Rogue Wheat Trader Blamed for $141 Million Loss

A rogue trader at MF Global Ltd. rang up $141.5 million in losses on the broker's account this week, the company said Thursday, a black eye that cost the company almost a fifth of its market value.
The Bermuda-based broker said on Wednesday morning it discovered Evan Dooley, a trader at the company's Memphis, Tenn., branch, trading wheat contracts in amounts that exceeded how much he was allowed to trade.
MF Global said it fired Mr. Dooley and liquidated the wheat contracts, which led to a $141.5 million loss. An entry-order system that should have blocked the trades failed, the company said.AP

India Must Ease Foreign Investor Rules to Spur Growth, says Economic Survey

India must ease foreign investment rules in retail, sell state-run companies and improve the nation's roads and power supply to accelerate growth, a finance ministry report recommended before tomorrow's budget statement.
``An appreciation of the rupee, a slowdown in industry and infrastructure constraints remained of concern,'' the annual Economic Survey for 2007-08 prepared by officials advising Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said. ``Raising growth to double digits will therefore require additional reforms.''
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has faced resistance from his communist allies to allow greater overseas investment in retail and insurance and sell state assets. India's economic growth may slow this year for the first time since 2005 because of weaker local demand and exports after the central bank raised interest rates to control inflation and the currency gained.

Yahoo's must-keep stars: Star No 2

Caterina Fake:
Co-founder of Flickr and head of Yahoo's technology development group

Let's face it, Microsoft isn't exactly known for being hip. Its lack of social media-savvy in particular is why sources say Fake, who started a hit photo-sharing site (Flickr, which Yahoo bought in 2005) under her belt, could be an asset for Redmond. As head of Yahoo's technology development group, Fake is now in charge of finding the next Flickr and would bring her deep understanding of online communities to Microsoft.

TIMES NOW Presents its Take on Budget 2008 with Swaminathan Aiyar and Dr. Omkar Goswami

TIMES NOW, India's leading English news television channel of 2007 give its viewers the best take on Budget 2008 with expert views, news and the best indepth analysis with Budget Gurus Swaminathan Aiyar and Omkar Goswami. Don't forget to watch Budget-O-Nomics - Not Just Numbers', where Budget 2008 will be demystified for each one of the 'aam junta'.

Commenting on the special programming line-up, Arnab Goswami, Editor-in-Chief, TIMES NOW says, "By introducing a special budget line up, 'Budget-O-Nomics' aims at demystifying Budget 2008 for the common man. Our viewers can be assured of the best, most credible and first hand view of the budget especially with budget gurus like Swaminathan Aiyar and Omkar Goswami giving their exhaustive expert analysis on it."

Yahoo's must-keep stars

What's behind Microsoft's $44.6 billion hostile bid for Yahoo? If you ask Microsoft, it's the talent. Here are five Yahoos at the center of the takeover battle.
Star No 5:

Susan Decker:
President

Since joining Yahoo in 2000, Decker, a former Wall Street analyst, has earned respect for her candor. She's also credited with transforming Yahoo from a seller of advertising on its own site to an ad player across the web and driving Yahoo's acquisition of Right Media, an online marketplace for advertisers. Assuming Microsoft could persuade her to stay, Greg Sterling of technology research firm Sterling Market Intelligence, says it would be a good move for the Redmond-based company to retain Decker.
Credits: CNN

Yahoo's must-keep stars: Star No 4

Usama Fayyad:
Chief data officer

Sure, an acquisition will give Microsoft access to Yahoo's extensive user database. But if they need someone to make sense of those numbers, then they'll want to keep Fayyad, a former rocket scientist who now oversees Yahoo's data strategy. Data mining is also key to using behavioral targeting in advertising. Fayyad is no stranger to Microsoft though -- he did a five-year stint leading the company's data mining research group way before coming to Yahoo. But it's not clear whether he's eager to work for the software giant again.

Yahoo's must-keep stars: Star No 3

David Filo:
Co-founder

Yahoo employees say Filo is both well-liked and respected within the company. Filo acted as interim CTO last year before Aristotle Balogh was hired for the job. His value to Microsoft is his longstanding relationship with Yahoo's engineers -- which Microsoft needs. "I think Filo is really not given enough credit for how much the engineers love him," says Eric Jackson, a Yahoo activist shareholder. That said, keeping a billionaire founder around won't be easy for Microsoft.