Daimler AG, the world's largest maker of heavy vehicles, said it's dropping the Sterling Trucks brand, eliminating 3,500 jobs and closing two factories in a reorganization of North American commercial-vehicle operations.

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority has set up an expert group under the chairmanship of HDFC honcho Deepak Parekh to examine the option of mix investment that the NPS should offer to private individuals who become voluntary members

The strategic alliance between rival carriers Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways will boost mutual growth for both the entities, say analysts and aviation experts.

Sharp divisions in the Election Commission stalled the decision on holding elections in Jammu & Kashmir as the poll body on Tuesday announced a mid-November schedule for the assembly polls in five states - Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram.

Political rivalry, especially between the Centre and the state, on the eve of the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections, is costing Uttar Pradesh very dear.

Asia will not be immune from the economic weakness spreading through the world's leading economies and can be expected to grow, but it will be with less momentum than in the recent past because of rising inflation in the face of commodity price pressures.

The future of global finance depends on what kind of rethinking takes place in Beijing and the rest of the emerging world. So far the signals have been mixed, even within the same country.

Ruling out the possibility of a corporate raid on ICICI Bank through hammering down of its share price, Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said it is not possible for just anyone to take over the management due to strong regulations in India.

Global financial crisis and economic slowdown seem to have a major impact on many Indian corproates' media and advertising budgets.

TIFR is planning to have a second campus in Hyderabad. The TIFR, Mumbai is planning to commemorate the birth centenary of TIFR founder, Homi J.Bhabha commencing from October 31, 2008 and is expected to lay the foundation stone for its Hyderabad Campus at the earliest which would entail an investment of Rs 2,500 crore.

A delay in the announcement of a bonus on the minimum support price of paddy has started affecting paddy arrivals and procurement in the new crop season that started in October.

The RBI's sustained moves to ensure adequate liquidity in the credit market and the rally in US equity markets, where the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index notched up its biggest two-day gain since the Great Depression, has helped. While profit booking in the second half pared some of the day's gains, the 30-share Sensex of the BSE gained 174.31 points, or 1.54%, to close at 11,483.40 points.

Money-market rates in London fell after the US joined the UK, Germany and France in offering to buy stakes in banks to restore confidence in the global financial system.

Of course, the sharp slide in stock markets was bound to create collateral damage in mutual funds.

As the festive season nears, banks are not only offering higher deposit rates but also reducing rates for their retail loans. This is despite a tight monetary policy.

The Nacil plan to set up MRO facility in Nagpur with EADS will dominate the agenda at the India Aviation 2008 conference.

Researchers have discovered what they claim could jolly well be a possible new pathway used by early modern humans for dispersing into other continents from Africa.

Money-market rates in London fell after the US joined the UK, Germany and France in offering to buy stakes in banks to restore confidence in the global financial system.

Union minister for steel Ram Vilas Paswan assured the steel industry that the government will take steps to support it. "The steel industry has supported the government during inflation.

Defying UP chief minister and BSP supremo Mayawati's attempts to scuttle her plans, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday visited her Lok Sabha constituency calling it her ''karma bhoomi'' and declaring that she is ready to go to jail for the sake of development.

Agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and civil aviation Praful Patel have been instrumental in bringing the aviation sector's biggest rivals together.

Having lost the Nano small car project to Gujarat, Uttrakhand Chief Minister BC Khandurion Tuesday put up a brave face, claiming that it was not a loss for his state as it could not provide 1000-acre land at one place for the project as required by the Tatas.

Still like your dal-bhat? Well, it is getting expensive thanks to the falling world markets. Traditionally, commodities have always driven a spike between industrialised economies and developing ones.

Today the threats facing the global economy are graver than they were a decade ago, yet it would be hard to know whom to put on such a cover. Wall Street is at the centre of the mess, so America's stature and intellectual authority has plunged.

The Planning Commission has suggested that the key rate at which RBI provides short-term liquidity to banks should be lowered, as it would automatically bring down commercial interest rates.

Even as the assets under the management of existing mutual fund houses are decreasing, at least nine entities are setting up new asset management companies.

Despite the current uncertain economic situation, Nasdaq-listed CA is making an investment of $30 million in its Hyderabad R&D center - the ITC.

Groundnut oil spot prices are expected to stay lower over the next few days on reports of good crop prospects in Gujarat , the largest producer of groundnut in the country.

In a bid to help the domestic mutual fund industry, which is reeling under a severe liquidity crisis, the RBI has decided to allow them to raise funds against CDs.

Leading credit rating agency Crisil, a subsidiary of S&P, has said that the Indian banking system faced challenges in the current economic environment which has been marked by slow GDP growth, depressed capital market conditions and a relatively high interest rate regime.

Krugman did not become a protectionist after he developed his new trade theory. In fact, he qualified the theory by pointing out the serious problems one was likely to face in actually picking which industry needed government help

The choppy stock markets and global credit squeeze have begun to pinch Indian pharma companies too. Piramal Healthcare has put on hold its plans to sell up to 10% stake in Piramal Life Sciences, its listed subsidiary, citing stock market vagaries and uncertain valuations.

The Indian Railways proposes to rope in cement players including Sanghi Cement, Jai Prakash Industries, Ahmedabad-based Deepak Cements and Chemicals and the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's Reliance Cement for the 100-km railway gauge conversion.

Irish writer Sebastian Barry was the bookies' favorite on Tuesday in a wide-open field of finalists for the prestigious Man Booker prize for fiction.

PepsiCo Inc., which has struggled with lagging sales of its soft drinks business in the US, announced plans to eliminate 3,300 positions globally, as it reported a 9.5% drop in third-quarter profit and offered a downbeat profit outlook amid a surging US dollar.

SMEs of the country are not very optimistic on whether banks would act on RBI's advice to restructure loans and disburse working capital up to the agreed limit. Issuing such guidelines is a routine act of the central bank, they said expressing their doubts.

After Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh scuttled a rally in Rae Bareli by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the BJP dispensation in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday refused permission for her meeting here, citing a ''high risk'' venue for it.

The basket of crude oil India buys averaged $70.25 a barrel in 2007-08. This year it has averaged $114.23 a barrel

M&B Footwear, one of the leading brands in footwear retailing in India, is planning to foray into the Apparels and Accessories business this winter season under its home-spun brand iD.

Russia has agreed to bail out Iceland by granting this island state a huge stabilisation loan at an unbelievably low interest rate. Is it an act of wanton generosity, or a far-sighted geopolitical step? And in general, four billion euros, is it a lot or a little?

The country's largest real estate firm, the Delhi-based DLF postponed its Rs 1,100 crore buy back, which was scheduled to begin from October 15.

IT consulting and software services company Sonata Software announced consolidated net profit of Rs 21.63 crore for the quarter ended September 30, a 81.30% growth over the corresponding period a year ago.

ADAG group firm Reliance Money has acquired a 15%-stake in the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange for $7.5 million, a move that will help it to leverage on the growth potential of commodity trading in the Asian region, including India.

US President George W Bush outlined steps to purchase equity stakes in US banks and temporarily expand government guarantees on new debt to revive credit markets and restore confidence in the financial system.

Savers, spooked by concerns the global credit crunch may squeeze Indian lenders, are demanding the government increase deposit insurance that was last raised in 1993.

Rumours spread rapidly in crises and lead to an environment of panic that hurts everyone in the system and ultimately the entire nation

JSW Steel Ltd has delayed its commissioning of the 3 million tonne per annum blast furnace at its Vijaynagar plant near Bellary by two months owing to current market conditions, said Sajjan Jindal, vice chairman and managing director, JSW Steel Ltd.

The Centre is all set to introduce competitive bidding for allocation of coal blocks, a move that will benefit consuming industries like power and steel.

Not only to Mahatma Gandhi, the Noble Peace Prize eluded India's first Prime Minister and charismatic leader Jawahar Lal Nehru several times despite being nominated by 11 groups or individuals.

Chocolate maker Cadbury Plc has posted a 13% growth in emerging markets including India for the third quarter ended September 30, and said the firm will cut 580 jobs worldwide as part of restructuring initiative.

Even as Pakistan denied any role of ISI in the July bombings of the Indian embassy in Kabul, India on Tuesday again conveyed its concerns on cross-border terrorism and ceasefire violations to its neighbour.

Even countries like Myanmar , Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, Laos, Cambodia and Burkina Faso have fared better than India

In a big fillip to India's foodgrain storage and handling procedures, a ultra modern bulk food grain rake of Adani Agri Logistics Limited, a part of Rs 20,000 crore Adani group took-off from Adani Base Depot at Village Sollu Majra on Dhand-Kaithal Road Tuesday.

Global financial services firm Citigroup has lowered India's GDP forecast for this calender year to 7.2% from its earlier estimate of 7.5% but asserted that growth in Asian region will not collapse under the pressure of global financial turmoil.

World over, the rich and prosperous might be selling off their Ferraris and Lamborghinis to stay afloat, but their counterparts in India, it appears, are still in the buying mode.

The Food Corporation of India is likely to float a tender soon for selling 8.4 lakh tonne of wheat to flour millers and user industries.

One of the world's largest generic companies, Actavis Pharma of Iceland, is looking for suitors.

Bond yields rose sharply on Tuesday as investors expected a cut in the proportion of deposits banks must invest in bonds. The benchmark 10-year bond yield ended at 7.94%, after rising to 7.97% during the session, 14 basis points above Monday's close of 7.80%.

The decision of India's two largest airlines-Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines-to forge a wide-ranging working alliance will help them cut mounting losses arising from high fuel costs and dwindling passenger loads.

Shareholders of Core Projects, a Mumbai-based IT company in the education space, were in for a shock as the share price tumbled from the Rs 240-level to close at Rs 63 on Tuesday.

The Bombay High Court has admitted an appeal filed by the Income Tax authorities, challenging relief granted to Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.

Despite measures taken by governments to improve public healthcare facilities, the WHR 2008 has found striking inequalities within as well as between countries in healthcare access, costs and outcomes.

Government asked private companies not to make excuses for not investing in northeast India and said it is beneficial for corporates to set up their outlets in the region.

Six government agencies have paid over Rs 2046.11 crore The spokesman said that farmers of the state are being made payment by the government agencies within 48 hours of lifting of paddy from the procurement centres.

Describing the 1.3% industrial growth in August as "aberration", the global business consultant D&B expects 5-6% increase in IIP during September.

Will Skoda Fabia Combi be a game-changer? In a market where station wagons or estates have not been popular, SkodaAuto's plan to launch Fabia Combi, at a price of point lower than Rs 10 lakh next year in the Indian market comes as a surprise.

The cardamom output for 2008-09 is likely to be around 10,000 tonne -11,000 tonne with some late harvests recouping losses, Spices Board sources told FE.

Government employees have suddenly emerged as a preferred lot for car manufacturers in the country, courtesy the disbursement of revised salaries to central government employees.

If you borrow short and lend long, you're effectively a bank. It's becoming ever less clear to me what justification there is for nonbank borrow-short-lend-long-institutions other than regulatory arbitrage.

WTO director-general Pascal Lamy has set up a task force to look into the effects of the liquidity crunch on the global trading system.

Avinash D Peraud has reported in his article that "the darkest hour is passing". I was reading Liferails by Scott Walker.

The CPI(M) criticised PM Manmohan Singh's measures to tackle the effects of severe financial crisis in the US and warned that the measures undertaken will only help big corporates and private financial institutions.

The global financial crisis, air connectivity, soaring fuel prices and food security are some of the major issues to be discussed at the India, South Africa and Brazil (Ibsa) summit here.

In a move to turn the global financial crisis into its advantage, Assocham said that the industry body has made some suggestions to the government, which will also help to tackle the current liquidity crisis.

After a day-long suspension of work due to workers' strike at the company's Dharuhera plant, Hero Honda Motor India said production resumed at the unit, though some of the casual employees continued to stay way from work.