Business News

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Australia'a largest construction company, Leighton Holdings Ltd., said Thursday its unaudited operating profit for the nine months ended March 31 rose 37 percent to 375 million Australian dollars (US$349 million; 226 million).

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares opened 0.63 percent higher on Thursday, led by Reliance Industries Ltd and Larsen & Toubro.

Indian shares may open higher on Thursday, lifted by gains in Asian markets as some worries about US inflation eased, but concerns over signs of an local slowdown may limit the upside.

Oil fell below $124 on Thursday as rising US distillates stocks and Iran's reassurances that it would not cut crude exports added to a strengthening US dollar to limit the upside.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares may open higher on Thursday, lifted by gains in Asian markets as some worries about U.S. inflation eased, but concerns over signs of a local slowdown may limit the upside.

How can playing musical instruments build a team? That's probably what the 160 employees of Walt Disney India were thinking when a company that is in the business of corporate teambuilding came to the session equipped with percussion instruments that would possibly make for a fine Samba performance.

The government and the Indian toy industry are seeing a major opportunity in the huge US market, but first want to set its house in order. A committee has been set up comprising industry representatives, government officials and civil society members to frame safety standards compatible with the stringent Europe's E N 71 norms for the domestic toy industry.

French locomotive giant Alsthom would be interested in setting up a manufacturing facility in joint venture with an Indian partner if manages to win a handsome contract for supplying locomotives to Indian Railways, the French Minister of State for Transport, Dominique Bussereau said on Wednesday.

In a bid to cater to the 24.87 million housing shortage in the country, Delhi-based realty developer Omaxe Ltd. is proposing to invest a whopping Rs 80,000 crore in the next five years to build 1 million affordable housing units in the country. The company has set up a separate subsidiary by the name of National Affordable Housing and Infrastructure Ltd. to develop these affordable housing units.

An early sign emerged on Wednesday that the mega IT acquisition of EDS by old behemoth Hewlett Packard Company (H-P) would bring cheers to techies looking for better pay and prospects amid a US economic slowdown. The $13.9 billion marriage of the two giants is set to heat up the war for talent in the industry – and that probably means salary gains for competitive software experts.

Renton (Washington State), May 15 (IANS) The Boeing P8I maritime patrol aircraft the Indian Navy is on the verge of acquiring in a $2.2 billion deal will give it a marked edge in the Indian Ocean region and one that is comparable to its US counterpart, the aircraft's manufacturer says.

Helsinki, May 15 (IANS) Nordic airline Finnair is in talks with leading airlines in India for a partnership in order to strengthen its position in the local market there.

Maputo, May 14 (DPA) Rising global prices for basic foods, which some fear will exacerbate hunger in Africa, represent an opportunity for the continent, African Development Bank (AfDB) president Donald Kaberuka said Wednesday.

London/New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) Bharti Airtel, India's largest telecom firm, Wednesday entered into final stages of merger talks with South Africa's largest telecom operator MTN in a deal that is estimated to be worth nearly $45 billion, according to highly placed sources.

Beijing, May 14 (Xinhua) China's national food grain management company Wednesday said the grain reserves in quake-hit regions were mostly safe although there were some damages to granaries by the devastating jolt.

New York, May 15 (DPA) US stocks rallied Wednesday after government data showed consumer prices had risen less than expected.

Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) Indian equities markets opened in the red Wednesday, witnessed choppy trade but recovered in the second half to close in the green, thanks partly to the depreciating rupee, which was quoted at 42.63 per dollar.

Mumbai, May 14 (IANS) Indian stock markets which opened in the red Wednesday morning, witnessed choppy trade but managed to recover in the second half to close in the green, aided by the depreciating Indian rupee which was quoted at 42.63 per dollar.

Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) Indian equities markets that opened in the green Tuesday morning remained choppy in the second half and slid to close in the red, with a benchmark index shedding over 300 points from the day's high.

Mumbai, May 13 (IANS) The Indian equities markets, which opened in the positive zone Tuesday, were trading flat in the afternoon. However, consumer durables, realty and metals scrips continued to be in demand.

Mumbai, May 14 (PTI) The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today gained 225 points on the back of rally in Infosys, TCS and Tata Steel.

Mumbai, May 14 (PTI) Rupee today tumbled by another 34 paise to a fresh 13-month low of 42.44/45 against the US currency following good demand for dollar, mainly from oil refiners.

Mumbai, May 14 (PTI) The Indian rupee continued its downslide and was quoted 23 paise lower at 42.33/35 against the greenback in late morning deals today on good dollar buying by banks and oil refiners. In active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, the domestic unit resumed weak at 42.20/22 as against yesterday's close of 42.10/12 a dollar.

Mumbai, May 13 (PTI) The stock market benchmark Sensex today surrendered its initial gain and moved downward by 108 points after a brief overnight recovery, led by the fall in refinery

New Delhi, May 13 (PTI) Both the precious metals, gold and silver staged a strong recovery by recording handsome gains on the back of brisk-buying by stockists.