Gott; wonder

An unusual resort with an even more unusual name was to be my next port of call. Most sightseers are pleasantly surprised to see that the little lakeside town of Zellam- See nestled in the mountains is as kindly disposed towards summer as it is towards winter. Leisurely and laidback, this is the archetypal Austrian getaway. The panoramic views on offer make it seem as though picture-perfect postcards have been brought to life, echoed alike by Julian’s informed interjection that came by way, “This is what most holiday-goers tell me, Gott; wonder of the mountains towering over the landscape in the distance and the lake lying the other end.”

Eurocopter hovers over the Indian sky

Eurocopter, the fully owned subsidiary of European aerospace major EADS, plans to invest more than $1 billion in India over a period of two years. Globally, Eurocopter is the largest manufacturer of civil and military helicopter. The company intends to open a subsidiary, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) centre as well as a training school for helicopters. It is believed that the company is partnering Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. to bid for the helicopters for the Army, Navy & Air Force. Eurocopter would also bid for contracts for VIP helicopters.

Apple’s movie download proposal is a world beater; but unless Jobs negotiates well, movie houses won’t budge

Trust Jobs to keep one guessing. The latest news is that the man at the helm of affairs is going to launch a movie download service on the iPod. Yes, that means that perhaps by the end of this year, from Tom Cruise’s gun totting action, to Catherine Zeta Jones’ alluring oomph, the little few inches worth of screen on the new iPod could be witness to momentous history in the making. But the issues facing Steve Jobs’ download proposal go much beyond the visible.

The major ones being pricing and competition. Movielink, a leading movie download website with equity stakes of various production houses, offers downloads for around $20 to $30. Despite the initial euphoria, the site has got a dismal response because of the pricing, and some studios are actually reconsidering their stakes. But Steve Jobs is reportedly wishing to allow the download of all movies – whether old or new – for only $9.99 per movie! Then again, Hollywood production houses are miff ed with the idea, as at that price, they claim, making profits seems completely infeasible.

Nicholas Piramal flying towards UK

Indian pharmaceutical major, Nicholas Piramal, has signed a pact to buy global pharma giant Pfi zer’s UK facility. The deal has been signed by Nicholas Piramal’s wholly owned UK subsidiary, NPIL Pharmaceuticals (UK) Ltd. (earlier known as Avecia Pharmaceuticals), which will acquire Pfizer’s Morpeth facility in UK, on an asset purchase basis. This is the third in a string of acquisitions by Nicholas Piramal in UK. Earlier, it had acquired Rhodia’s Inhalation Anaesthetics in December 2004 and Avecia’s Custom Manufacturing, in December 2005. With this acquisition, Nicholas Piramal is targetting an annual turnover of $200 million from custom manufacturing.

You meet the meanest people on a...

In reality, Honda faces many critical issues in India. And the biggest of them is its lack of presence across segments. According to SIAM, the compact segment (A2) registered a growth rate of 15%, the mid-size segment (A3) grew by 8.14%, the executive segment (A4) declined by a negative 9% and the premium segment (A5) grew by 7%. Honda is currently present only in the least growing segments (A3 & A5), and thus is losing out on volumes. Worse, Honda is now launching the Civic in the A4 segment, the only negative growing segment.