The Hindu Business Line : Friday, March 04, 2005

Sensex hits all-time high — 1,771 stocks gain, 651 decline on BSE
STOCK prices zoomed on Thursday on the back of the Finance Minster's reassurance regarding certain Budget proposals, taking the major indices to all-time high. Active buying by local mutual funds also buoyed the market sentiment. The rally was ... More

What they say...
Ms Deena Mehta, Managing Director, Asit C Mehta Investment Intermediates: "Rosy picture of the economy painted by the Budget seems to have attracted the investors. They are buying the good economy story." Mr Anup Bagchi, CEO, ICICI ... More

PNB sets price band at Rs 350-390 — Minimum application size 15 shares
THE price band for the follow-on public offer by Punjab National Bank (PNB) has been fixed from Rs 350 to Rs 390 per equity share of the face value of Rs 10. The issue would be open for subscription from March 7. At the lower end of the price ... More

Infosys proposes to set up new campus in Bangalore
SOFTWARE major Infosys Technologies is planning to set up a new campus in Bangalore and has sought about 350 acres of land from the Karnataka Government. The proposed campus would be located north of the city. "Nearly 45 per cent of our over ... More

Cash withdrawal tax may turn into nightmare for banks
THE taxman's noose that is chasing customers who withdraw large sums of cash from their bank accounts, is sending shivers through another set of people who feel that they might eventually turn out to be major victims of the new tax — the ... More

Farm credit target: Easier set than met
IN the Budget speech, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, promised to increase farm credit disbursals by `another 30 per cent' in 2005-06, so as to `double the flow of agricultural credit in three years', starting from mid-2004. So, an ... More

TN jewellers down shutters in protest against Central levy
IN protest against the 2 per cent Central excise duty on branded jewellery announced in the Union Budget, jewellers in Tamil Nadu are shutting shops for two days, starting from 4 p.m. on Thursday. Three associations, the Tamil Nadu Jewellers ... More

Govt studying report on MTNL-BSNL merger
THE Government on Thursday said ICICI Securities has submitted the initial report on synergising operations of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, and the Department of Telecom (DoT) was looking into it. "We received ... More

`World's second longest bridge' — Six consortiums in fray for Rs 4,000-cr sea link
THE Mumbai Trans Harbour Link, that found special mention by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, during his Budget speech, is up and running. Six international consortiums are pitted against each other in the RFQ (request for quotation) ... More