FeedXL.com has been recognised among Australia’s most innovative organisations, winning the Australian Business Award for ‘Best Software Product’ in the services to agriculture category in 2011.
This award recognises products that demonstrate superiority and offer a point ofdifference from their competitors. Commenting on the win, Dr Nerida Richards said“this is a very welcome pat on the back for our team. We have literally been workingout of our respective garages for the last 5 years to bring FeedXL to the standard itis today. It reinforces our commitment to developing horse nutrition software that istechnically superior and very easy to use by anyone involved with horses.

Launched to the Australian market in 2008, FeedXL has since expanded to New Zealand,South East Asia, the Middle East, USA, Canada and Mexico and is on the verge of beingreleased in the UK. “Amazing feedback from happy customers has always been ourgreatest reward, and this award simply adds to the pride that we have in the productwe have created” said Rod Vagg, FeedXL’s software developer.

Until recently only veterinarians or equine nutritionists could accurately identifyvitamin or mineral deficiencies in a horse’s diet or advise horse owners on the bestbalanced diet for their particular horse. But with FeedXL.com, horse owners andtrainers don’t need to call in the specialist vet or nutritionist to benefit fromtheir knowledge. The innovative FeedXL website makes it possible for everyone with acomputer to formulate balanced and cost effective diets for horses of all breeds, inall disciplines and in all stages of life.

The Australian Business Awards challenges the full spectrum of private, public andnon-profit sector organisations in Australia through its comprehensive business andproduct award categories.

Now in its sixth year, the Australian Business Awards program recognisesorganisations that demonstrate the core values of business excellence, productexcellence, corporate responsibility, sustainability and commercial success in theirrespective industries. A total of 103 recipients were honoured from the 928organisations that participated in the 2011 Awards.

Tara Johnston, Program Director of the Australian Business Awards, said the standardof entries for 2011 was a testament to the strength and resilience of the Australianeconomy.

“Australian businesses continue to adapt business processes, invest in productdevelopment and develop dynamic e-business initiatives that increase productivity andquality standards for all. The Australian Business Awards provide a welcomeopportunity for organisations committed to business and product excellence to receiverecognition throughout their respective industries for driving positive businessoutcomes,” said Johnston.

The product award categories are open to all products available in Australiadelivered through the private, public and non-profit sectors and are evaluated inaccordance with a number of key criteria, including performance, technology, visualappeal, cost-effectiveness, benefits to the user, sustainability and compliance.

As overall VC numbers leveled off in the second quarter, web apps and software continued to be sweet spots for investment through the first half of 2011.

According to data from Dow Jones, even as other sectors slumped, software, including downloadable and boxed applications as well as web-based apps, showed strong signs of recovery from the late-2008/2009 investment nosedive.

In combination, software and web apps companies raised $2.66 billion in a total of 281 deals.

The consumer information services sector includes social media web apps. This particular category received a larger amount of funding and a smaller amount of deals year-over-year, raising 25% more capital than in Q2 2010.

And a Dow Jones rep confirmed to VentureBeat that mammoth rounds such as LivingSocial’s $565 million Series E and Gilt Groupe’s $138 million round aren’t necessarily driving up the median for the whole sector.

In a statement, Dow Jones VentureWire editor Scott Austin said of the consumer services category (which is 70% web apps), “The median round size for [these] deals is creeping up, which means it’s no longer just a few abnormally large funding rounds driving up investment levels. The wealth is being spread to companies across the industry.”

Over the past two years, the median dollar amount for funding deals in consumer services has ranged between $2.5 and $3.5 million. However, in Q2, the median round size rose to $4.7 million for that category.

In the IT category, companies raised $2.3 billion in a total 255 deals, which represents year-over-year a 5% increase in deals and 9% increase in dollars. While several sectors, such as networking, hardware, and semiconductors, saw a dip in activity, software business was booming.

This sector fell off a cliff in 2009 following the general economic downturn. However, investment has picked up again due to general interest in apps and software for business and communication, and both the number of deals and the dollar amounts are inching back toward pre-recession levels.

In Q2 2011, software companies closed 184 deals to raise a total of $1.2 billion. This activity represents a 10% increase in deal activity year-over-year and 26% increase in the amount of money raised.

Source:http://venturebeat.com/2011/07/22/venture-capital-q2-2011/

Indian stock market continued to trade firm due to buying interests in the index heavyweights over the last two hours of trade. All sectoral indices are trading firm except consumer durables. Stocks from software, capital goods, auto and oil & gas space are gaining the most while those from consumer durables space are trading weak.

The BSE-Sensex is up 275 points while NSE-Nifty is trading 84 points above yesterday’s closing. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap indices are up by 1.0% and 0.7% respectively. The rupee is trading at 44.40 to the US dollar.

Engineering stocks have been trading mixed with Everest Kanto Cylinder, Thermax Ltd and Sanghvi Movers leading the pack of gainers. However, Praj Industries and Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) are trading weak. As per a leading financial daily, BHEL is looking at multi-modal transport options, including coastal shipping, to reduce the delivery time of boilers from its Tiruchirapalli unit in Tamil Nadu. The company is in talks with Karaikal Port in the union territory of Puducherry, to carry its equipment by sea and also with Indian Railways. It plans to unload its cargo at Karaikal Port and the port authorities will take care of loading and onward shipment and unloading at the destination.

As per the company management, BHEL is executing projects in the eastern region and would like to ship its heavy boilers and other items to Paradip (Orissa) or Haldia (West Bengal) ports. BHEL has started using railways to carry its boiler and its components booking 40 rakes to supply boilers and related items to its clients in north India. The cost thus incurred is just one third of road transport freight. It also results in shorter transport time of six days by rail versus 15 days by road. Regarding expansion, the management has said that the company’s Tirumayam piping plant in Tamil Nadu, built at an outlay of around Rs.4 bn, will go on stream early next year. The capacity expansion at Trichy from 10,000 MW to 15,000 MW is in progress (at an outlay of Rs.2.8 bn) and is expected to be over by this December. The management targets to supply 850,000 tonne of fabricated steel components this year, up from 630,000 tonne achieved last fiscal. It is looking at supplying 40 percent of the order book during the first half of the year and the balance in the second half. The stock of the company is trading firm.

Most of the energy stocks have been trading in the green in the last two hours of the trade led by Gujarat State Petronet, Petronet LNG and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL). However, IOCL (Indian Oil Corporation) is trading weak. As per a leading financial daily, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) has said that it will not get oil supplies from Iran in August with Tehran. It has insisted on first resolving a seven-month-old payment row . It has been confirmed that HPCL has sought an additional one million barrels of oil for August from top producer Saudi Aramco. As per the management, the corporation will draw more from other suppliers with whom term deals are in place and it has made adequate arrangements to replace Iranian volumes for August. Since December, India and Iran have been struggling to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day or 12 percent of its oil demand after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure. Going forward, HPCL would seek additional supplies from United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia to meet its oil needs. The stock of the company is trading up.

By Equitymaster, India’s leading share market research initiative. Our research coverage includes both large and small companies, including the BSE Sensex stocks.

Source:http://news.in.msn.com/business/equitymaster/article.aspx?cp-documentid=5309654