Business & Economy

Crude prices tumble, petrol cheaper

What is India News Service, Tuesday, 16 November 2004, 2200 hrs IST

Petrol will now cost over Re 1 less per litre \97 a benefit oil companies have been able to pass on with world crude prices tumbling to an eight-week low of under $47 a barrel.

Diesel and cooking gas prices, raised along with that of petrol 11 days ago, will be unchanged.

From midnight tonight, petrol will cost Rs 40.89 per litre in Calcutta, a decrease of Rs 1.21 from the earlier price of Rs 42.10.

The last revision of petroleum prices, carried out after a long lull though world prices had been going up, had triggered strong protests from the Left allies of Manmohan Singh\92s government, apart from the Opposition.

Today\92s petrol price cut was greeted by CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury as \93inadequate\94. He asked the government to reconsider the increase in prices of diesel and cooking gas.

As part of the abolition of government-controlled pricing, oil companies are allowed to adjust prices in line with international trends. But, before the last Lok Sabha elections, the BJP-led government kept prices frozen for over five months. 

Oil price falls below $47 to 8-week low: Oil prices fell on Monday to an 8-week low under $47 a barrel, as growing fuel stocks in the United States eased fears of a winter supply crunch despite a cold snap in North America at the weekend. 

Carborundum to spread wings in China, West Asia: Carborundum Universal Ltd. (CUMI), part of the Rs.5,266-crore Murugappa group, said it was looking to expand its business in China and West Asia either through acquisitions or by opening its own units.

Employee stock rises with TCS:  The listing of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has spawned a new club of employee-millionaires.

Tatas' bid to take controlling interest in SNO: A third unnamed bidder for the 26 per cent stake in South Africa's Second Network Operator (SNO) has `backed out', helping Tata group to inch closer to acquiring a controlling stake in SNO. 

New log-in for IT majors: Infosys Technologies and Microsoft Corporation announced a new infotech transformation initiative.

Wipro puts best foot forward: Wipro today said it has aligned closely with Microsoft to accelerate business.

Indian Oil in race for French upstream firm: In what may turn out to be its first major upstream acquisition abroad, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is carrying out a due d 

Semiconductor fabrication facility in Hyderabad: India's first semiconductor manufacturing facility (fab facility) in the private sector will be coming up in Hyderabad. 

Single window system to govern NBFCs favoured: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has stressed the need for creation of a `Single Window System' to govern and regulate the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). 

ONGC rated best oil & gas company in Asia: The 'Global Finance' magazine of New York has rated Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. the best 'Oil and Gas Company in Asia'. 

Infosys, Microsoft make $8-million investment: Infosys Technologies Ltd and Microsoft Corp announced a new information technology (IT) transformation initiative and have provided an initial investment of $8 million. The initiative is focussed to help clients improve business performance and build competitive advantage. 

Drug policy to undergo change: The existing pharmaceutical policy is likely to be re-written to accommodate some new criteria.

Pvt life insurers gain in H1; NIC takes lead: Private players continued to eat into the life insurance pie, with the Life Insurance Corporation witnessing a dip in market share of almost 6 per cent to 81.09 per cent in the first half of the financial year 2004-05. 

Car sales up 31% in Oct:  Low interest rates, launch of new models, backed by festive offers augmented cars sales by 31 per cent in October 2004.