Economy

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By IANS Mumbai : Air India Express, the low-cost arm of the state-owned Air India, plans to add new routes to destinations like Kuwait, Doha, Bahrain and Dammam in the Middle East and Phuket in Thailnad. The airline might connect Kuwait with Mangalore and Dammam in Saudi Arabia to Kerala. It also plans flights from Delhi to Doha, Bahrain, Phuket and Port Blair. "These routes are still under planning and they come under our expansion plans. The frequency of the flights is yet to be decided," P.P. Singh, chief operating officer of Air India Express, told IANS.

By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS, Islamabad : Unprecedented inflation in Pakistan has hit common people very hard with petrol having risen by 46 percent in the last three months, food items by 30-50 percent and rice by more than 100 percent. While the government has launched schemes to help the poor, many people have committed suicide in despair. The inflation rate in Pakistan has increased by 19 percent since the new coalition government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) took over power in March this year -

By IANS Mumbai : Indian equities markets opened in the red Friday on negative cues from Asian peers. There was heavy selling of banking, auto and consumer goods stocks during initial trade. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index of the Bombay Stock Exchange opened with a loss of 219.06 points at 17,515.62. Twenty minutes into trading, the Sensex fell further to 17,432.30, a loss of nearly 300 points from Thursday's close. Around the same time, the S&P Nifty of the National Stock Exchange was at 5,137, down 55 points from its previous close.

Agartala : India has initiated the process to supply 100 MW of power from Tripura to Bangladesh, an Indian diplomat said here Tuesday. "Several steps...

By IANS, New Delhi : With merely 18 months left for the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, India needs to allow 100 percent foreign investment in tourism infrastructure projects to boost tourism, says an industry lobby. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), 100 percent foreign investment in developing tourism infrastructure in India will give a major boost to this sector. Delhi alone needs 30,000 rooms to cope up for the 2010 Games.

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By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Monday was trading in a zig-zag manner in morning trade. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,872.17 points, was ruling at 16,875.98 points, 12.92 points or 0.08 percent up from its previous close at 16,863.06 points. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty was ruling at 5,061.45 points, down 0.1 percent from its previous close.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council has projected a lower growth of 6.5 percent for the Indian economy during the current fiscal year, due mainly to a two-percent decline anticipated in farm output over the previous year. While industrial output, the council said Wednesday, will rise 8.2 percent, as against 3.9 percent growth in the previous fiscal, services will also register a lower growth of 8.2 percent against 9.7 percent in 2008-09.

By IANS, Bangalore : Canara Bank has obtained a licence from China's banking regulatory commission to open a branch in Shanghai, the leading state-run bank said here Wednesday. As a prelude to setting up the branch, the bank had set up a representative office at Shanghai, about 960 km from Beijing, in August 2005.

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By IANS, Ranchi : Coming soon after the farmers' agitation over land allotted for Indian automobiles major Tata Motors' Nano small car project in West Bengal, farmers in Jharkhand have gone on the warpath on the issue of land acquisition for industry. Three land surveyors hired by Indian steel producer Bhushan Steel who went to Potaka village in East Singhbhum district of the state were held hostage by villagers Thursday for three hours and made to wear garlands of shoes.

By IANS New Delhi : Top corporate companies will help raise money for charity when they take part in the Vodafone Half Marathon here Sunday, organisers said here Monday. Various initiatives like the Dream Team, the Corporate Challenge and the Pledger's United will provide avenues for doing their bit by supporting a cause. Around 41 companies have formed 51 teams and will raise fund in excess of Rs.12 million from the event. A Dream Team, would comprise of a select group of individuals who commit to raising at least Rs.100,000 in pledges.

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS, London : British construction and maintenance giant John Laing is to open its first India office in order to beef up its presence in Asia. It has appointed three new senior posts in India and Singapore as part of the effort. The India office will be set up at Gurgaon near Delhi and headed by Peter Jones, who has been charged with building a team and securing opportunities on the subcontinent.

By IANS, Kozhikode : India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd (IIFCL), the wholly-owned special purpose vehicle of the government, has sanctioned loans worth Rs.173.6 billion ($4.04 billion) to 81 infrastructure projects in the last two years, a top official said here Saturday. Speaking at a workshop on infrastructure development organised by the Malabar Chamber of Commerce here, IIFCL chairman and managing director S.S. Kohli said out of the 81 projects, financial closure has been achieved in 70 cases and the disbursement in assisted projects has crossed Rs.23 billion.

By DPA, Paris : To help prop up their banking systems, European Union (EU) leaders have agreed to relax the requirements of the Stability and Growth Pact, which imposes rules on member states regarding their public spending. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi also called for an international conference of the 14 largest industrial nations to "rebuild the international finance system," as Sarkozy phrased it.

New Delhi : The increase in prices of petrol and diesel is unacceptable, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said Sunday, as it called...

By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS Guwahati : Tea planters here were jolted when union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh Friday asked them to shed their "country club culture", though Hollywood actor Julie Christie raised a toast to the 'great Indian tea party'.

By Sukumar Muralidharan, IANS Early commentary on India's national budget for 2008-09 has focused almost entirely on a single parameter: the aggregate level of economic growth. Missing in all the punditry has been a serious effort to engage with the sources of growth in the Indian economy. Evidently, the recent growth dynamic has had little to do with agriculture. As the Economic Survey preceding the budget pointed out, growth in the farm sector, despite favourable environmental parameters, is expected to be a disappointing 2.6 percent this year.

By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net Bhopal: R. K. Singh, Executive Director, BHEL, Bhopal unit felicitated the Inventors of Patents and authors of copyrights by presenting them a token incentive in a simple programme held the other day.

By IANS, New Delhi : The following are the trains with increased frequency announced Friday in the interim railway budget for 2009-10: 2423/2424 New Delhi-Guwahati/Dibrugarh Rajdhani Express from five days to six days a week. 2443/2444 Bhubaneshwar-New Delhi Rajdhani Express from two days to four days. 2395/2396 Ajmer-Rajendra Nagar Ziyarat Express from weekly to two days. 2211/2212 Nizamuddin-Bapudham Motihari Garib Rath from weekly to two days. 2183/2184 Bhopal-Lucknow Junction Express from two days to three days.

By DPA, Washington : The US Federal Reserve and Treasury Department Tuesday announced two new programmes that will pump an additional $800 billion into the struggling economy and unfreeze credit for consumers and small businesses. This second stimulus follows the $700-billion rescue package already approved by Congress. Under one of the two new programmes, the Fed will use $600 billion to buy mortgage-backed securities to reduce the cost of home mortgages.

By IANS, Toronto : Canada's top bank has warned that the world is heading for a "long and deep" recession. Scotiabank, which is the country's second largest bank with operations in about 50 countries, Wednesday said the developed world could see virtually no economic gain till 2012. Making this dire warning, Scotiabank chief economist Warren Jestin said the resource-rich Canadian economy too may not bounce back till 2011 because of declining commodity prices. He said the Canadian auto industry heartland of Ontario will be the worst hit.

By IANS Chennai : Industrial equipment maker KE Burgmann Flexibles India Pvt Ltd said Thursday that it would increase capacity of its Chennai plant by investing about $1.5 million. "The Chennai plant capacity will be expanded to 165 joints per month from 100 joints per month," Dipankar Lahiri, managing director of the company, told newsmen here. The company manufactures expansion joints that are flexible connections in ducts and piping systems in various industries that prevent plant failure owing to variations in temperature, pressure and mechanical vibrations.

By IANS, Beijing: China's trade surplus widened in October as growth of exports accelerated while that of imports remaining steady, data from the country's customs showed Saturday.

By IANS, New Delhi : Expressing concern over the Wall Street crisis, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday said the government must keep a watch on the international economic developments because they could have a huge impact on India as well. "Nervous sentiments in the capital market may add fuel to the fire and the government must take immediate necessary steps to ensure security against this," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar told media persons here.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (RADAG), which is engaged in consolidation talks with the South African telecom major MTN, Wednesday said it was open to criminal proceedings against some officials of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) for what it claimed was fraudulent misuse of powers by them. The statement was in response to a letter to MTN from Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), claiming the first right to refuse majority stake in Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications, should they be put up for sale, based on a family pact two years ago.

By IANS, New Delhi : After registering a fall in October for the first time in 15 years on account of the global economic slowdown, India's industrial production rose by 2.4 percent the next month, latest official data showed Monday. The welcome increase in November came after a 0.3 percent drop in October in the index of industrial production (IIP), data released by the Central Statistical Organization showed.

By IANS, Lucknow : The Uttar Pradesh and Haryana governments have signed a pact to start interstate roadways bus services on nearly 300 routes, officials said. Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Ram Achal Rajbhar and his Haryana counterpart Mange Ram Gupta, in a joint press conference Tuesday said the pact was signed in New Delhi. "Both the states will now be operating buses on 256 routes outside the National Capital Region (NCR) and 35 routes inside the NCR," informed Rajbhar.

By IANS Chennai : The US' sub-prime mortgage crisis - lending to borrowers with poor credit rating and the resultant defaults - is expected to increase offshoring of loan processing activities by American lending institutions, feel mortgage process outsourcing (MPO) industry officials. Hit by the crisis, the US lending institutions will henceforth look at qualitative credit appraisal methods at a lower cost.

By IANS, New Delhi : Employees of Infosys Technologies may have to live with a salary cut and without any significant increment, even as the IT bellwether has virtually frozen fresh recruitments on account of the global meltdown, a top company official has said. "A part of our salary is determined by variable sales component, which is the percentage of the company's revenue," said Infosys' director for human resources T.V. Mohandas Pai. "Since the revenues are down, the salaries will naturally be trimmed."

By IANS, Mumbai : State-run carrier Air India has targeted slashing annual salary costs by Rs.500 crore, it said here Monday. Air India has appointed a four-member committee to examine existing wage agreements, including flying allowances and productivity-linked incentives, signed with the unions associations and the Indian Pilots Guild. The committee has been directed to go into all aspects of cost rationalisation and reduction of wasteful expenditure with the unions and submit its report by July 15. Currently, the carrier runs an annual wage bill of over Rs.3,000 crore.

By IANS, Raipur : Decks have been cleared for the 4,000-MW ultra mega power project (UMPP) in Chhattisgarh as the central government has finally approved the project, ending months-long controversy. The government, which had earlier selected Chhattisgarh as one of the five states for setting up UMPPs, reportedly rejected the project last August as the state government stuck to its demand for 50 percent of power at "invariable cost" from the project.

By IANS London : Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata has said the raging battles at Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal are the results of "political conflicts" between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) and the Trinamool Congress. "Nandigram and Singur are issues of political conflict between two political parties," he said answering questions at the close of a lecture delivered at the Chatham House, a foreign affairs think tank, Monday.

By IANS, New Delhi, Jan 7 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday told overseas Indians that India will quickly return to a sustained high growth path of 9-10 percent and sought new avenues of partnership with the diaspora. He was speaking at the first meeting of the Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council of 16 eminent overseas Indians who between them represent different disciplines from across the world. Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2010, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, Friday.

By IANS, Kolkata : The Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) has requested the Dredging Corp of India (DCI) for an additional dredger for Haldia port, where increased siltation has choked channels and reduced navigability. The KoPT, which claimed Thursday that the navigable draught of Haldia had improved to the level it was in December 2007, conceded that the big dredger which it was expecting to get from China soon, would not be available before Feb next year.

By Xinhua, Vienna : The weekly average oil prices of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) dropped to $109.73 per barrel last week, the Vienna-based cartel said Monday. The prices have dropped for six consecutive trading weeks by $28.58 after they topped $138.31 in the first week of July. The OPEC said in its monthly report Friday that the easing of political tensions and concerns over slower growth of demand amid weak economic signs were the main causes for the steep fall.

By IANS, Bangalore : Leading integrated telecom services provider Bharti Airtel and IT bellwether Infosys Technologies Ltd Wednesday announced a strategic partnership to provide digital TV viewing on a DTH (direct to home) platform. The partnership envisages Infosys providing a suite of products, including devices, application servers and interactive applications to enhance digital lifestyle for Airtel customers. The alliance will also enable Airtel to offer lower iCity, iNet and tPortal services on Airtel digital TV.

By IANS, Mumbai/New Delhi : Indian equities ended on a positive note for the second straight day Tuesday, after the central bank decided to release Rs.200 billion ($4.18 billion) to help the mutual fund industry and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram hoped optimism will continue to prevail among investors. The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended the day at 11,483.40m points, with a gain of 174.31 points, or 1.54 percent over the previous close.

By IANS New Delhi : A three-day global partnership summit beginning Jan 16 in Gurgaon on the outskirts of the capital is expected to carry forward discussions aimed at building consensus over the kind of development model the world should adopt. The event, being organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for the 14th consecutive year, is expected to see participation of over 1,000 delegates, including 400 from overseas.

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala's State Bank of Travancore (SBT) is to open a representative office in Dubai in three months' time, according to a company official. This would offer personalized services to the non-resident Indians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who maintain accounts with the bank, SBT managing dierctor M. Ramaswamy told reporters Wednesday night. "This would be a link between them and their home state and will facilitate further increase in inward remittances," he said.

By Xinhua, Nairobi : Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki has asked the United Nations to mobilise resources to tackle global problems, including high food prices and rampant piracy along the coast of Somalia. A statement from the presidential press service said Kibaki called on the UN to help in coordinating efforts to stabilise global food prices and ensure an efficient movement of food from surplus to deficit nations.

By IANS, Beijing : China's crude oil and natural gas output both marked year-on-year rises in January, new data from the country's top economic planner shows.

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By IANS Chennai : With an eye on the youth segment of the market, South Indian Bank Limited is not only celebrating the current fiscal as the 'year of youth' but has also decided to recruit a number of youngsters. The Thrissur-based private bank is hiring around 500 fresh graduates, and after the recruitment 25 percent of the bank's total staff will be under 25 years of age. "This will bring down the average age of the bank employees further from the present 45 years," V.A. Joseph, chairman and CEO of South Indian Bank, told reporters here Thursday.

By IANS Mumbai : The US Treasury Department would support strengthening of India's financial system so that Mumbai develops into an international financial centre (IFC), said US Secretary of Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr. Monday here. Paulson said that expansion of the financial sector through the development of Mumbai as an IFC would spell enormous opportunities for India. "With Mumbai as an internationally competitive financial centre, the world can invest in India and India can invest in the world," he observed.

By IANS, Mumbai : State-run engineering and manufacturing major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) Thursday reported 6.29 percent growth in net profit for 2008-09. The company said in a statement that its net profit rose to Rs.3,039 crore ($607.8 million) last year from Rs.2,859 crore the year before. The total sales of the company during the year stood at Rs.27,505 crore, up 28.52 percent from Rs.21,401 crore in 2007-08. BHEL, however, saw a lower order value at Rs.50,270 crore last fiscal, down 18.73 percent from orders worth Rs.59,687 crore it secured in 2007-08.

By IANS New Delhi : State-owned gas marketer GAIL (India) Ltd has declared 40 percent interim dividend for financial year 2007-08. "The board of directors of the company in a meeting yesterday approved the payment of the interim dividend to shareholders of the company," said a company statement issued Wednesday. The company had declared 100 percent interim dividend for the financial year 2006-07.

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By IANS Mumbai : Indian stock markets opened on a firm note Tuesday with broad-based buying witnessed in early trades. At 10.54 a.m., the sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) was up 210.94 points or 1.08 percent at 19,801.72, and the Nifty was up 72.25 points or 1.24 percent at 5919.55.

By IANS, Chennai : City-based Gemac Energy Ltd and Chinese power sector engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) player Sepco III Electric Power Construction Corporation have agreed to set up a 1,320 MW power plant in Tamil Nadu. The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) here Monday also to provide EPC services to other power project promoters in India.

By IANS Chandigarh : Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal Monday presented his second budget with emphasis on energy and agriculture. The budget for 2008-09 fiscal has doubled the outlay for the energy sector from Rs.1,062.02 crore (Rs.10.62 billion) in 2007-08 to Rs.2204.52 crore (Rs.22.04 billion). The allocation for the agriculture and horticulture sector has gone up from Rs.200.08 crore (Rs.2 billion) to Rs.302.52 crore (Rs.3.02 billion), a hike of 51.20 percent.

By IANS, New Delhi/Hyderabad : The Indian government expects a revenue of Rs.15,000 crore ($3.2 billion) from the auction of airwaves for broadband wireless access (BWA) services which kicked off Monday, Communications minister A. Raja said. "I expect the competition will be very high for BWA... as competitive as 3G. I am expecting Rs.15,000 crore from the BWA auction," Raja said in Hyderabad on the sidelines of an international telcom conference.

By IANS, Jamnagar (Gujarat) : Three employees of a courier company in this Gujarat town have allegedly decamped with Rs.1.4 million, police said Thursday. Suresh Natalal Prajapati, manager of Patel Mahindra Somabhai courier company, filed a complaint against Vikramji Harakhai Thakor, Arvind Kantilal Nai and Govindbhai Thakor Wednesday. "Prajapati said the cash was given to the three employees for delivery at different places but they vanished with it," said V.J. Vyas, sub-inspector at Darbargadh police station.

By DPA, Washington : The US Federal Reserve Board has announced a $85-billion loan to embattled insurance giant American International Group (AIG) in a move to calm financial markets fearing a possible second major Wall Street bankruptcy. "The board determined that, in current circumstances, a disorderly failure of AIG could add to already significant levels of financial market fragility and lead to substantially higher borrowing costs, reduced household wealth, and materially weaker economic performance," the Federal Reserve said in a statement late Tuesday.

By IANS New Delhi : A group of MPs, cutting across party lines, demanded in the Lok Sabha Tuesday that frost-affected crops be treated as 'national calamity' and that distressed farmers be given appropriate compensation. The MPs, led by Hannan Mollah of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and Girdhari Lal Bhargava of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), raised the issue of cold wave and frost destroying crops in various parts of the country.

By IANS, Dhaka : Bangladesh’s spinners are trying to import cotton yarn and raw cotton from Africa, Austria, the US and Brazil after India recently imposed a ban on its export. India is a major supplier of cotton yarn to Bangladesh, with intake of more than 3.5 million bales a year. Imports from India have risen from the normal 10 percent to about 30 percent, from about 350,000 bales to 700,000 bales following a bad harvest in Uzbekistan. The Indian export ban followed an increase in cotton price despite its good harvest, New Age newspaper said Sunday.

By IANS, Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities markets closed 488 points higher Monday amid buoyant buying sentiments across the market breadth.

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By Xinhua Paris : The French bank Société Générale faces a new legal challenge Monday with the start of a money laundering trial in Paris. Four banks, including Societe Generale, and 138 people, including the bank's chairman Daniel Bouton, are on trial over the multi-million dollar scam. The other banks include Societe Marseillaise de Credit, Barclays France and the National Bank of Pakistan. The alleged money laundering took place between 1996 and 2001 in the Sentier area of the city and involved stolen or fraudulent cheques shuttled between France and Israel.

By IANS New Delhi : India Friday hiked its defence expenditure for fiscal 2008-09 by 10 percent to Rs.1,056 billion ($26.5 billion), with Finance Minister P. Chidambaram saying additional resources would not be a constraint if they were needed for purchasing military hardware. The allocation accounts for 14 percent of the government's total spending of Rs.7,508 billion during the fiscal beginning April 1.

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By IANS, Mumbai : SpiceJet shares rose by over 15 percent midday Wednesday following reports that various firms were eyeing a stake in the carrier. SpiceJet shares were trading at Rs.32.40, up 8.9 percent, after touching a high of Rs.34.45. A report in the online edition of financial newspaper Business Standard Wednesday said global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs has joined the race to acquire SpiceJet, a New Delhi-based low cost carrier.

By IANS, Bhubaneswar : Learning solutions company Aptech Ltd Wednesday announced the launch of N-Power, a specialized hardware and networking training centre, in this Orissa capital. “The booming Indian economy and increased PC penetration in all sectors has resulted in an increased demand for hardware and networking professionals throughout the country,” N-Power head Ravi Dighe said.

By Fakir Balaji, IANS, Bangalore : The burgeoning growth of e-commerce has spawned an online underground economy where cyber-criminals thrive by siphoning off goods and services worth millions of dollars with credit card information, a report by global security solutions provider Symantec reveals. The worldwide report, based on a year-long study conducted by Symantec's security technology and response division in 2007-08, warns netizens of shopping online using credit cards without verifying the authenticity of sellers and their advertisers.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities markets fell at opening bell Friday with a key index ruling 0.43 percent lower than its last closing figure. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened at 8,944.11 points, marginally lower than its 8,954.86 point close Thursday. About 10 minutes into trade, it was at 8,915.97 points, 0.43 percent or 32.24 points lower than its previous close. Similarly, the S&P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was at 2,772.30 points, 0.48 percent down from its last close of 2,785.65.

By Gurmukh Singh, IANS, Chicago: Bihar-born Sanjay Jha, currently the co-CEO of Motorola, will be the new chief executive officer of its handset and home businesses as the mobile phone maker Thursday announced it will split itself into two independent, publicly traded companies from early next year. One company will comprise Motorola's mobile handset and home (television set-top) businesses and the other will include the enterprise mobility solutions and networks businesses, the company said in a statement.

By IANS, Dubai : India's Federal Bank is seeking regulatory approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to open branches in Bahrain and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. As part of this move, the public sector bank has announced improved services to expatriate Indians in the Gulf and has tied up with Bahrain's leading exchange house, Bahrain Financing Company, for extending its Fed Fast service, the fast fund transfer service from Gulf nations to India, the Bahrain Tribune reported.

By NNN-PTI Banglore : India is facing a severe shortage of people with specialised skills for developing new drug and may try to rope in consultants of local origin overseas to help domestic firms to tide over the problem, Biocon Chairman and Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar . "The biggest challenge we have is how do we get specialised skills and expertise," Shaw told PTI here. "For doing generics, it's fine (we don't have manpower shortage), but for making new products, it's very difficult to get personnel. We don't have enough of them," she added.

By Sakshi Gulati, IANS, New Delhi : Japanese office automation and imaging giant Canon would launch 40 new products, including a wide range of digital cameras and printers, in the Indian market over the next three months, a company official said. "We are launching 40 new products by June. These include digital cameras, video cameras, printers and copiers. At present, we have 148 products. These new launches will replace older ones," Canon India senior vice president Alok Bhardwaj said.

By IANS, New Delhi : Leading Indian telecom services major Bharti Airtel Saturday said it has called off talks with South Africa's MTN for a possible merger. "Discussions were on till late last night without a breakthrough. Accordingly, Bharti has decided to disengage from the ongoing talks and has conveyed the same to MTN," the company, promoted by Sunil Mittal, said in a statement. The two companies were unable to come to an understanding on what the structure of the new enterprise will be, Bharti officials said.

By Fakir Hassen, IANS, Johannesburg : The Tata-led Neotel consortium, which is developing South Africa's telecommunications as the country's second network operator, has rejected suggestions of "cultural clashes" between South African Indian staff and those brought from India by Tata Communications.

By IANS, New Delhi: India's wholesale price-based inflation rose to 6.84 percent in February as compared to 6.62 percent in the previous month, the government data showed Thursday.

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By DPA, Manila : The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday it has approved a $70-million loan for a new project to improve the lives and incomes of poor farmers in the conflict-wracked southern Philippines. The Manila-based bank said the Agrarian Reform Communities Project II will allocate $135.2 million for rural infrastructure projects and $25.2 million for agriculture and enterprise development.

Jagatsinghpur (Orissa), (IANS) Anti-Posco activists Monday released ten labourers and a driver whom they had taken hostage in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district Thursday. The labourers had gone to work on a wooden bridge the local administration was building over Hadua River near Gadakujanga village in the district, some 120 km from state capital Bhubaneswar. Anti-Posco activists had detained them at Dhinkia village along with their vehicle.

By IANS Mumbai : Sterlite Technologies Ltd, a power conductors and optic fibre cable manufacturing major from Maharashtra, Monday said it has bagged a $17.5 million contract from the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) for manufacturing power transmission conductors. As per the agreement, Sterlite Technologies will deliver the supplies of AAAC power transmission conductors from April 2008 to September 2008.

By DPA, Washington, April 16 (DPA) US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle reported income of more than $2.6 million in 2008, documents released by the White House showed Wednesday. The vast majority of the $2,656,902 million reported by the Obama's came from proceeds from the president's book sales, the White House said. The couple paid $855,323 in federal income tax and $77,883 in Illinois state income tax. The Obama's donated $172,050 to charity.

By IANS Kolkata : A three-day international conference and exhibition on steel scheduled Feb 27-29 at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand will discuss targeted development and employment generation in the industry. The conference, Steelrise 2008, is being organised against the backdrop of the target Indian policymakers and industry have set themselves to expand annual steel production to 180 million tonnes by 2020.

By IANS, Bangalore : Infosys Technologies Ltd posted a net profit of Rs.6,219 crore (Rs.62.19 billion) for fiscal 2009-10, registering a marginal increase of four percent year-on-year (YoY) from Rs.5,975 crore (Rs.59.75 billion). In a regulatory filing Tuesday, the IT bellwether said its consolidated income for the entire fiscal under review (FY 2010) grew by 4.84 percent to Rs.22,742 crore (Rs.227.42 billion) from Rs.21,693 crore (Rs.216.93 billion) as per the Indian accounting standard.

By Arun Kumar, IANS, Washington, April 15 (IANS) ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steel maker led by India-born steel czar Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, plans to idle a plant in East Chicago and lay off about 400 workers due to global economic crisis that has dampened demand for the metal. The Luxembourg-based company that produces 10 percent of the world's steel will suspend operations indefinitely at the Indiana Harbour Long Carbon facility, the Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday citing a company statement.

By Dipankar De Sarkar, IANS, London : Shares in the British consultancy group Axon jumped by 20.1 percent Tuesday fuelling speculation about a counterbid to Infosys Technologies' 407 million pound ($800 million) offer to buy the company. The all-cash offer by the Indian IT major, unanimously recommended by the board of the Surrey-based company, represents a value of 600 pence per share. But Jonathan Imlah of Altium Securities said in a note, "Axon is a global leader in its field. We believe there is room for a counterbid closer to 700 pence a share.”

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By IANS Bangalore : India has attracted committed investments of $7 billion (Rs.280 billion) in the semiconductor industry after the government announced a semiconductor policy last fiscal (2007-07), said a top official. "Besides these committed investments, five more proposals with a combined investment of $800 million (Rs.32 billion) have been given in-principle approval for setting up captive solar photovoltaic (PV) cell manufacturing facilities in the Fab City coming up in Hyderabad," Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh told reporters here Monday.

By IANS, New Delhi: State-run Gas Authority India Limited is venturing into Papua New Guinea with a possible stake in a new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal, a company official said Monday. "We are examining the possibility of having a stake in the LNG terminal in Papua New Guinea," chairman and managing director, GAIL, B.C. Tripathi told reporters here. He was speaking on the sidelines of the two-day sixth Asia Gas Partnership Summit jointly organized by GAIL and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities markets surged at the opening bell Wednesday, with a key index ruling 1.8 percent higher than its last losing figure. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensitive Index (Sensex) opened at 8,956.3 points, higher than its 8,863.82 point close Tuesday. About 15 minutes into trade, it was above the psychologically important 9,000 mark, at 9,022.98 points, 1.8 percent or 159.16 points higher than its previous close.

By Manik Mehta, IANS, Berlin : Indian business visitors to Germany have called for a "level playing field" in visa arrangements between the two countries, complaining they are only issued visas for limited periods while German visitors to India are easily given long-term, multiple-entry visas.

By Xinhua Kuala Lumpur : A Qatar firm will build a $4.55 billion oil refinery in Manjong in the northern Malaysian state of Perak, the media reported Monday. A memorandum of understanding was signed Sunday between the Perak government and Gulf Petroleum (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd Sunday formalising the deal. The project will be developed over three phases. It will comprise an oil refinery, a petrochemical plant and storage facility. It is expected to be completed in three years.

By IANS, Beijing : Air China's net profit jumped 155 percent to five billion yuan ($736 million) last year due to lower fuel costs and higher passenger volumes, Xinhua reported. In 2008, the national carrier incurred a net loss of nine billion yuan due to the global economic downturn. Revenue dropped 3.54 percent year on year to 51 billion yuan and earnings per share jumped 154.55 percent to 0.42 yuan, Air China said in its annual report filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

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By IANS Chandigarh : International Travel House (ITH), an associate company of ITC Ltd, will focus on travel destinations in Chandigarh and neighbouring areas in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. ITH brought its sales and marketing teams from across India Saturday to understand the market in Chandigarh and Punjab. "We want to market this beautiful city to tourists who can also make short trips to nearby areas in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana. The city has vast potential for tourism," ITH managing director Anil Kumar Bhandari said.

By IANS Coonoor (Tamil Nadu) : The government is formulating an alternative duty neutralisation scheme for tea exporters, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said here Monday. "The new scheme is in the final stage. It will be announced soon," he said, speaking at the 144th annual conference of United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) being held in this southern India tea and coffee growers' hub.

By IANS, Washington : The World Bank has approved a $500 million loan to the Power Grid Corporation of India, designed to increase reliable power exchange between regions and states. Power Grid is the world's third largest transmission utility. The loan, from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), approved Tuesday is backed by a Republic of India guarantee, the Bank said. It has a 30 year maturity which includes a four-year grace period.

By IANS, London : Swiss banking giant UBS, which employs 6,000 staff in Britain and 65,000 across the world, will chop 3,500 jobs, a media report said.

By IRNA-Yonhap Seoul : The South Korean government is considering bringing nuclear fuel rods stored at North Korea's key nuclear facilities at Yongbyon to South Korea for possible domestic use, a government source said Sunday. "When the process for scrapping North Korea's nuclear program reaches the dismantlement phase, a critical decision over how to dispose of the North's nuclear fuel rods as well as spent fuel rods has to be made," said the source. "Bringing the North Korean fuel rods into the South is one of the options now under consideration," the source said.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equity markets recorded modest gains in early trade Monday, mirroring strong cues from other Asian markets. There was buying interest in banking, power and capital goods stocks. The 30-share benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Sensex, opened with a gain of 107.92 points at 13,561.92. Ten minutes into trading, it had reached 13,695.66, a gain of 242 points or 1.80 percent from its closing figure Friday.

By P.S. Anantharaman, IANS, Ahmedabad : US-based Pacifica Companies, founded by a non-resident Indian, is set to build its second five-star hotel in Gujarat even as construction for the first one is about to begin. The second hotel will be built with an estimated investment of Rs.1.5-2 billion along the Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway on the western fringe of Ahmedabad. The SG Highway, as it is better known, is the new corporate address of the city.

By IANS, New Delhi : Real estate major Unitech has been allotted 4.4 MHz of spectrum in three service areas, the company said Monday. “The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued the letter to the company`s telecom subsidiaries for allotment of 4.4 MHz of spectrum in 1800 MHz GSM band in respect of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Kolkata service areas,” a company statement said. With this, the company has been allotted initial spectrum in 16 service areas out of the total 22 service areas.

By IANS Ranchi : Graduates from Jharkhand's top five educational institutes are being wooed by big companies, including Infosys, with fat pay packets. About 3,000 students from the five top institutes have got placements with multinational companies. The five institutes are Xavier Labour Research Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur, Institute of Social Management (ISM), Dhanbad, Xavier Institute of Social Service (XISS), Ranchi, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra, Ranchi, and BIT Sindri, Dhanbad.

By Devirupa Mitra, IANS New Delhi : A proposal to start an India-Bangladesh train service is fast losing steam. An Indian official who took part in the two-day inter-governmental railway meeting here last week said that Bangladesh has indicated its disinterest in going ahead with the passenger train service. "They clearly told us that they are not interested in starting the train service any more," said the government official.

By IANS, Kolkata : After losing more than 50 percent of its net worth, automobile manufacturer Hindustan Motors has decided to report to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) under the sick industrial companies act. "We would also like to inform that the accumulated losses of the company at the end of financial year March 31, 2010, have resulted in erosion of more than 50 percent of its peak net worth during the immediately preceding four financial years," the company informed the National Stock Exchange.

* Speed of trains running at 110-130 kmph to be increased to 160-20 kmph * Green technology locomotives to be introduced * 10 cities identified for...

By IANS, London : India's most powerful private sector banker says the coalition United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, now without the support of Left parties, should seize the opportunity and roll out the second tranche of economic reforms. “A lot of people are saying that the government has this unique opportunity now to press on with the remaining economic reforms,” ICICI Bank chairman K.V. Kamath said on the sidelines of an awards ceremony here Tuesday. “I am sure once the prime minister is back he will begin to look at the economic reforms agenda,” he told IANS.

By IANS, Mumbai : Indian equities markets surged strongly Monday on positive global cues to end in the green with a key index gaining by more than 500 points to breach the psychologically important 10,000 mark once again. The 30-share benchmark sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) closed at 10,536.16, up 571.87 points or 5.74 percent from its previous close Friday at 9,964.29 points. The Sensex opened strong at 10,154.56 points, up 190.27 points or 1.9 percent from its previous close and continued to gain steadily throughout the day.

By IANS, New Delhi : Congress president Sonia Gandhi and South Africa's ruling African National Congress chief Jacob Zuma Tuesday signed a pact for enhancing political exchanges between two of the oldest political parties in the world. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed after talks between top functionaries of the ANC and the Indian National Congress at Gandhi's 10, Janpath residence here.

By IANS, New Delhi : Travel agents have stopped selling tickets of Singapore Airlines and threatened to extend the ban to other foreign airlines as well if they did not pay commission on tickets booked by them, an association representing them said Friday. "We have stopped issuing tickets of Singapore Airlines. We will do so with other foreign airlines too if they refuse to pay us commission," said Rajinder Rai, president of the Travel Association Federation of India. Rai said no foreign airlines have approached them so far to discuss the issue.

By DPA, Washington/New Orleans : Oil company BP Plc Tuesday began the long-awaited pumping of mud into the ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico - the so-called "static kill" to permanently seal the shaft. If the mud injection succeeds in overcoming the upward pressure of oil in the well, which stretches five-kilometre below the sea floor, engineers would follow by pumping in cement. A spokesman for BP in London told DPA that the static kill attempt at the well, 60 km off the Louisiana coast, had begun at 3 p.m.

By NNN-TNA

Bangkok : Energy Minister Piyasvasti Amaranand said here today that the state-run Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) should seriously consider investing in hydroelectric power in India and Bhutan, especially the latter which has a lot of potential.

Bhutan has vast water resources and the water in that country flows from a pipe at the height of about one kilometer while in Thailand it is only a few hundred metres, Mr. Piyasvasti said.

By IANS, Ahmedabad : Banks in developed nations have many things to learn from the Indian banking institutions that have remained insulated from the mortgage crisis, Gujarat Health Minister Jaynarayan Vyas said here Saturday. Speaking at the inaugural function of the 31st All India Accounting Conference, Vyas said: "In the present scenario, banks of the developed nations ought to take lessons from Indian banking institutions, which have avoided the pitfall arising out of the mortgage crisis."

By IANS Pune : The government has given a green signal to set up a mammoth 200-acre international exhibition centre at Moshi near Pune, the first of its kind in the western part of the country. At present the only such exhibition centre in country is at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. Last week a high level meeting of government officials was held in Mumbai to give final touches to this centre, which is first of its kind in Maharashtra and the whole of the western belt.

By IANS, New Delhi : The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), a leading industry group, Thursday said measures taken by the government to control economic slowdown and infuse liquidity into the system were not enough in the current scenario.

By IANS, Mumbai : Leading wireless communications provider Tata Communications Wednesday announced the launch of its security services applications for critical business infrastructure. Tata Communications will provide a full range of monitored and managed security solutions, backed by aggressive, performance based service level agreements (SLAs). The services will be overseen by a globally distributed support team using state-of-the-art systems, processes and tools.

By IANS Mumbai : Reliance Energy Ltd has allotted 43 million warrants convertible into equity shares to group company AAA Project Ventures Pvt Ltd, thereby raising Rs.78.35 billion ($1.98 billion). The company has already received the amount payable towards allotment, REL announced here Monday. REL will raise an amount of about Rs.78.35 billion from this issue, which will increase its net worth from Rs.103.2 billion to Rs.181.5 billion. The promoters' equity stake in REL will increase from 34.7 percent to 44.4 percent, it was stated.

By IANS, New Delhi : Passenger car major Hyundai Motor India Monday said its domestic sales jumped 54 percent to 23,193 units last month as against 15,066 units in July 2008. The company reported 6 percent rise in exports in July to 22,350 units from 21,086 vehicles in the year-ago period. The total sales stood at 45,543 units last month, up from 36,152 a year earlier.

By IANS, New Delhi : Following are the highlights of the interim budget presented by Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha Monday: * Plan expenditure for 2009-10 pegged at Rs.952,231 crore (Rs.9.52 trillion) * Budgetary support for 2009-10 at Rs.2,85,149 crore (Rs.2.85 trillion), 17.16 percent * Additional plan expenditure between 0.5 percent to 1 percent of GDP may be considered * Fiscal deficit forecast 5.5 percent of GDP for 2009-10 * Revenue deficit forecast 4 percent of GDP for 2009-10

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By IANS, Mumbai : Key indices of the Indian equities markets, buoyed by renewed buying interest and stable markets elsewhere in Asia, closed at their highest levels in 15 months Monday. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,739.27 points, closed at 16,016.32 points, up 327.2 points or 2.09 percent higher than Friday's close. The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, hit a 15-month high to end at 4,782.9 points, up 2.19 percent. Both the Sensex and the Nifty closed above their June 2008 levels.

By IANS, Toronto : Though prices of two main Canadian resources of oil and commodities continue to slip, the Canadian dollar has risen appreciably against the US dollar in the new year. Thanks to the weakening US dollar, the loonie - as the Canadian dollar is called - rose as high as 84.85 cents US, gaining 1.31 cents against the greenback Thursday. Reversing Wednesday's dip, Canadian markets resumed their upward trend Thursday, with the Toronto stock exchange (TSX) composite index gaining 100.26 points to close at 9,221.58 on rising energy and financial stocks.

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By IANS Jagatsinghpur (Orissa) : Steel maker Posco India's chairman Soung Sik Cho Friday visited the company's proposed plant site in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district amid protests. Anti-Posco protesters claimed that at least a dozen of their activists sustained injuries in an alleged attack by pro-Posco activists. The police and Posco officials however denied any such attack and said the visit was peaceful.

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By IANS, New Delhi : Power Finance Corp Ltd (PFC) has sanctioned a loan of Rs.100 billion ($2.4 billion) to National Thermal Power Corp (NTPC) to fund its capacity expansion programme. NTPC, which currently has an installed capacity of 29,394 MW, has plans to generate 75,000 MW by 2017. A memorandum of understanding was signed Monday by NTPC chairman R.S. Sharma and PFC chairman V.K. Garg for giving the term loan of Rs.100 billion. NTPC accounts for 20 percent of India’s installed capacity and about 29 percent of the country’s power generation.

By IANS, New Delhi : India Inc is upbeat about the "higher than expected" growth of gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter this fiscal and expects the economy to return to 9 percent growth soon. "It only shows the resilience of the Indian economy, which can remain insulated from global shocks of the most troubled times and yet achieve such a growth rate," said Swati Piramal, president of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham).

By IANS, Thiruvananthapuram : Primary commodity exporters in the state are set to benefit with the rupee Friday crashing to its lowest level against the dollar in the last six years - to Rs.49 to a dollar. The last time the rupee fell to this low was in July 2002. Kerala's exports in the primary commodity sector include seafood and cashew.

By IANS, Mumbai : Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Globalcom, a subsidiary of Reliance Communications Ltd (RCL), has acquired 90 percent stake in eWave World, a UK-based telecom company engaged in offering wireless telephony services using WiMAX technology. However, Reliance refused to divulge the exact amount of the acquisition.

By Murali Krishnan,IANS, Beijing : Underscoring the immediate task before countries hit by the financial tsunami, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday said economies the world over should de-clog their credit markets and also suggested that it was time to actively deliberate on a global regulatory body.

By IANS, New Delhi : In order to make housing affordable for the weaker sections of society, the government is thinking of reserving 20 percent of space in housing projects for them. Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja, Monday said her ministry will ask state governments to reserve developed land for the economically weaker sections in various housing projects. "Once the policy is passed, it will be mandatory for all private developers to accommodate the poor in their housing projects," Selja said.

By IANS/WAM, Abu Dhabi: A campaign was launched to conserve fish stocks in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Conservation groups say rising demand for seafood has resulted in 80 percent decline of fish stocks in the UAE over the last three decades. The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) launched the "Choose Wisely" campaign to create awareness on the status of fish stocks in the UAE.

By IANS Mumbai : A key Indian equity market index ended in the red Wednesday due to confusing global cues, though the markets appeared to be consolidating a day after a record close. The markets that opened in the red Wednesday as per international trends, went flat and could not manage to pick up in the second half. Important sectors like oil and gas, capital goods, banking and public sector units' scrips were offloaded.

By SPA Islamabad : The housing sector would attract a huge foreign investment of $1.5 billion to address the acute housing problems in Pakistan, said Caretaker Minister for Housing and Works Nisar Muhammad Khan. “For the first time, such a huge foreign investment will come to the housing sector in Pakistan," he told the reporters. The minister said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in this regard would be signed very soon.

By Xinhua Abu Dhabi : Microsoft and the Dubai-based Emirates Airline will set up an innovation lab in Dubai to develop products and services for the travel industry, the Gulf News reported Wednesday. The lab, the first for both the companies, will use Microsoft's technologies and tap Emirates' expertise and experience in developing IT solutions for the aviation and travel industry.

By IANS, Mumbai : Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL), an Anil Ambani group company, has written two letters to Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries seeking to settle the dispute over pricing of gas from the latter's Krishna Godavari finds. "We have written two letters to Reliance Industries, asking them to sit across the table to crash out the three-four relevant clauses so that they can be put in the agreement," RNRL counsel Mukul Rohatgi told a news channel Wednesday.

By IANS New Delhi : Although India and the European Union (EU) are facing major differences at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), they might "head" towards concluding a free trade agreement (FTA) by end of 2008, said Indian Industry and Commerce Minister Kamal Nath. The EU and India are currently in discussion to conclude the FTA, the main objective of which is to do away with import duties and other tariffs on certain items of trade.

By IANS, Raipur : Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) will pump in Rs.4 billion in Chhattisgarh during the next three years for undertaking massive jatropha plantations, a rich source of bio-fuel. The company would also set up a bio-diesel plant in the state. The public sector company signed a tri-partite agreement in this regard Monday with the Chhattisgarh government and the state-owned Chhattisgarh Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) to form a joint venture company to undertake the project in the state.

By DPA, Munich : Modern aerodynamic car designs with wide window frames are obstructing visibility, especially to the rear and when changing lanes, according to a test conducted by Germany's ADAC automobile association. Many car makers have improved the passenger safety cell but this has come at the cost of sacrificing all round vision with wide A, B, and C pillars - that form the window frames, the ADAC testers said.

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By IANS,

By IANS, New Delhi : Crrency futures trading will help bring Indian forex markets more in line with global trends, says a note prepared by MF Global, a US-based broker for exchange-traded futures and options. The note made available to IANS said currency futures trading will help to expand the market share of forex derivatives and the volume of forex markets as a whole. At present, the average daily turnover of the global forex market is estimated at around $3 trillion.

By IANS, On Board Air India One : Fresh from a summit in Washington to find a solution to the global financial crisis, Prime Minisster Manmohan Singh Sunday said the balance of power in this globalised world was shifting to emerging economies like India. "This is for the first time there was a sincere dialogue between the major developed countries and the major emerging economies," the prime minister said on his way back from Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy hosted by US President George W. Bush.

By Xinhua, Mexico City : At least 100,000 small companies have been shut down in Mexico due to the soaring oil prices and new tax laws, the Latin American Organization of Small and Medium Companies (Alampyme) has said. Other factors that contributed to the closer of the small firms included disloyal competition and underground and unfair trade practice, the Alampyme said at a press conference here Thursday.

By DPA, New York: US stocks ended the week lower Friday after disappointing earnings from the bellwether firm General Electric and financial giant Bank of America. The decline pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average back below 10,000 points, two days after it had breached the symbolic mark for the first time in more than a year. General Electric's profits were down 42 percent to $2.5 billion in the third quarter, a signal that consumer demand has yet to recover.