COMPANIES

• Crisil acquires London-based gas advisory firm
• Indian Hotels board approves proposal for long-term funds
• Hindustan Zinc raises prices
• Essar vessel caught in storm, abandoned
• Natco Pharma launches two more anti-cancer drugs
• Thermax invests $2 m in Brazil subsidiary
• Coke to form council on environment
• European nod for Orchid Chemical's drug
• Gabriel group buys bonsai producer
• Welspun to double terry towel capacity
• No backlash from BPO customers: Wipro
• Kochi Refineries to hike capacity to 10 mt by 2005
• Hindustan Sanitaryware to market Finnish company products
• J&N files reference for revival under SICA
• iGATE inks $20-m deal with ING Vysya
• Analog Devices develops new SHARC processors
• HCL Comnet planning to beef up Chennai presence
• WebEx to buy Cyberbazaar
  

GENERAL

• NID plans to set up auto design centre in Pune
• World Bank threatens to withdraw Orissa loan
• S&P raises outlook on 7 companies to stable
• US biotech firm to set up unit at Genome Valley

BANKING AND FINANCE

• Mardia hearing postponed to January 7 & 8
• L&T John Deere ties up with SBH for tractor financing
• Govt buyback of equity from banks likely after Budget
• New chairmen for life, general insurance councils
• RBI lifts forex ban on Hero Honda, others
• PNB declares 25 per cent interim dividend
• Lecture on rural banking
  

MARKETS

• SEBI debars Ketan Parekh for 14 years
• SEBI moots minimum disclosure norms for
  restructuring of companies
• SEBI panel moots curbs on stock split
• Net FII inflows top $7 billion
• RBI clearance not required for FIIs' registration
• UTI AMC forcing VRS down our throats: Staff
• Sunil Kayan barred from trading till probe ends

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

• UK's Barclays to move 1,000 jobs to India
• Citigroup appoints Druskin CEO of investment bank
• Intel to develop chip for digital TVs
• Kraft breaks up joint leadership, Deromedi's CEO
• Lazard chief Wasserstein to buy New York for $55m
• Asian markets hit by SARS scare
• Putnam discharges nine more for improper trading
  

PEOPLE

• New CEO for CMC