Business News

For those who believe only grey cells set apart leaders from the rest, there is another hair raising observation among corporate America that most of the successful CEOs including Pepsico's Indra Nooyi part their hair to the left, says US business magazine Fortune.

Steel companies, battling government allegations of cartelisation and stoking inflation, today offered to cut prices across the board after a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Country's financial capital Mumbai is the worlds' seventh largest city in terms of billionaire population, says Forbes, the American business magazine famous for its annual list of richest people on the globe.

Corporates can undertake affirmative action by recruiting people on the basis of potential and not on merit alone, as part of the Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, Planning Commission Member Kirit Parikh suggested.

India, now under scrutiny due to rice export curbs and growing consumption that have helped drive grain prices to record highs, could help ease global food security fears, M S Swaminathan, the country's most revered rural economist, said.

ArcelorMittal, the world's biggest steel maker, is eyeing a stake in China's Angang Steel in its latest foray into the enormous Chinese market, the Financial Times said on Monday.

Software giant Microsoft has abandoned its three-month old bid to buy Yahoo after the two failed to agree on acceptable price and it concluded a hostile bid was 'not sensible'. Microsoft had earlier offered USD 47.5 billion which translated into USD 33 per share but Yahoo wanted USD 57 billion or USD 37 a share.

Nearly 41 per cent of wealthy Americans may spend less on luxury items in the next one year, amid fears of a weakening economy, says a new study.

China's booming economy, which relies on coal for 70 per cent of its electricity, could be running out of steam, with the country's coal reserves down to just 12 days.

Three Indian-origin businessmen who swindled banks in Britain and the United States of more than 300 million pounds by pretending to run a worldwide metal trading empire have been found guilty and face a long term in jail.

The 'aam admi' (common man) on Friday gave his thumbs-up to the Union Budget 2008-09, in which, apparently with an eye on elections, a large number of sops have been announced for the middle class and the farmers.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday shared a 'rare honour' with only Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in presenting all the five budgets on behalf of a government and could not help patting himself.

With 11th Five Year plan giving special focus on education, government on Friday earmarked a whopping over Rs 38,702 crore to the sector in the Union Budget 2008-09, showing a massive increase of over Rs 9,000 crore.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram announced a Rs 60,000-crore relief package for farmers, including complete waiver of loans given to small and marginal farmers.

A populist budget providing for a massive farm loan waiver, income tax sops across the board and no additional burden on the corporate sector on Friday prompted widespread speculation that Lok Sabha polls may be held before the end of the year, probably by October or November.

Dubbing it as an 'election budget', India Inc said Finance Minister P Chidambaram has done a 'remarkable job' to ensure that economy continues to grow at 9 per cent, even as it was divided over loan waivers to farmers.

The working class people will stand to benefit by up to Rs 44,000 a year in income tax following the changes proposed by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget for 2008-09, which also provides for a minimum benefit of Rs 4,000. While raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs 1.5 lakh from 1.1 lakh, Finance Minister P Chidamabaram also provided for lower tax rates for income up to Rs 5 lakh.

The results of the budget speech are slowly coming to fore with mobile and car companies deciding on thier future moves.

Dubbing the budget as an 'election manifesto' of the UPA, BJP said by presenting such a document, the government has virtually declared early polls.

The working class people will stand to benefit by up to Rs 44,000 a year in income tax following the changes proposed by the Finance Minister in the Union Budget for 2008-09, which also provides for a minimum benefit of Rs 4,000. While raising the income tax exemption limit to Rs 1.5 lakh from 1.1 lakh, Finance Minister P Chidamabaram also provided for lower tax rates for income up to Rs 5 lakh.