its legal reserves for the litigation to $858 million. The reserve, which was set up with an estimate of potential legal cost throughout 2008, finally bore sweet fruits, when over 44,000 plaintiffs got themselves enrolled in a proposed $4.85 billion settlement. In doing so, Clark has set an example for other pharma players. A stiff price to pay, but it has left Merck in a better position to chart its future course; which is exemplary, considering it had been all but written off when the Vioxx imbroglio first reared its head.

On the other hand, Kindler has begun to lose the support of Pfizer’s shareholders. Even after 20 months in office, Kindler has done little to make the shareholders believe that he would “virtually transform every aspect of doing business,” as was stated by him. He has, until now, not been able to find a solution to overcome the impending loss of $13 billion of annual revenue from the cholesterol drug Lipitor, which is slated to lose its patent in 2010 and face competition from generic drugs, apart from simply stating that Pfizer will file for approval of 15-20 products between 2010 and 2012.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)