Inflation India's biggest challenge, says FM

Finance Minister P Chidambaram considers inflation the country’s biggest challenge today and regards becoming an open market as the way forward. Expressing concern at "the relentless rise" of crude oil, commodity and food prices, he put partial blame for the rising food prices on the "foolish" diversion of food to fuel. But he did not name the US, where food crops like corn are used for making ethanol.

Speaking to a private news channel on Sunday night, the finance minister said, "Food prices have also been on the rise thanks to foolish diversion of food to fuel".

Chidambaram also did not think that recent acts of terrorist violence would affect the investment climate in India.

"Please remember, terrorist violence has affected bigger cities like London, Madrid, Tokyo, New York," he told the show host Erin Burnett discussing India’s economic challenges.

"If terrorist violence, terrorist action affects any city in India, it concerns all of us but that does not mean that investment has been jeopardised or is in peril," Chidambaram said. "India’s biggest challenge now is inflation."

India is building thousands of kilometres of roads, power plants, refineries and sea ports, he said referring to investment in infrastructure. "But surely the way forward is to become an open market."

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath, too, viewed infrastructure as "also a big challenge for us to keep pace with our growth."

Infrastructure is just not roads, ports and airports, but also rural roads, which connect villages, drinking water, health and access to medical facilities.

Envisaging large investment in infrastructure over the next five years, he said: "It is happening. We have to have huge investments in energy sector, ports. So that’s all happening, that’s on the anvil."

Asked how long controls on foreign investment would stay, Kamal Nath noted that retail is one of the very few sectors which are not open. "Rest are all absolutely open and we are taking in investments."

Obviously because of liberalisation, foreign direct investment (FDI) had grown from $2.2 billion four years ago to 25 billion this year, he said.

Asked if India could remain self-sufficient in food in view of its growing population, Kamal Nath said: "We have been self-sufficient except in edible oil and lentils, which are imported. And unless we have a monsoon failure, we don’t see a problem even with these growing numbers."

Comparing India and China, the minister said: "We call ourselves the fastest growing free market economy. And there are differences in governance too." And while India’s growth story is domestic market-driven, China’s growth story is export market-driven.

"But China has its own genius, we have our own genius," Kamal Nath said noting the two countries have good relations even as they compete with each other

India's mobile user base to hit 560 mn

India along with other BRIC countries is likely to become home to over 1.7 billion mobile users by 2012 driven by emergent middle class, with 680 million users expected to be addicted to net surfing through their handsets, a latest report says.

Out of the 1.7 billion expected subscribers in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) nations, India is likely to have 560 million mobile users, while China is expected to top the chart with 800 million, a report by eMarketers said.

India would be followed by Russia with 189 million users and Brazil at 176 million.

At present, India has over 270 million mobile users and is adding over eight million subscribers every month.

Out of the 560 million mobile users, about 53 per cent or about 298 million subscribers would use mobile internet, while China would have 40 per cent or 320 million mobile internet users.

"Mobile is the internet for an increasingly large and attractive consumer segment an important distinction for marketers to keep in mind," said John du Pre Gauntt, Senior Analyst and author of the report ’Mobile BRIC: Extreme Growth Ahead.’

According to the report, BRIC region represents the next great growth curve for both mobile and interactive marketing industries and forms the core of an emergent global middle class population that would cross 1 billion by 2015.

"As these huge populations within BRIC accumulate disposable income, they are poised to form interactive relationships with local and global brands primarily through mobile phone," Gauntt said.

"With PC and broadband penetration far below that of mobile, marketers and mobile operators find themselves in uncharted territory," he added.

Five of the world’s 10 largest cities are located in BRIC, along with four of the top five Markets for new mobile subscribers. Rapid growth in entertainment and media consumption in the BRIC countries is important for marketers looking to interact with mobile consumers.

Obama offers plan to crack down on oil speculation

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama proposed on Sunday new steps to tackle energy market speculation that has been blamed for runaway oil costs.The plan comes as the high cost of gasoline has become a major concern for the economy and U.S. consumers as well as a top theme in the election race between Obama and his Republican rival in the November election, John McCain.

Among other measures, the plan would require U.S. energy futures to trade on regulated exchanges, Obama’s campaign said in a statement.

The campaign also said Obama backed legislation that would direct the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to investigate proposals such as increasing margin requirements in the market.

The Illinois senator also wants to see more transparency and oversight of institutional investors in the commodities markets.

"I think everyone believes there’s too much speculation in the oil markets," said New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, an Obama ally who announced the proposals in a conference call with reporters. "A lot of the price of oil, I think, people put at the doorstep of speculators bidding up and holding supplies off the market."

Obama said last week he was concerned about irregularities in the oil markets.

McCain’s campaign accused Obama of following the Republican candidate’s lead to close a loophole it said was signed into law by Democratic President Bill Clinton.

"John McCain has supported bipartisan efforts to close this loophole and will work to address abuses in oil speculation," McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said. "Barack Obama has voted the party line for Democrats who claim the loophole is fixed."

Obama’s proposal comes as U.S. lawmakers have been discussing ways to limit speculation in crude oil futures, including regulation of overseas trading in a benchmark U.S. oil contract.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the top U.S. futures market regulator, has promised to boost surveillance of energy trading by tracking index funds and getting more information on oil contracts based on American crude that are traded in the United Kingdom.

But Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, has called the regulator "toothless tiger" and said Congress will need to act if the CFTC does not pursue the matter aggressively enough.

Oil prices have doubled in the past year as big funds have poured money into commodities, seeking a hedge against inflation and the weaker dollar. The hot money has helped extend a six-year rally in oil, as supplies have failed to keep pace with surging demand in emerging economies like China.

Obama’s announcement came as major producers, consumers and leading oil company executives gathered for an emergency meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on ways to rein in runaway oil prices. Host Saudi Arabia vowed to pump yet more oil, but said that alone would not be enough to calm the market.

Eat a big breakfast to reduce weight

Want to shed those extra pounds? Well, all you need to do is start eating a big breakfast, according to a new study. The study, conducted by Dr Daniela Jakubowicz from Virginia Commonwealth University, found that women who eat half of their daily calories first thing in the morning lose more weight in the long term than those who start the day with a small breakfast.

For the study, researchers compared the ‘big breakfast’ diet with a strict low-carb weight-loss regime.

The study was conducted with 96 obese and physically inactive women.

The low-carb diet involved 1,085 calories a day - the majority of these coming from protein and fat.

Breakfast here was the smallest meal of the day - just 290 calories, with just seven grams of carbohydrates.

Jakubowicz’s ‘big breakfast’ diet involved more calories - 1,240 - with a lower proportion of fat and more carbohydrates and protein.

Breakfast here was 610 calories, with 58 grams of carbohydrates, while lunch and dinner were 395 and 235 calories respectively.

After four months, the strict low-carb diet caused an average weight loss of 28 pounds; the big-breakfast version cut 23 pounds.

However, eight months later, the situation reversed, with the low-carb dieters putting an average of 18 of those pounds back on, while the big breakfasters continued to lose weight, on average 16.5 pounds each.

They lost a fifth of their total body weight on average, as compared to less than 5 percent for the low-carb dieters.

Jakubowicz reported that the big breakfasters said they felt less hungry, particularly in the mornings.

"Most weight loss studies have determined that a very low carbohydrate diet is not a good method to reduce weight," BBC quoted her, as saying.

"It exacerbates the craving for carbohydrates and slows metabolism - as a result, after a short period of weight loss, there is a quick return to obesity," she added.

Jakubowicz said that the bigger breakfast helped by making people feel fuller during the day, and was healthier, because it allowed more fibre and fruit to be included.

A spokesman for the British Nutrition Foundation said that there was evidence that a king-size breakfast could help dieters.

"Research shows that eating breakfast can actually help people control their weight," she said.

"This is probably because when we don’t have breakfast we’re more likely to get hungry before lunch and snack on foods that are high in fat and sugar, such as biscuits, doughnuts or pastries," she added.

The findings were presented at a San Francisco conference.

Is your partner addicted to porn?

Does your partner spend excessive amount of time on the Internet? Has he or she become less social as compared to before? Well, then you may have to stay a bit alert for these are some of the signs indicating your partner has slipped into the porn trap.

What constitutes a porn addiction or compulsion is a hotly contested issue, and therefore knowing the symptoms is extremely important, reports Fox News.

1. Your partner is not as social as he used to be
He has little interest in socializing with you or making time for others, including his family. He is excusing himself from activities, has unexplained absences, and is not able to account for his time.

2. Your partner lacks interest in sex or is sexually unresponsive
A decrease in physical affection and non-sexual touch is among the signs. If you have sex, it’s because you are the one initiating it. Your partner is having trouble becoming sexually aroused.

3. Your partner is being uncharacteristically demanding or rough during sex
You’re pressurized to engage in sexual activities that are either physically or emotionally uncomfortable. Your partner is using atypical sexual language, seems to be objectifying you and he has no qualms about it.

4. Your partner does not seem ‘present’
Your lover has become emotionally distant during sex. You’re starting to feel sexually rejected or neglected. In or out of the bedroom, you and your partner can no longer describe yourselves as emotionally intimate.

5. Your partner has started to nit-pick your appearance
Your partner seems more and more concerned about your appearence, and if you’re sexually attractive ‘enough.’ He might make cutting remarks about your weight or shape. He’s also making insensitive sexual comments, which make you feel like a sex object.

6. You feel like you’re no longer getting straight answers from your lover
You suspect that much of what is being said these days are white lies. He’s defensive when asked about porn use, yet you are finding evidence of hiding, lying, and secretive behavior, including porn materials you didn’t know about.

7. Your partner is practically wed to the Internet
He spends more and more time on the computer, often demanding privacy and/or changing his bedtime ritual.

8. You’ve noticed a change in your partner’s demeanor
Your partner just doesn’t seem like himself. He has trouble calming down and sleeping. His moods and interests are different.