COMPANIES

• Merck India Eyes Acquisition Of Brands, Companies
• Godrej Seeks Okay For Temporary Staff Lay-off
• Wipro Q1 margins seen falling due to rate revamp
• Testing arm gives Polaris the edge
• Nicholas Piramal to enter vaccine biz
• In Vitro bags Karnataka Govt award
• BSNL on target in Nilgiris
• BHEL, NTPC join hands for power projects
• Cos, FIs prepay Rs 5,200 crore of foreign debt
• Toyota's new MPV may replace Qualis
• Optical network plans derailed by Chinese co - RailTel, once bitten twice shy

GENERAL

• PM to address Nasscom summit in China on June 26
• DCA may allow companies to roll over debentures
• ITES billing rates crash; shakeout imminent
• MTNL, ITI, TCIL drop global long distance plan
• US to tighten visa programme for executives
• Update of Cos Act soon: Dhall

BANKING AND FINANCE

• IndusInd Bank eyeing NBFCs for acquisition
• Short-term securities evoke little interest
• Rising rupee blunts exporters' edge

CAPITAL MARKET

• Escorts MF plans gilt fund scheme
• JM Mutual unveils floater fund scheme
• VSNL, Wipro in limelight

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

• China beats US as top recipient of FDI in '02
• Microsoft recognition for 7 cos
• New bar-code system hits US retailers
• SARS slows down Beijing's economy by 1.8%