Coca-Cola has appointed Brd Drohan-Stewart to the role of Great Britain marketing director.

Drohan-Stewart replaces Zoe Howorth, who departed in the summer for a years sabbatical. She will oversee the marketing for a portfolio of 21 brands, including Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite and Fanta. Drohan-Stewart joins the UK business from Coca-Colas operations in New Zealand, where she led campaigns such as Cokes partnership with the All Blacks during the Rugby World Cup in 2011. She first joined the soft drinks giant in 1999 as its head of consumer promotions in Ireland, having previously worked on the Gillette and Campbells brands at Johnson Brothers In June, previous marketing director Howorth revealed she was taking a year out to spend more time with her family. She had spent 15 years with Coke, which she joined from P&G in 1998 as Sprite brand manager. At the time, Howorth said: "I am grateful for the support I have received from Coca-Cola and look forward to taking some time out over the next year to spend with my family. My sons are currently joining new schools, so I plan to support them in the new phase of their life." Is Europe with Russia or with Putin? The task of restoring democracy and safeguarding human rights in Russia is a task for Russian citizens and no one else. But it would help if our friends and neighbors in Europe stopped, in effect, supporting Vladimir Putins regime by lending it international credibility and allowing its crooked officials access to the European banking system. This was the essence of the arguments put forward by a delegation of Russian opposition members including the author of this bloginvited to address a European Parliament hearing in Brussels earlier this week. Share inShare Email Print For all his brazen anti-Western rhetoric, Putin would like nothing more than for the elected Western leaders to join him on the Olympic stands in Sochi in four months timea confirmation of his regimes legitimacy, prestige, and status as an accepted equal on the world stage. Indeed, it is precisely for the reasons of prestige and legitimacy, not sport, that the Sochi Olympics are so important to Vladimir Putin. The message from the Russian participants at the hearingas well as from the host, Polish MEP Marek Migalski, who initiated the campaign for a political boycott of Putins Olympicswas that EU leaders should not pander to the Kremlin, or, at the very least, condition their participation on meaningful reciprocal steps, such as the release of political prisoners. Another focus of discussion was the urgent need for a European Magnitsky Act, modeled on the 2012 US law that banned Russian officials implicated in corruption and human rights abuses from traveling to and owning assets in America. Those who violate the rights of and steal money from Russian citizens should not be entitled to the privileges and the comfort of the Western world for themselves and their families. The double standard of those who choose to rule in the Soviet style but own homes and bank accounts in the democratic West must come to an end. Only fear of personal consequences, not references to Russias

international human rights obligations under the Council of Europe and the OSCE, can change the behavior of corrupt and abusive officialsso that next time they would think twice before beating another protester, torturing another prisoner, harassing another journalist, or rigging another election. Both the call to EU leaders to stay away from Putins Olympics and a list of Russian human rights abusers who should be blacklisted from the European Union are expected to be included in the resolution on Russia that will be debated by Europes highest legislative body at the end of this year. Its passage will be bad news for the Kremlinand a welcome sign for all those in Russia who want a European and democratic future for their country.

Petrol Price in India slashed by 95 Paise due to fall of Prices in International Market

Petrol Prices in Indian market on 15 November 2012 was slashed by 95 paise per litre. The decision came up as a result of the fall in oil prices in the International Market. The Indian market witnessed a second slash in the rates of petrol since 9 October 2012, in October there was a cut of 56 paise per liter in the price of petrol. This slash in the petrol prices would bring down the prices of petrol in different states of the country and would vary from state to state due to the difference in the state and local taxes of different states. With this fall in rates of petrol in Delhi went down to 68.19 rupees to 67.24 rupees per litre. In Mumbai the price went down by 1.20 rupees and the petrol there would cost 73.53 rupees per litre, in Chennai the price went down to 70.57 rupees from 71.77 rupees. Kolkata saw a slash of 1.19 rupees per litre in the petrol prices and it would be available to the consumers at a rate of 74.55 rupees per litre. Global Gasoline Rates helps in creating a benchmark in fixing the price of petrol in the domestic market. The gasoline rates also witnessed a fall in rates globally but declined and non-stagnant value of Rupees against the US dollar and would have an impact on the petrol prices in the coming future. The volatility of Rupees against the value of exchange rates of US dollar is being closely monitored to get out of the uncertainties about the direction in which future decisions would head towards. The Union Government of India in June 2010 deregulated the prices of petrol by offering freedom to the oil companies for fixing the petrol rates following the costs prevalent in the international market. But this deregulation in the petrol prices also had no impact in getting the Indian Oil Companies in getting out of the losses with which they are overburdened and this happened because of the buckling political pressure on the oil companies to have a check on curbing growing inflation in Indian market.

Union Government set 325-billion Dollars Export Target for 2013-14

The Union Government announced an export target of 325 billion dollars for the current financial year 2013-14 to support the slowdown in the global markets.

It is due to the global slowdown in developed regions like that of US and Europe, the exports of India went down for the first time in three years with a dip of 1.8 per cent to 300.6 billion Dollars in 2012-13, making the trade deficit to a record high level of 191 billion dollars. It is important here to note that, the Government had set an export target of 360-billion dollars for the financial year 2012-13. According to the provisional figures, export registered an increase of 0.8 per cent for the month of January 2013 after a permanent fall during May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December 2012.

Union Government introduced National Certification Standards for Organic Textiles to boost Demand The Union government on 30 July 2012 introduced national certification standards for organic textiles to boost the demand for organic textiles in major markets, including Europe and Japan. The Indian Standards for Organic Textiles (ISOT) launched by Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma here is to be included under the National Programme for Organic Productions (NPOP). The NPOP includes norms for organic production and processing of agriculture crops along with certification standards. All organic products are grown under a system of agriculture without the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides. Prior to the introduction of the national certification standards, private standards prevailed in the country for organic textiles. The private standards were not in conformity with the international benchmarks. India with the introduction of the national certification standards thus took over the longstanding position of the Global Organic Textiles standards (GOTS), which are private standards prevailing in the organic textiles industry. India became the only country in the world to have introduced organic textiles standards at the national level. Organic textiles exports were pegged at Rs 1027 crore in 2011-12 as per the data provided by the APEDA. In 2011 India exported certified organic products to various countries in Europe, Asia and the US worth Rs 1866 crore. India currently produces more than 1000 branded organic products which are backed by certification. The demand for Indian organic products such as tea, coffee, spices, basmati rice, cereals, garment, vegetables and medicinal plants was found to be steadily growing in recent years as consumers' prefer products which are free from chemical residues. Union Government to liberalise External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) Norms for the Power Sector

The Union government on 18 April 2012 decided to liberalise the external commercial borrowing (ECB) norms for the power sector. The announcement was made in tune with the announcement made in this respect by the Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee while presenting the Union budget 2012-13. Power sector companies will now be able to use up to 40 per cent of ECB loans to refinance their rupee debt, provided the remaining 60% balance is utilised for investments in new projects. So far, power companies were permitted to use only 25 per cent of the ECB to refinance their domestic rupee-debt loan. Besides, the government also opened the ECB route for capital expenditure on maintenance and operations of toll systems in the roadways and highways sector, only if these constitute a part of the original project. The ECB route of raising funds is considered to be attractive as the cost is generally lower than that of mopping up funds in the domestic market. Also, the ECB provides borrowers with an additional avenue to access large amounts from the global financial market. ECB, which totalled $35.9 billion in 2011-12, are considered attractive as cost of raising the loan is lower than that of domestic borrowings. The proportion of ECBs having maturity between 5 to 7 years went up from about 47 per cent in 2007-08 to almost 70 per cent in 2010-11. ECBs for infrastructure sector moved up from 15.2 per cent in 2007-08 to 42.3 per cent in 2010-11. Wipro Infrastructure entered into JV with Kawasaki Heavy Industries to produce Hydraulic Pumps The global hydraulics business of Wipro, Wipro Infrastructure Engineering entered into a joint venture with Kawasaki Heavy Industries in India to set up a large manufacturing facility for producing hydraulic pumps for excavators. The joint venture is to be called Wipro Kawasaki Precision Machinery. The investment will be Rs.50 crore and the plant is to be set up in Bangalore. The new manufacturing unit to be set up at Bangalore will have an initial capacity of 4000 pumps which would be augmented to 15000 pumps by 2015. The manufacturing facility will produce hydraulic pumps catering to a range of 7 tonne to 20 tonne. Wipro Infrastructure Engineering is one of the world's largest independent manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders.

Wipro will be able to expand its product portfolio in the hydraulic segment with this deal and the localisation will offer improved time to market advantage and enhanced customer service. The overall construction equipment market in India is likely to grow to USD 20 billion by 2020-21. India and China surpassed European Countries in the Number of Affluent Households According to TNS Global Affluent Investors study, India and China surpassed European countries in the number of affluent households. India and China surpassed major European markets like Germany and France. The US remained the most prosperous country in the world, according to a research firm. India, China and Brazil overtook many European countries in this measure of consumer wealth with three million affluent households each in these countries which have over USD 100000 investible funds. While the US is ranked as the worlds most prosperous country, with 31 million affluent households, UAE and India appear in the top five countries where the affluent have more than USD 1 million investable assets on average, alongside Singapore and Hong Kong. The only Europeans to feature in top five were the Swedish. According to the study, UK and France were least likely in Europe to have these levels of investable assets. The study also highlighted that while incidence of affluence would be higher in small, wealthy countries like Luxemburg (29 per cent) and Singapore (20 per cent), this falls to around (1 per cent) in India and China. The survey showed that there exists a great contrast in wealth distribution within emerging markets, even where the actual number of affluent households is high. The survey highlighted a need for very precise marketing strategies to reach the right audience. Wealth lies at the bottom of the pyramid, say experts The phrase bottom of the pyramid was first used by American president Franklin D Roosevelt referring to the forgotten man at the base of the economic pyramid. The shibboleth has since been brought to context by economists in a telling view on how to explore the big money available with the billion many. Today, as experts cope with the blame of unpredictability, with some seeing markets at new highs while others forecasting a plunge, the phrase finds itself well-suited to an investor's urge to make profit.

"We think auto is looking very-very good. The reason is very simple that you have a huge rural benefit which is coming in because of the good monsoon. You have the wealth effect and also rural wages are very high and also the up-trading is happening," says Vikarm Kotak, CIO-Equities, Deutsche AMC. "Over the last five years, we have seen 65 per cent growth in the rural wage. So, rural is the area which is looking up, rural is area which is looking to kind of start using that consumer stuff which they have not used for so many years. I am trying to say that you have huge advantage in the rural side, which is actually kind of driving the whole growth area. Urban side is in a pressure," says Vikarm. Thanks to the uncertainty over US shutdown, the Fed tapering, China's economic prospects, India's elections, the one common sure-shot positive consensus among experts is the rural theme. "I would suggest something like an HDFC or LIC Housing FinanceBSE 3.98 % or M&M Financial which is a better play on rural India; and also tractor financing," says Devang Mehta, Senior VP & Head Equities Sales, Anand Rathi Securities. "Commercial vehicle numbers have been negative 30% for both Tata and Ashok Leyland. In this space, tractors have done well ... one should be really looking at rural consumption at this point," says Tirthankar Patnaik, Religare Capital Markets. Tatas to undertake huge infra investments in Punjab AMRITSAR: Describing Punjab government's development initiatives as "business like", Tata Group Chairman today assured large-scale investments in the infrastructure projects in the state. Addressing a meeting in the presence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here, Mistry said in his view "the government was not only the warmest and most spontaneous but also extremely serious and business like in its approach," according to a state government release. The Tata group delegation headed by Mistry held discussions with Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh, assuring them of investments by the salt-to-software conglomerate. The Chief Minister also announced constituting of a high-level committee under Chief Secretary for holding discussion with Tatas to firm up investment proposals. Impressing upon Tata Group to invest in Punjab, Badal assured Mistry that the state government would act fast on development of projects. "For this, we have already set in motion governance reforms, aimed at cutting red tape and ensuring efficiency, transparency and accountability in decision making," Badal said.

The Group showed a strong inclination to join and supplement the efforts of state government in taking it to the next level of development in education, health infrastructure and egovernance, including online citizen delivery system, it said. Mistry said: "The group would make massive investments in infrastructure projects to be conceived by the state government in the coming times." He said the company was also working on a number of housing projects in Chandigarh, Mohali and Ludhiana to provide world-class housing facilities for the people. Mistry informed the CM and the Deputy CM that Tata Group was coming up with a number of projects in hotel industry in cities like Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Mohali. The Chairman of Tata Group said the company was also working on a project regarding the optimum utilisation of solar energy by installing rooftop solar projects over the government buildings. Likewise, proposal to produce solar energy by utilising land around water canals was also in pipeline. Mistry said the group was also working on a project to utilise the municipal waste to produce energy in the cities. The Chairman spoke about large-scale projects with huge employment potential for local youth, saying that his group believed in training and employing local youth. Notably, today's visit of Cyrus Mistry was the second one to Punjab and his third meeting with Punjab CM in less than six months. Besides Cyrus Mistry, Tata Group delegation comprised Tata Realty & Infrastructure MD Sanjay Ubale, members GEC Tata Madhu Kanan and Nirmalya Kumar, Tata Housing Head Shashi Kumar, Head Government TSUs Tanmay Charvarthy, Tata Skills Chairman HN Srinivas, the release said. Earlier, in the month of July this year, representatives of nine Tata Group companies held talks with Punjab government while "promising to make massive investment in the state." The RBI had already declared Punjab as one of the three best investment destinations in the country, Badal said adding that the state had the "most congenial" industrial relations, business climate and there is an atmosphere of complete peace and communal harmony in the state. Punjab asked the delegation to collaborate with state government in the field of renewable energy, hotel industry, online citizen service delivery portal, model townships, bus rapid transport system as also E-learning for school education. Punjab government officials also said that the state government had recently approved a liberal package of incentives for attracting new investments into the state.

The Chief Minister said for the first time, a unique policy of VAT and CST retention has been allowed. In addition to electricity duty incentive, stamp duty incentive and property tax incentive were also available.

How The US Government Shutdown Is Delaying The Approval Process Of LNG Export Facilities And Could Cost The US Economy Thousands Of Jobs And Billions Of Dollars In Economic Activity The U.S government shutdown on Tuesday will continue to delay approval of LNG export terminals as workers at the Department of Energy are furloughed, which could cost the U.S. economy thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity, according to a senior vice president of a pro-business lobbying group in Washington Thursday. The U.S. is in the middle of a natural gas boom and is looking to export its energy resource through liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. However, some companies have found they have to wait on the DOE to finish reviewing some proposed projects. Delays in the approval process stem from the debate within the U.S. administration on how much natural gas should be exported without raising natural gas prices and reducing supplies in the U.S. Proponents of LNG export facilities contend that investment in the construction sector will have positive impacts on the U.S. economy, because it will inject economic activity into industries tied to the energy sector. In July, the Washington-based American Council for Capital Formation came out with a report titled, Liquefied Natural Gas: Why Rapid Approval of the Backlog of Export Applications is Important for U.S. Prosperity, authored by the vice president, Margo Thorning. Thorning said that if the U.S. delays the approval of any projects, it could be difficult for the U.S. to sign long-term contracts with countries like Japan or South Korea, or any Asian country that relies heavily on imported LNG. Currently, Australia and several other countries plan to enter the LNG export market and will compete for the same contracts as the U.S. Therefore, it is imperative that the DOE does not delay the process any further, Thorning said. In the past two years, four projects have been approved. The most recents decision were made in May and September, when Dominion Resources Inc. (NYSE:D) received approval for the Cove Point terminal on the Maryland shore of Chesapeake Bay. To date, the DOE has authorized 6.37 billion cubic feet of LNG from the plant to be sold overseas. The government shutdown has so far stopped the review process of LNG projects, thus again delaying the approval process, which, Thorning reiterates, will cost the U.S. thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity.

This government shutdown is a bad thing not just for federal workers and those who need government service, but it's bad for the companies trying to get approval from the DOE, Thorning said. Cisco, Google, SAP discussing BlackBerry bids BlackBerry Ltd, on the block as its smartphone business struggles, is in talks with Cisco Systems, Google Inc and SAP about selling them all or parts of itself, several sources close to the matter said. Such a deal would be an alternative to the preliminary agreement reached weeks ago with a group, led by BlackBerry's biggest shareholder, Fairfax Financial Holdings, to take the company private for about $4.7 billion, a bid which has faced some skepticism because of financing questions. The company, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has asked for preliminary expressions of interest from potential strategic buyers, which also include Intel Corp and Asian companies LG and Samsung, by early next week. It is unclear which parties will bid, if any. But the potential technology buyers have been especially interested in BlackBerry's secure server network and patent portfolio, although doubts about the assets' value remain an issue, the sources said. Google, Intel, Cisco, LG and SAP declined to comment. Samsung was not immediately available for comment. Possible bidders are proceeding with caution given the uncertainty around BlackBerry, which last month reported a quarterly loss of nearly $1 billion after taking a writedown on unsold Z10 phones. The value of BlackBerry's patent portfolio and licensing agreements is likely to halve in the next 18 months, a company filing from this week shows, potentially limiting its attractiveness. According to analysts, BlackBerry's assets include a shrinking yet well-regarded services business that powers its security-focused messaging system, worth $3 billion to $4.5 billion; a collection of patents that could be worth $2 billion to $3 billion; and $3.1 billion in cash and investments. Adding to the company's woes, it's likely to burn through almost $2 billion of its cash pile in the next year and a half, Bernstein analyst Pierre Ferragu wrote on Thursday after studying the filing. Private equity firms that have showed interest in BlackBerry - which also include Cerberus Capital Management - have asked the company and its advisers to provide additional financial details about its various business segments, two of the sources said. That process could take another few weeks, as BlackBerry focuses on taking bids from industry peers, the sources said.

In August, the company said it was weighing its options, which could include an outright sale, after Reuters first reported BlackBerry's board was warming up to the possibility of going private. At that time, it formed a five-member special committee chaired by board director Timothy Dattels. Other members include Chairman Barbara Stymiest, Chief Executive Thorsten Heins, Richard Lynch and Bert Nordberg. A spokesman for BlackBerry said in an emailed statement to Reuters: "The special committee, with the assistance of BlackBerry's independent financial and legal advisors, is conducting a robust and thorough review of strategic alternatives." He declined to provide further comment. JPMorgan Chase & Co and RBC Capital Markets are advising BlackBerry. The board is being advised by Perella Weinberg Partners, the sources said. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are providing legal advice. (Additional reporting by Alastair Sharp in Toronto and Alexei Oreskovic, Poornima Gupta and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Christian Plumb and Prudence Crowther)

Victim Of The Shutdown: A Day In The Life Of A Furloughed Federal Government Worker

Ryan is a well-paid, talented contractor for a federal agency. When his alarm went off Thursday morning at 10:30, he hit the snooze and dozed for another 40 minutes. Why not? Its not like hes expected at the office.

You see, Ryan -- who asked not be identified by either his real name or employer out of concern over possible reprisals -- is one of hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal workers who have been left to sit around the house all day, trying to keep busy as a result of the U.S. Congress failing to come up with an agreement that would pay him to do his important, but nonessential, job. So the 20something busied himself on the third day of his indefinite limbo to do errands, spend time with his wife and, of course, play Grand Theft Auto V, which hes working his way through much more quickly than he ever thought would be possible. Ryan doesnt want to be sitting around all day, finding ways to distract himself to avoid languishing in a pile of junk food and beer bottles. But hes been mandated to stay home, barred from even accessing his government email account under threat of prosecution for violating a nonact of Congress.

The first day it felt like a snow day or something. I had a bunch of stuff I had to do at work that Tuesday that I didnt have to do anymore and it was nice not having to stress about it, he said. But by Thursday, the knowledge of how serious and how uncertain it is set in, and that uncertainty is very disconcerting. Still, Ryan found ways to be productive: mowing his lawn, getting his bicycle fixed and seeing his doctor. Heres a chronological breakdown of how Ryans Thursday at home in his sleepy Washington suburb played out, as compiled by him: 10:30-11:10 Alarm rings, hit snooze 11:10-11:30 Wake up Make leftover iced coffee and Cliff bar for breakfast 11:30-12:00 Drive to foot doctor to check on sprain from several weeks ago 12:00-1:00 Drive to bike shop, pick up fixed bike (new inner-tube, basic maintenance) 1:00-2:00 Get home, ride bike around neighborhood for a while to test it 2:00-3:00 Mow lawn Take shower Google shutdown, check contractor webpage 3:00-5:00 Browse Internet and Reddit Lunch -- Trader Joes salad, apple 5:00-6:00 GTA V Text people, make weekend plans Google shutdown, check contractor webpage again 6:00-6:30 Take dog for walk in neighborhood 6:30-8:30 More GTA V 8:30-9:30 Cook dinner (eggplant parm)

Eat dinner with wife Watch TV, have a few beers 9:30-12:00 Watch TV with wife -- Parks and Recreation, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sons of Anarchy Google shutdown, check contractor webpage 12:00-1:00 Read in bed with wife, go to sleep Doesnt sound like too bad of a day, but Ryan said that being subjected to a surreal version of house arrest, not knowing when or if hell be paid for these forced days off is not all its cracked up to be. Especially considering the fact that due to the uncertain terms of the shutdown, he doesnt even know if hell get back pay for the days hes spent on his couch and shuttling between the grocery store, his yard and his couch. Its kind of boring and frustrating at the same time. Im not really doing much. I dont really know how long its going to last, he explained, adding that he may even start looking for one-off freelance gigs to supplement his income if the shutdown drags on much longer. If I knew I was being paid, I could relax a little bit more and do some fun stuff and maybe take a minivacation, he said. But since I dont know whether Im getting paid, I may have to start making other plans to pay the rent. I have a decent amount of savings, and I dont have kids to support or anything, so Im lucky that way, but still its frustrating because it seems kind of indefinite at this point. Employees at his agency were retroactively paid for the days of work they missed during the federal government shutdowns of 1995 and 1996, but there is no guarantee that history will repeat itself to Ryans benefit. Never mind the fact that he and his colleagues have lost many hours of productivity already, from the days whiled away preparing to close shop as the clock neared the shutdown date and the diminished momentum that sets in after being away from the office for days or weeks on end. We had a lot of activities planned for October that are now getting pushed back and being rescheduled, and just the general idea that it interrupts the workflow. Youre on a day-to-day basis working on projects and are all of a sudden forced to stop working on them and it will take a while to get back into it, he lamented.

Its really bad for morale because you think the stuff youre working on is important and youre doing a really good job, and all of a sudden you have to stop working on it because its not essential. Being told that your tasks are not essential is demoralizing. But for now Ryan is left with no choice but to fill his days according to his own whims. Hes revisiting neglected hobbies -- working his way through his reading list, playing guitar and biking around his neighborhood, all in hopes of staving off the boredom and creeping despair. But it seems to be somewhat of a losing struggle as he said its not so easy to replace a 9-to-5 job you love. Its really weird going from working every day to filling your day with random stuff and having to try to be productive but not being able to because theres nothing really productive to do, he said. Certainly next week is going to be very strange, waking up on Monday and having probably like a full week with nothing to do. NASSCOM estimated IT Companies to grow globally at 16-18 per cent in 2011-12 The National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) on 23 August 2011 estimated that IT companies would continue to grow globally at 16-18 per cent in 201112 despite the economic crisis in the U.S. and European markets. Nasscom has been helping Indian IT industry to find newer markets for their products and no to remain over-dependant on the U.S. and the European markets. The U.S. and European nations account for over 85 per cent of the revenues of the over $70 billion Indian IT sector. Nasscom had in the beginning of 2011 presented a conservative outlook of 16-18 per cent growth in IT exports in 2011-12 in the wake of the slow economic recovery in the U.S. and uncertainty in the European region. Nasscom estimated the growth in software and services export to be 16-18 per cent and the sector is slated to bring in revenues of $68-70 billion. The growth in the domestic market was estimated to be 15-17 per cent, with revenues of about $19-20 billion. Research Firm Gartner projected worldwide BPO Market to grow by 6.3% Globally Study published by market research firm Gartner projected worldwide business process outsourcing (BPO) market to grow by 6.3% globally and 17.9% in the Asia-Pacific during the year 2011. Gartner report pointed out higher demand for services related to customer management (CM) BPO, HR outsourcing, banking, financial and billing BPO services and supply management BPOs through 2015. The report highlighted that most growth will centre on the key regional economies of India, Australia and China. Gartner identified scalability, the infusion of new processes and technology as the key drivers for the outsourcing business in emerging economies within the region.

Gartner estimated that North America's BPO market will grow by 3.8% in 2011. Key vertical markets poised for industry-specific BPO growth through 2014 in North America were identified to be retail, healthcare, transportation and utilities. Within horizontal sectors, dynamic growth is to be expected for customer selection in the customer relationship management (CRM) and human resources (HR) domains. In Western Europe, Gartner estimated that the BPO market will grow by 8.9% in US dollars terms in 2011 due to healthy demand for services relating to customer management, finance and accounting and human resources. Gartner observed challenges of language, labour laws and trade unions and the lack of labour arbitrage benefits as limiting the growth of BPO business in continental Europe. Japan's BPO market (expressed in yen terms) was estimated to decrease by 0.9% in 2011 while Latin America's BPO market is to grow by 14.7% in US dollar terms in 2011, despite the slow growth of the region's IT services industry in 2009.