COMPANIES

• Car sales rise 41 per cent in May
• Ramco Inds plans new units to hike asbestos sheet capacity
• Apollo Tyres launches Apollo Jewels for 2003-04
• Jindal Steel eyes 6 per cent growth, to invest Rs 550 cr for expansion
• Birla’s final offer price for L&T to be cheaper than recent deals
• HC to hear Pfizer, Parke-Davis merger case today
• Mafatlal Burlington plans denim capacity expansion
• Chittivalasa Jute Mill workers protest lockout
• Poor response to Matrix Labs' open offer
• Henkel SPIC gets Rs 27-cr loan from parent
• Rs 1,500 cr to be spent on exploration
• EDS plans to expand BPO ops to Chennai, Gurgaon

GENERAL

• Flood in Singareni mine; 17 feared drowned
• No-retrenchment period may go up for natural asset cos after selloff
• CII readies surveys to help Indian cos

BANKING AND FINANCE

• Asian currency union can be forum of central banks: Jalan
• Western Union plans expansion in Gulf
• HSBC brings Aussie coach to give Indians A pep talk
• United Western net up 6.7 per cent
• RBI to inspect bank chests
• SBI Mutual to ride on parent's network
• ACCBank selects Flexcube

CAPITAL MARKET

• Domestic pharma, select mid-cap stocks firm
• Reliance: Outlook negative, short July futures
• Talk of fresh orders boosts Sesa Goa
• Optical fibre stocks rally on global positive outlook
• AMR initiative drives Emco up
• Rupee firmer; gilts gain
• Rush for Maruti IPO continues

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

• European firms eye India for defence production
• Thai Airways to add flights to 5 Indian cities
• GE, unions agree on contracts
• American Express to buy Threadneedle

PEOPLE

• Stage set for new Indian Hotels MD