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 The Sensex is swinging between zones owing to alternate bouts of buying and selling. The index is now at 16,878, down 34 points. - New market timings from Jan 4 ">New market timings from Jan 4 - Sensex trades flat; IT index firm - Bhushan Steel up on Sumitomo tie-up - Sensex weak in opening trades - Sensex opens soft - Pre-market: Bias still negative Hindalco and TCS have soared 2% each to Rs 145 and Rs 724, respectively. HUL, Sun Pharma and Wipro have added 1% each at Rs 267, Rs 1,584 and Rs 679, respectively. DLF is the major loser on the Sensex, down 4% at Rs 364. Bharti Airtel has slipped 2% at Rs 318. Reliance Infrastructure and HDFC Bank are down 1% each. The market breadth is positive, out of 2,580 shares traded, 1,670 have advanced and 823 have declined so far on the BSE.
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Asian markets are mixed this morning. The Hang Seng has dropped 112 points to 21,702. However, the Nikkei has added 100 points (1%) to 10,184. - Asian markets remain in negative zone - UAE stocks soar after Abu Dhabi"s $10-bn aid - Recovery in Asian markets - Asian markets end positive; Nikkei up 3% - Asian markets open flat; Hang Seng up 97pts - Weakness persists across Asia The Taiwan Weighted has jumped 125 points (1.6%) to 7,776. The Shanghai Composite and the Straits Times are flat at 3,285 and 2,804, respectively. Meanwhile, the Seoul Composite is unchanged at 1,665. 
Upscale hotels to see occupancy rates of 40 per cent, mid-scale 25-30 per cent. - Hyatt to operate five new properties in India - Vishnupriya Hotels ties up with JHM Interstate - Hyatt files for IPO, intends to raise up to $1.15 bn - Encore Hotels to invest Rs 100 cr in hospitality - Hospitality ind expects new govt to provide cheap loans - No more SeaRock by the sea rock? With a reduction in business travel for the next few weeks owing to Christmas and New Year celebrations, occupancy rates are set to be bleak for business hotels. Hotels in Bangalore will especially feel the pinch since business travel predominantly drives the hospitality industry in the city. The occupancy rate for upscale hotels is expected to drop down to around 40 per cent from 60-70 per cent for the next few weeks.
Leading political figures of Australia have been travelling to India to allay fears of ‘attacks’ on Indians in their country. The Indian media has been describing these attacks on students and workers as ‘racist’. What is actually going on? US markets end in the green During the past six years, the number of Indian students in Australia is estimated to have grown manifold—there were nearly 20,000 new students in 2008. The annual growth of Indian students has been reported to be 46 per cent during this period. Why has Australia become such a favourite educational destination suddenly? The country earned nearly $14 billion last year in foreign exchange from international students; it has, in fact, become a large source of employment and revenue, beside increasingly contributing to the country’s GDP.