Pakistan has moved much faster than India in pushing for dematerialised trading. The issues were the same in both the countries - ills of fake, forged and stolen shares. Both the countries woke up to the need for a depository around the same time. India had its depository in end-1996, Pakistan had its in September, 1997. The depositories Acts in both the countries gave the shareholder the right to hold paperless shares. Pakistan broke through this stumbling block much faster than India did.

AMFI members to adopt CRIS debt-base for NAV computation: Amfi has directed its members to adopt a debt-base developed by Crisil Research & Information Services (CRIS) for uniform computation of yield-to-maturity (YTM) and modified duration of security-portfolio. The implementation of the debt-base developed by CRIS - the research arm of Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) - analysts feel, would enable all mutual funds adopt a uniform modeof computing YTM. Most MFs are seen declaring lower net asset values (NAVs) as a result.

Canbank declares 6.5 pc interim dividend on Canpremium: Canbank Mutual Fund has declared an interim dividend of 6.50 per cent per unit, on the units of the open ended Canpremium scheme. The register of the unit holders would remain closed from November 9 to 14 (both days inclusive) and sale and repurchase suspended during the period, Canbank Investment Management Services said in a statement on Monday.

BSE imposes special margins on 14 stocks: The Bombay Stock Exchange has decided to revise the special margins imposed earlier on the following stocks with effect from November 9 : BFL Software (Rs 130), Blue Information (Rs 18), Crest Communication (Rs 15), DSQ Software (Rs 75), European Software (Rs 5), Globe Stock (Rs 4), Gujarat Fun Wat (Rs 13), Hinditrn Inf (Rs 4), Krishna Filament (Rs 75), Leading Edge (Rs 110), Ram Informat (Rs 6), Sab Nife Power (Rs 20), Sri Adhikari Brothers (Rs 15) and VjilConsult (Rs 10).

RBI rejects NBFC applications for certificate of registration: Reserve Bank of India has rejected the applications for certificate of registration of four finance companies under Section 45 IA of the RBI Act, 1934. The RBI said applications of Baroda Agro Industries, Anand Credit, Ganapati Securities Consultancy and Swarup Leasing have been rejected and as such they cannot transact the business of non-banking financial institutions as defined in Clause (A) of Section 45 of the Act.

New CEO for BNP Prime Peregrine India: Mohan Khanna has taken over as the chief executive officer of BNP Prime Peregrine India, the investment banking and brokerage arm of Banque Nationale de Paris, on November 6. Mohan Khanna headed the broking company of UTI since the commencement of its operations in 1994. UTI Securities now ranks among the six big brokerage houses in India.

NSE declares broker defaulter: NSE has declared Neeraj Kumar Singal (Sebi registration number INB 230807417) asa defaulter on account of his failure to fulfil his obligations. This is to take effect from November 6. The NSE's statement to the press says that Singal has been declared defaulter on account of his not bringing in funds to fulfil his obligations. NSE has also suspended the trading membership of Globe Stocks & Securities Ltd (INB 230792635) and Emerging Primary securities (INB 230852635) from November 6, due to failure of the trading members in meeting their obligations or liabilities to the exchange and the failure to abide by the directive of the exchange for a long period of time.

Central Roadlines to change name: Central Roadlines Corporation has decided to change its name to CRC Carrier with effect from November 10.

Smart rise in share prices on heavy buying at NSE: Share prices rose smartly on NSE on Monday on heavy buying by foreign institutional investors and domestic funds and lifted the Nifty by nearly 24 points. The S&P Cnx Nifty opened higher at 841.30 and shot up to close at864.65 from the previous close of 840.80. Cnx Nifty Junior rallied by 25.90 to 1432.10 from 1406.20. S&P Cnx Defty hardened by 19.90 to 708.65 from 688.75. S&P Cnx 500 rose by 13.63 to 587.77 from the previous close of 574.14. Cnx Midcap 200 gained by 10.54 to 515.09 from 504.55.

DSE stocks register sharp rally on easing of sanctions: Frenzied purchases by bull operators and foreign investors lifted share prices sharply higher on the Delhi Stock Exchange on Monday following united states decision to ease sanctions on India. The DSE benchmark index shot up by whopping 19.30 points to close the way at 669.16 points after touching a high of 674.42. Stock brokers said reports of easing sanctions came as a shot in the arm among bull operators who indulged in large-scale buying activity.

Strong sentiment lifts CSE stocks: There has been a marked change for the better on Monday on the Calcutta Stock Exchange as the market resumed after the weekend recess reflecting sustained support. Interest waswidespread providing for a sharp rise in the turnover and the closing tone was bullish. Sentiment of the market received a strong boost in the wake of the US decision to lift the sanction on India with firmer Mumbai advises an additional force. With the sharp rise in prices which began in the kerb the CSE's 40-share index scored fair gains at 1672.66 points and the day's highest and lowest were 1678.30 and 1643.26 points respectively.

MSE stocks rule steady on persistent buying support: After a sharp rally during the opening session, equities ruled steady on persisting buying support throughout the day and closed with moderate gains on the Madras Stock Exchange on Monday. Reports of the US waving off some sanctions imposed on India may have influenced the values towards upward movement. The MSE share price index after touching 3336.94 points declined to settle at 3322.47 points, showing a rise of 44.15 points against the previous day's close of 3278.32.

HK stocks plunge 2.8pc on profittaking: Hong Kong stocks plunged 2.8 per cent on Monday to below the psychological 10,000-point level on continued profit-taking after recent strong gains. The Hang Seng Index ended down 287.82 points at 9,851.93 on total turnover of 5.72 billion Hong Kong dollars ($ 738 million).

Tokyo stocks close 0.5pc higher: Tokyo stocks closed 0.5 per cent higher on Monday on bargain-hunting, brokers said. The 225-issue Nikkei average of the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 72.57 points to end at 14,194.54.