Sensex plunges by over 300 points in opening trade

STAFF WRITER 9:37 HRS IST

Mumbai, Jan 31 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex plummeted by over 300 points in opening trade today as panicky fund managers and retail investors gave into selling pressure for the fourth consecutive session, prompted by weak global cues amid concerns over the unrest in Egypt.

The 30-share barometer fell by 301.70 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 18,094.27 points in the first few minutes of trade today. The Sensex had lost 755 points in the previous three sessions.

Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index declined by 79.55 points, or 1.44 per cent, to 5,432.60.

Rupee falls by 21 paise to 2-month low against dollar

STAFF WRITER 9:42 HRS IST

Mumbai, Jan 31 (PTI) The Indian rupee fell by 21 paise to a two-month low of Rs 45.97 per US dollar in early trade today, weighed down by the gains registered by the greenback against other major currencies.

Dealers said the rupee weakness was due to the dollar gains against other Asian currencies, coupled with a weak opening in the domestic stock market.

The rupee had depreciated by 19 paise against the US currency to close at Rs 45.76/77 in the previous session on Friday amid sluggish domestic equities and fresh dollar demand from importers.

Meanwhile, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex plunged by 301.70 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 18,094.27 in opening trade today.

LinkedIn 's IPO to test appetite for Facebook

NEW YORK/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - LinkedIn Corp announced plans to go public this year in what could be a test of investor appetite for social networking websites ahead of a highly anticipated Facebook offering.

LinkedIn announced its intention to go public on Thursday, setting the stage for the company co-founded in 2002 by ex-PayPal executive Reid Hoffman to become the first social network to plant a flag on Wall Street.

But many investors will be watching LinkedIn 's IPO to gauge the appetite for Facebook , now valued at $50 billion as the world's most dominant social network, and other Internet IPOs.

" Facebook has definitely escalated people's interest in the sector and I think there's a lot of demand (for more Internet IPOs)," said Rory Maher, an analyst with Hudson Square Research.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined, according to the form S-1 registration statement that LinkedIn filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Investor interest and valuations are surging for privately held Web companies like Facebook , Zynga and Groupon. LinkedIn revealed its plans a day after newly public Internet company Demand Media Inc saw its shares jump roughly 33 percent in their first day of trading.

Just this week, Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason said the company was considering an IPO and was in talks with bankers.

Facebook , the world's No. 1 Internet social network, recently raised $1.5 billion in funding in a deal that valued the company at $50 billion.

Facebook said recently it planned to publicly disclose its financial results by April 2012, a regulatory requirement triggered by the company's number of shareholders and a move that some believe could lead to a public offering.

LinkedIn 's net revenue nearly doubled to $161.4 million in the first nine months of 2010, with $1.85 million in profit, according to the filing.

In contrast, Facebook , which has far more users worldwide, had $1.2 billion in revenue in the first nine months of 2010 and $355 million in profit, according to a Goldman Sachs prospectus pitching the company earlier this month to investors.

LinkedIn , which caters to professionals, has 90 million users, compared with the more than 500 million users of Facebook 's mainstream social networking service.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and JPMorgan are among the book runners for the LinkedIn offering.

A portion of the shares will be issued and sold by the company, while a separate portion will be sold by certain stockholders of LinkedIn , the filing said. No specific details were disclosed.

LinkedIn 's investors include Greylock Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs and Sequoia Capital, a venture capital firm that has backed Yahoo , Google, Apple Cisco Systems and Oracle.

Karmapa questioned, searches continue at offices of trust

Dharamshala, Jan 29 (PTI) Police today continued searches at the offices of a trust backed by 17th Karmapa Ugyen Trinley Dorje, who was questioned over the seizure of foreign currency valued at Rs 7 crore.

Himachal DGP D S Minhas along with senior police officers inspected the Gyato monastery and the ashram at Sidhbari near here last evening and talked with the Karmapa.

Karmapa was asked about the foreign currency seized and as expected he said it was received through offerings, Minhas told PTI today.

He said the Karmapa was not under arrest or house arrest.

Searches continued at the offices of the Karma Garchen Trust today and so far Rs seven crore in currencies of over two dozen countries, including China, Taiwan, japan, South Korea, the UK, the US, Australia, German, has been seized.

Asked about the seizure, Karma Chunyappa, Deputy General Secretary of the Karmapa, asserted that the financial dealings of the monastery were transparent.

"We have a rich history of public service made possible through financial dealings that are entirely transparent. We will certainly answer all the questions that the press and public have but for now we request you to allow us to concentrate and comply fully with the investigations that are underway," he said.

The DGP said that some documents about land transactions had also been recovered and these were being scrutinised to find out whether there was a nexus between Tibetans and some local people indulging in benami land deals.

All non-agriculturists including bonafide Himachalis were barred from purchasing any land in Himachal without the permission of the government under section 118 of HP tenancy and Land Reforms Act and Tibetans having refugee status were not entitled to buy any land.

However, some Tibetans have acquired properties in Himachal and the High Court had issued notices to Tibetans in this regard.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal today said the Himachal Government would share every information about the Karmapa with the Enforcement Directorate and security agencies.

"Certainly, the government of India must be having more information about Karmapa''s activities and the state government would abide by the direction of the Union Government as the matter is linked to internal security," he told reporters after launching a heli-taxi at Annandale helipad in Shimla. .