US industrial production down
Washington - Industrial production growth in the United States recorded an all time low in three decades in August, according to the the Federal Reserve. Industrial production, which fell by 0.8 percent last month, has been witnessing decline for 11 consecutive months. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center earlier this week is feared to decelerate the growth further leading to worsening of recession.

The terrorist attacks have dashed all hopes of recovery of the economy as they have dealt a body blow to airline travel, the stock exchange, banking, the insurance sector and even the automobile industry.

The manufacturing sector, hardest hit by the yearlong slowdown in economic activity, witnessed decelerated production and laying off of more than 1 million workers.

Despite rising unemployment, the nation has been kept out of a recession because consumers have continued to buy homes, cars and other big-ticket items. But the recent terrorist attacks could cause consumers to stop spending, pushing the country into recession.

The weakness in industrial output in August was led by sizable decreases in production of autos and auto products and various consumer goods. Information processing equipment, a category that includes computers, was down 0.5 percent in August after an even larger 1.6 percent drop in July.
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US declares emergency
Washington- Even as the Senate endorsed the use of force and the Congress approved $ 40 billion towards emergency funding, president George Bush declared national emergency, asserting that his country would do all that it can to fight against terrorism. "This nation is peaceful but fierce when stirred in anger," Bush told a national prayer service at the National Cathedral in Washington.

Meanwhile, US is awaiting a response from Pakistan on a request to allow American military aircraft to fly through Pakistani airspace if air raids are ordered on the hideouts of Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in the terrorist attacks.

Mr. Bush declared, "Americans do not yet have the distance of history, but our responsibility to history is already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil."
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No hike in petro price: Naik
New Delhi: Government today ruled out any immediate increase in petroleum product prices as a fallout of terrorist strikes in US and said the country had 'adequate' stocks for two months.

"The country has sufficient stocks of petroleum products to meet the next two months' demand," petroleum minister Ram Naik, told reporters.

Terming the anticipation of increase in petroleum prices as "totally unfounded" he said, the "prevailing fear-psychosis is unrealistic against the existing stocks."

Naik said government was not considering any proposal to increase petroleum product prices. Global crude oil prices which had risen by more than $3 after the terrorist strikes in New York and Washington, have fallen to 26-28 dollar a barrel band.

The minister said India had placed sufficient orders for supply of crude before the US terrorist strikes. Supply orders are in place for the next two months, he said.
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PM warns of harsh economic decisions
New Delhi - Prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has warned of harsh economic decisions in the coming months to counter the impact of the terrorist attacks on the United States.

In an address to the nation on television, the prime minister said pressures on the domestic economy were "certain to become intense" after the attacks in New York and Washington on Tuesday.

He said there would be less demand for Indian exports and foreign direct investment flows would shrink due to 'heightened uncertainties'.

"For reasons such as these, we have to redouble our efforts, we have to prepare ourselves for harsh measures in the coming months," Vajpayee said.

The Indian economy, one of the fastest growing in the world, is already in the grips of a demand slowdown and GDP growth fell to 5.2 per cent in 2000-01 from 6.4 per cent a year earlier.

The prime minister has convened an all-party meeting on Saturday to take stock of the international situation and India's preparedness to meet it. This follows reports that the United States and its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies are gearing up to mount an offensive on Afghanistan to flush out terrorist leader Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon near Washington, DC.
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40 Indian firms to attend Durban expo
New Delhi: 'Enterprise India 2001' being held in Durban from September 19 will focus on the capabilities of the Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The three-day event, being organised jointly by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Small Industries Development Bank of India, will be attended by over 40 Indian SMEs from electrical & electronics, textiles, garments, toys, food processing, pharmaceutical and hand tools sectors.

The show, according to the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), will further strengthen the Indo-African cooperation, which had witnessed a 25 per cent growth in bilateral trade from $1,739.60 million in 1998-99 to $2,164.28 million in 1999-2000
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