A day after Standard & Poor's (S&P) came out with its report on how India could be the first among Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC nations) to lose its investment-grade rating, markets shrugged off the concern, ending in the green.
The suggestion for this special pay was part of a memorandum that the All India IIT Faculty Federation submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) on August 23, stating that the pay structure proposed is unacceptable and a threat to the IIT system.
While some like RPG's Spencer's and Wadhawan group's Spinach say it will encourage them to invest more in cold chains, others such as Aditya Birla Retail and Future Group said the announcement has come too late and helps fresh produce and chilled product suppliers more than retailers.
The British government has said it was "not prepared" to accept an announcement by Tata Steel and its European subsidiary, Corus, that there seemed no option but to indefinitely suspend operations at one of the latter's factories in north-east England, which means loss of around 2,000 jobs.
Nearly 80 per cent of the buyers opting for the more expensive variants instead of the base-level car which is priced at Rs 1.23 lakh (ex showroom, Delhi). The trend is based on responses from dealers and banks that took bookings in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Kolkata on Thursday. The Nano CX costs Rs 1.48 lakh and the top-end LX Rs 1.72 lakh.
This is a relatively sharp decline compared to the northern and southern markets in the country where prices have fallen by only Rs 2 - Rs 4 a bag. Kolkata-based dealers said that retail prices are now hovering around Rs 240 a bag due to a 10-15 per cent dip in demand.
The consensus is that a high interest rate regime, now a certainty, will increase costs, slow down demand and hit profitability. CEOs said margins were already under substantial pressure due to high energy prices. The only way to survive in this scenario is to cut costs, put brakes on new expansion plans and increase efficiencies.
With the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) hiking their fees, many general category students will have to approach banks for educational loans. Most will also have to furnish collateral to get that all-important loan.IIM-Ahmedabad, for instance, has almost trebled its fees to Rs 4 lakh to Rs 11.5 lakh. IIM-Kolkata has hiked it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. Others like IIM Bangalore and IIM Lucknow have hiked it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh and Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
IIM C and IIM A have hiked their fees for post graduate programme by Rs 1 lakh.
Public sector lenders Canara Bank, Corporation Bank and Allahabad Bank have decided to lower interest rates on housing loans, preferring to keep their prime lending rates (PLRs) unchanged. ICICI Bank Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer K V Kamath has indicated that the country's second largest bank would review interest rates only in 2008-09.
The group has earmarked over Rs 4,000 crore (Rs 40 billion) to acquire coal mines in foreign countries.
The top slots at three Tata companies -- Tata Motors, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services -- will be up for grabs in two years with incumbents Ravi Kant, B Muthuraman and S Ramadorai due to retire in 2009.
The Sweden-based cosmetics company Oriflame is set to introduce 150 more products in India by next year, as competition among direct-selling companies in India rises with the entry of more multi-national players.
ITC Ltd has acquired the Technico Pty Ltd of Australia. The acquisition has been made through Russell Credit Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary and investment arm of ITC Ltd.
Britannia Industries, the country's top biscuit maker, has taken the income tax department, Kolkata, to court after it received a show-cause notice asking it to explain the withdrawal of funds from the employees' pension fund in 2003.
At a time when instability in the US leveraged buyout (LBO) market is making world equities markets jittery, JSW Steel is planning a leveraged buyout of a North American steel company.
The Essar group's proposed acquisition of Minnesota Steel is likely to be delayed, with the US state authorities taking time in providing the infrastructure required to move the project.
Sources close to the development said senior executives of these three companies recently visited the facilities of Stelco, which was put on the block last month.
This will be over and above a Rs 3,655-crore domestic rights issue and a Rs 4,350 crore convertible preference share issue the company announced last month.
Rural retail seems to be keeping a lot of women in villages across the country on their toes.