Jindal Strips to bid for Salem Steel
OP Lohia grup company Jindal Strips has decided to bid for the Salem Steel plant. The company has also decided to enter into a joint-venture agreement with SB International for acquiring the Bethlemn Steel cold-rolling stainless steel facility at Masilion in the US.

Rajya Sabha passes trade marks bill
The RS approved the trade marks bill, 1999. The bill seeks to make trade mark offence congnizable and incorporate provisions in tandem with the changes taking place in the world.

PowerGen to stick to investment plan
UK energy major PowerGen is still bullish on India. The company on Wednesday reiterated its plans to be in the domestic market. This is significant, as there was speculation that PowerGen may also walk out of its proposed project in Madhya Pradeh, following the example of Cogentrix.

Bofors papers handed over to India
Swiss authorities on Thursday handed over another set of secret Swiss bank documents relating to the Rs 64-crore kickbacks allegedly paid in the 1986 gun deal with AB Bofors of Sweden. A Swiss court had earlier rejected an appeal to prevent the transfer of the documents to the Government saying there was no justification in the demand.

Novartis bags nod to sell unit
Novartis India's shareholders on Thursday approved a resolution to "sell, transfer, lease or otherwise dispose of" the company's crop protection chemicals manufacturing facility at Panoli in Gujarat. Novartis India is about to seal the proposed sale deal.

SmithKline Beecham interim dividend
The SmithKline Beecham Consumer Healthcare board on Thursday announced a second interim dividend of Rs 3 per share, increasing the payout for the year to Rs 5.70 per equity share. The company had earlier announced an interim dividend of Rs 2.70 a share in July this year.

Microland eyes Rs 30cr turnover
Gearing itself up to be a leading global e-services company, the Pradeep Kar-run Microland is looking at a compounded growth between 50 and 100 per cent in the next three years. Group chairman Kar claimed during the current fiscal, the company would post a turnover of Rs 30 crore.

Ford has most loyal owners: Study
Ford Motor Co's Ford brand has the US automotive industry's most loyal owners, according to a study released on Wednesday by a consultant. The Ford brand had the highest brand loyalty, with 61.3 per cent of its customers replacing their current Ford vehicles with new Ford models, JD Power and Associates said.

Yahoo!, AOL strike deals
The first of an expected slew of alliances between major Web players and retailers took shape on Wednesday as Yahoo! and America Online struck deals with two of the nation's biggest retail chains, Kmart and Circuit City. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, has teamed up with America Online to form a jointly-named Internet access provider.

Microsoft to ship Windows 2000 code
After an arduous three years of development, Microsoft has announced the release of the finished code for Windows 2000. Retail customers will be able to purchase Windows 2000-based products from February 17.

Sensex up 45 points
The downward trend in the software counters seen on Wednesday reversed on Thursday, as operators stepped in. Apart from the software counters, private bank stocks moved up on consolidation possibilities in the sector. Sensex closed 45 points up at 4710 points.

Silverline ups ADR offer size to $125 m
The board of directors of Silverline Technologies has decided to increase the size of its forthcoming ADR issue from $75 million to $125 million. In its notice to the BSE, the company says the board has also decided to reserve up to two million shares out of the proposed ADR for employees (other than the promoter directors), or of subsidiary or associate of the company where the management control is with the firm.

Unions up in arms against CII stand
Bank unions have come out against the suggestion of the CII task force to close down three public-sector banks-UCO bank, United Bank, and Indian Bank. The unions have also expressed apprehension that the media coverage of the report is "fraught with risk of scaring the depositors away from the banks".

Banks will become leaner, meaner
The couple of decades preceding the last one of the 20th century witnessed stagnation of Indian banking. The sector slipped into public ownership.

-- Compiled by S Hariharan