Shankar Sharmas First Global, Bang accused of fictitious deals
New DelhiThe Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has charged the Bang Group and Shankar Sharmas First Global with indulging in fictitious deals and may suspend the registration of these stockbrokers for violating various statutes of the regulatory body. Sebi has also charged the Bang Group with other violations of Sebi regulations like doing short selling at a time when it was banned at the BSE.
Quoting various regulations, Sebi has charged the Bang group and First Global with failing to maintain high standards of integrity and fairness in their dealings, besides being guilty of misconduct and unbusinesslike, unprofessional conduct.
Sebi adds a litany of other charges against the Bang group, including dealings with unregistered sub-brokers, non-issue of sales/purchase confirmation notes, late transfer of shares to clients accounts and non-maintenance of client agreement forms.
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Sensex down three points
Mumbai---Pharma stocks caught the fancy of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) amidst mixed trading pattern from foreign institutional investors (FII). IT and old economy stocks witnessed selling pressure as the Sensex closed the day marginally down three points at 3228.60 points.
The Sensex opened at 3232.38 points, rose to an intra-day high of 3245.99 and closed at 3228.60 points down three points.
Pharma heavyweights Dr Reddys, Ranbaxy and Cipla led the rally. ITC was the other major gainer. Market sources said, technology stocks lost heavily with Infosys and Digital Equipment seeing heavy offloading from FIIs.
Cement stocks continued their downward spiral for the second consecutive day. Unimpressive cement dispatch figures in the month of August 2001 and news that cement prices have declined by nearly Rs 50 per bag in South India seemed to be the reasons for the fall in prices. In the software sector, Digital Equipment led the fall and was down by 10.2 per cent.
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Castrol, BP asked to pay 15 percent interest on offer price
MumbaiThe Securities Appellate Tribunal has asked BP and Castrol to pay a 15 per cent interest on the open offer price to Castrol shareholders.
SAT said the liability to pay money to the shareholders arose with effect from august 8, 2000 (under the open offer), the outer limit by which payment should have been made on the completion of all the relevant formalities.
Having failed to make the payment, BP and Castrol are liable to pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent on the open offer price from August eight till the actual date of payment of consideraton as referred in the Sebi order.
The counsel for BP said they would appeal against today's SAT order.
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US stocks slide in midday trading
New YorkUS stocks slid again on Wednesday as investors were hesitant to make big commitments to the market.
In midday trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 22.76 at 9,974.73. Broader stock indicators also fell, reflecting selling in technology issues. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was off 8.20 at 1,124.74, while the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26.85 to 1,743.93.
Investors have been on a selling spree since August, spurred by disappointing earnings and murky prospects for when the situation will turn around.
Hewlett-Packard and Compaq fell for the second time in a straight session as investors again expressed their doubts about the $20-billion merger between the companies announced late Monday. Hewlett-Packard fell $1.71 to $17.29, a loss of 9 per cent, while Compaq lost 97 cents to $10.11, a nearly 9 per cent loss.
Other tech stocks also dropped. Cisco Systems fell $1.12 to $14.65, part of a broader selloff in networking issues on worries of future earnings. Dell lost 5 cents to $22.26, despite upgrades by J.P. Morgan and Bear Stearns.
Amazon.Com also plunged, dropping $1.47 to $7.12, a 17 per cent drop and a new 52-week low, though there was no apparent news from the company to prompt the stock decline.
Intel, however, rose 18 cents to $27.03, ahead of a forecast for its chip sales and other products expected Thursday.
The Procter & Gamble stock went up 46 cents at $75.98 as the household goods company said that this quarter's results should be in line with expectations.
Dow component Johnson & Johnson was down, though, falling 23 cents to $55.92, on profit-taking. The pharmaceutical company rose 6.5 per cent Tuesday on word that its new coated stents had proven especially effective in keeping arteries unclogged.
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Enron for 3-stage payment for Dabhol equity
New Delhi--Enron has proposed to sell the foreign equity in Dabhol Power Company to the Indian financial institutions (IFIs) through a three-part payment structure extending up to January 1, 2003. While Enron holds 65.86 per cent stake in DPC, MSEB holds 14.14 per cent, with Bechtel and GE each holding 10 per cent.
Enron has asked for payment of 40 per cent of the purchase price of the foreign equity as first installment at the time of commencement of renegotiation with the construction operators.
The second installment of 50 per cent to be paid at the time of re-commencement of construction of the second phase, or by April 1, 2002, whichever is earlier and the third and final installment of 10 per cent of the purchase price to be paid at the time of mechanical completion of the 2,144-mw power plant and regasification facility, or by January 1, 2003, whichever is earlier.

The company has submitted its proposal to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Enron has said that in the event of the Centre not directly purchasing the foreign equity, it should guarantee the payment obligation in full.
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UnitedHealth buys majority stake in Sedgwick
Mumbai-- UnitedHealthcare International, US-based health maintenance organisation has acquired an 80 per cent stake in Sedgwick Parekh Health Management.
The deal is believed to be worth $10 million (nearly Rs 47 crore) and will facilitate UnitedHealth groups foray into the Indian healthcare sector.
UnitedHealthcare, which designs and operates health benefits systems with different insurance products, is a business unit of the $21-billion UnitedHealth Group, a diversified health and well-being enterprise.
The alliance makes sense for Sedgwick Parekh because the 25-year-old UnitedHealthcare has extensive experience in all aspects relating to healthcare including dealing with insurers and providers.
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