Business Recorder articles from March 2002

Business Recorder archives from March 2002

India to reissue 2021 government stock on private placement.
March 31, 2002... NEW DELHI : The Indian government on Saturday announced the reissue of 10.25 percent government stock 2021 for 32.13 billion rupees at a price of 122.25 rupees to the central Reserve Bank of India on private placement. "The stock will...

Knight Ridder to take $ 15 million charge in first half.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Knight Ridder, owner of 32 US newspapers, said on Friday it expected to take charges of up to $ 15 million in the first half of this year to pay for 2001 staff cuts. The San Jose, California-based company reduced its work...

Hydro One files with US SEC for $ 500 million IPO.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Canada's Hydro One Inc, the leading electricity transmission and distribution company in Ontario, filed on Friday with US regulators for an initial public offering of common stock. The Toronto-based company said in a filing...

First quarter sees hectic mortgage bond issuance.
March 31, 2002... NEW YORK : Issuance of US mortgage-backed securities rose to $ 160.9 billion in the first quarter of 2002, up from $ 93.4 billion in the first quarter of last year, propelled partly an by influx of mortgage debt tied to lively home loan...

US stock sell-off: the pause that refreshes.
March 31, 2002... NEW YORK : The warning to "Beware the Ides of March" rang true on Wall Street as stock indexes fell in the past two weeks. Still, some technical market watchers have reason to smile. That's because the pullback came on low trading...

Aderis sets IPO at 5.5 million shares, $ 12-$14 each.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Aderis Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Friday it plans to offer 5.5 million shares at $ 12 to $ 14 apiece in an initial public offering. The biopharmaceutical firm could raise as much as $ 77 million in proceeds under the terms...

Japan banks hope for less stock risk in fiscal year 2002-2003.
March 31, 2002... TOKYO : The Tokyo stock market ended the fiscal year on Friday down 15.2 percent from a year ago, meaning big losses for banks on their shareholdings, but the damage was not as bad as feared and next year will be better, analysts say. ...

Indian shares seen rallying in next financial year.
March 31, 2002... BOMBAY : Indian shares are poised to rally in the new financial year starting on April 1 as investors look to economic recovery to boost corporate profitability and privatisation's to spur state-controlled stocks, analysts said. In...

Goldman Sachs may face bond-related SEC charge.
March 31, 2002... NEW YORK : Goldman Sachs could be charged with securities fraud relating to information it received about the US Treasury's plan to stop selling 30-year bonds before the news was publicly announced, a source told Reuters on Friday. The...

Dhaka stocks end mixed on profit taking.
March 31, 2002... DHAKA : Shares on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) ended mixed on Saturday as small investors booked profits in general issues, but focused on prospective blue chip shares for better returns, brokers said. Brokers said the investors mainly...

CSFB expects $ 525 million from sale of three units.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Wall Street investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston(CSFB) on Friday said it expects to make about $ 525 million from the sales of three brokerage units in the first quarter. CSFB, a unit of Switzerland's Credit Suisse...

AECOM Technology files $ 230 million IPO.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : AECOM Technology Corp, a provider of technological professional services to governments and big companies, on Friday filed to go public. The Los Angeles-based company filed a preliminary prospectus with the US Securities and...

Surgut shareholders approve controversial dividend.
March 31, 2002... MOSCOW : Shareholders of Russian oil major Surgutneftegaz approved 2001 dividend payments on Saturday, the company said, despite a debate over what minority shareholders say are artificially low pay-outs. Surgut head Vladimir Bogdanov has...

Jump in spending suggests robust US recovery.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : US consumer spending rose in February at the fastest pace since a car sales-led surge in October, as the economy sailed ahead at full tilt in the early stages of its emergence from recession. US consumer spending grew 0.6...

South Korean workers rally against power privatisation.
March 31, 2002... SEOUL : Thousands of South Korean workers held a rally on Saturday in support of a long-running strike by power company employees against privatisation plans. A government minister said on Saturday the government would stick to its plans...

Manufacturing to remain key growth engine for Singapore: Minister.
March 31, 2002... SINGAPORE : Manufacturing will remain a key growth engine for Singapore, but the city-state will build its biomedical science sector and develop others to maintain its global competitiveness, the trade minister said on Saturday. Trade...

Go-slow over pay causes delays: Kenya Airways.
March 31, 2002... NAIROBI : Kenyan national airline Kenya Airways said on Saturday that a go-slow staged by air traffic controllers at airports nation-wide to demand pay increases had delayed all its scheduled flights. "Kenya Airways is extremely...

Japanese Kawasaki Heavy to build plane wing plant in Brazil.
March 31, 2002... TOKYO : Japan's Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Will build a plant in Brazil to assemble wings for a new passenger aeroplane to be produced by a Brazilian aircraft maker empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica, or Embraer, a newspaper reported on...

No agreement yet in Andersen settlement talks.
March 31, 2002... HOUSTON : A week of talks between beleaguered accounting firm Andersen and its adversaries in a host of civil lawsuits has not yet produced a settlement, a court-appointed mediator said on Friday. Professor Eric D. Green of the Boston...

Indian central bank advances to government down.
March 31, 2002... BOMBAY : There were no loans and advances by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the federal government on March 22, 2002 compared with 36.64 billion rupees in the previous week, the central bank said in its weekly statistical supplement on...

Eurotrain wins damages claim against Taiwan Rail Company.
March 31, 2002... TAIPEI : The Alstom-Siemens Eurotrain consortium has won a bid for damages against Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp (THSRC) after seeking international arbitration when it lost a multibillion dollar contract, a report said on Saturday. The...

Dutch competition body eyeing mobile charges.
March 31, 2002... AMSTERDAM : The Dutch state competition authority has launched an investigation into prices charge by the five mobile phone operators for calls from fixed lines to mobile phones, Dutch daily De Telegraaf reported on Saturday. The move...

Bangladesh calls for South Asian regional co-operation.
March 31, 2002... DHAKA : Bangladesh Finance Minister M. Saif-ur-Rahman on Saturday called for the resolving of bilateral disputes among South Asian nations and the forging of co-operation to face global competitiveness. "If Bangladesh, Pakistan and India...

AT&T, Comcast commit to choice of Internet providers.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Comcast Corp and AT&T Broadband, cable operators seeking federal approval to combine, have committed to offer consumers a choice of high-speed Internet service providers (ISPs) via cable lines, documents revealed on Friday. ...

Indian balance of payments surplus $5.569 billion.
March 31, 2002... BOMBAY : India's balance of payments (BOP) surplus in the nine months to December was $5.569 billion against a surplus of $2.735 billion in the same period of the previous year, data released by the central bank on Saturday showed. The...

Jaswant, Rongji vow to step up economic ties.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : Visiting Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji agreed on Saturday that the two countries could gain a great deal by boosting economic co-operation. "India and China have set as principal objectives...

Taiwan press praises end of China chip plant ban.
March 31, 2002... TAIPEI : Taiwan newspapers applauded on Saturday the government's decision to lift a ban on local chipmakers building plants in China, saying they hoped it would strengthen the island's competitiveness globally. "It is a small step for...

Network Associates renews contested bid for McAfee.
March 31, 2002... SAN FRANCISCO : Computer security provider Network Associates Inc on Friday pushed forward with its contested plan to buy the rest of anti-virus software McAfee.com Corp for about $210 million, a price McAfee's directors have already rejected...

Asian top technology centres in battle for supremacy.
March 31, 2002... SINGAPORE : Singapore gained a major feather in its high-tech cap in January when a US-Taiwan partnership decided to pump several billion dollars into the economy to build a sophisticated plant making computer chips. Advanced Micro...

Modest changes seen from post-Enron reforms.
March 31, 2002... WASHINGTON : Financial reformers have roared like lions in the months since energy giant Enron Corp collapsed but their voices are expected to fade. No radical overhaul of the US financial system is in the works in Washington to match...

Nymex oil speculators add longs during week ended Tuesday.
March 31, 2002... NEW YORK : Crude oil speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange added long positions during the week ended March 26, extending a buying spree that has fuelled a steep rally in world oil prices, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission...

South Korean Hyundai Oil gets $900 million credit.
March 31, 2002... SEOUL : South Korea's Hyundai Oil Refining Co said on Saturday it received $900 million in credit and guarantees from United Arab Emirates-based International Petroleum Investment Co (IPIC). IPIC, which acquired a 50 percent stake in the...

China probes polyvinyl chloride dumping from four countries.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : China has started a anti-dumping probe into imports of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) from the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia, the International Business Daily reported on Friday. The Foreign Trade Ministry would...

London commodities: precious metals gain grounds, oil holds firm.
March 31, 2002... LONDON : Gold prices spiked back above $300 an ounce this week for the first time in over a month, while oil prices held up close to recent six-month highs above $25 a barrel. But it was a quiet week overall for commodities, with most...

Shanghai foreign exchange market to start trading in euro on Monday.
March 31, 2002... BEIJING : The euro will be introduced Monday on the Shanghai forex market, joining a small group of major foreign currencies traded in China's financial hub, according to European officials. Jean-Pierre Jouyet, head of the French...

Japanese interest rates may face new-year squeeze.
March 31, 2002... TOKYO : Japan's super-loose monetary policy could come under strain in the new business year from April as a dearth of trade in the money market puts upward pressure on interest rates, analysts say. Ironically, the Bank of Japan's policy...

Indian foreign exchange reserves jump to $53.317 billion.
March 31, 2002... BOMBAY : India's foreign exchange reserves jumped to $53.317 billion in the week to March 22, largely due to foreign direct investment inflows and remittances from expatriate Indians, analysts and dealers said. Data released by the...

Mumbai interbank overnight average at 9.91 percent.
March 31, 2002... BOMBAY : The Mumbai interbank overnight average was 9.91 percent on Saturday compared to the previous 7.06 percent. The rate is a composite weighted average drawn from dealt rates contributed by 26 institutions, banks and primary...

Dollar softens against European currencies in New York.
March 31, 2002... NEW YORK : The dollar fell against European currencies on Friday in thin Passover and Easter holiday trade despite strong February US personal income and spending. Escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians led investors to...

Bangladesh interbank foreign exchange rates.
March 31, 2002... DHAKA : Interbank buy/sell rates for the taka against the dollar on Saturday: 58.15/58.17 (previous 58.13/58.16). Call money: 8.00-9.00 percent (previous 8.75-9.00 percent). The central bank adjusted the taka rate downward to...

Will G7 have to defuse dollar, deficit time-bomb?
March 31, 2002... LONDON : Policymakers in the world's richest countries may still be congratulating themselves on the euro's stability after they rescued it over a year ago but more likely they're planning how to deal with a potential time-bomb. The...

Philippines eyes currency swaps with South Korea, China.
March 31, 2002... MANILA : The Philippine government is eyeing a currency swap agreement with China and South Korea to boost its dollar reserves as a precautionary measure against potential financial market shocks. "The trend is to have bilateral talks...

India cuts interest rate on pension funds special deposit scheme.
March 31, 2002... NEW DELHI : India on Saturday cut interest rate on its special deposit scheme (SDS), in which pension money is invested, by 50 basis points to 9.0 percent to enable a rate reduction in the country's largest state-run pension fund. A...

Bangladesh jute report on Saturday (March 30, 2002).
March 31, 2002... =================================================== JUTE VARIETY BALES FOB =================================================== Narayanganj (One bale = 180 kg) (Taka per bale) Ready...

BANGLADESH SHIPPING - Chittagong Port - March 30.
March 31, 2002... CHITTAGONG : The berthing schedule of major vessels loading and unloading at Chittagong port. ================================================================ Commodity Tonnes/Teus Ships Load/Unload...

Indian call money-(closing)-7.0-9.0 -March 30.
March 31, 2002... ============================================= TIME Market range DFHI STCI --------------------------------------------- 0915 12.0-18.0 - - 0930 12.0-15.0 - ...

Repo Auction Results.
March 31, 2002... ========================================================================= DATE REPOS APPLICATIONS RECEIVED ACCEPTED CUT-OFF WEIGHTED* NO AMT NO AMT(%) AVERAGE(%) ...

State Bank of Pakistan Conversion Rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ========================== US Dollar 60.0700 Pound Sterling 85.6298 Euro 52.3991 Japanese Yen 0.4526 ========================== KARACHI :...

Remuneration rates payable on maturity of FE-25 funds.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ============================ One Week 2.75 percent One Month 2.95 percent Three Months 3.15 percent ============================ KARACHI : Rates of remuneration...

Barclays bid rates and maximum rates for payment of interest.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ================================================================== FOREIGN CURRENCY ACCOUNTS SCHEME ================================================================== ...

Exchange Rates: Buying and Selling.
March 31, 2002... ================================================= Countries Selling Buying Buying TT&OD TT Clean OD/T.CHQ ================================================= USA 60.40 ...

Currency Notes: Exchange Rates.
March 31, 2002... ============================================= AUTHORISED DEALERS' RATES FOR CURRENCY NOTES ============================================= SELLING COUNTRY BUYING ...

Interest rates on old and incremental foreign currency deposits.
March 31, 2002... =============================================== INTEREST RATES ON OLD & INCREMENTAL FC DEPOSITS =============================================== US DOLLAR POUND ST JAP-YEN ...

Interest rates on new foreign currency deposits.
March 31, 2002... ================================================= INTEREST RATES ON NEW FOREIGN CURRENCY DEPOSITS US DOLLAR ================================================= PERIOD FOR THE MONTH OF MARCH 2002 ...

Bill Buying Rates per unit of currency.
March 31, 2002... ================================================================================ BILL BUYING RATES PER UNIT OF CURRENCY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill...

Banks' Rates for currency notes (buying and selling).
March 31, 2002... ================================================== NBP EMIRATES ANZ BANK GRINDLAYS ================================================== US DOLLAR ...

Money Market Report.
March 31, 2002... KARACHI : Money market report by Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari & Co for Saturday (March 30, 2002). Daily money market comments: The interbank money market rates initiated on Saturday in the band of 5.00%-6.00% due to quarter end, and the...

Spot Dollar Rates.
March 31, 2002... ================================================ Ex Inter-Bank Rate PKR vs USD ================================================ Buying Selling HIGH LOW CLOSE ...

Karachi Shipping Intelligence.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =============================================================================== Berth Vessels' Working Agent Berthing No Along side ...

Open market rates of foreign currencies.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ============================================================================= BUYING SELLING FC BUYING SELLING BUYING ...

World currencies and sterling.
March 31, 2002... ==================================================== COUNTRY CURRENCY VALUE OF STERLING ==================================================== Afghanistan...

World currencies and dollar.
March 31, 2002... ==================================================== COUNTRY CURRENCY VALUE OF DOLLAR ==================================================== Afghanistan...

Currency market remains dull.
March 31, 2002... KARACHI : Dullness prevailed in the inter-bank market on Saturday in the absence of leading investors due to the Easter closure of world markets and partly because of transporters' strike in the city. Therefore, the rupee-dollar parity...

Kerb buying and selling rate of US dollar.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ================================ Kerb buying Rs 60.20 Kerb selling Rs 60.30 ================================ KARACHI : Dollar buying and selling rate in the...

Inter-Bank Call Money Rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ====================================== Bid Offer ====================================== 1 Week 6.00 6.63 2 Weeks 5.63 ...

Dollar's rate in interbank market.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ============================== Buying Rs 60.10 Selling Rs 60.12 ============================== KARACHI : Inter-bank closing rates for dollar on Saturday.

Karachi tea rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== TEAS (PER KG) =================================== KENYA PF-1 A Grade 198.00 B Grade ...

Milk powder rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== MILK POWDER =================================== SKIMMED (per bag of 25 KG) Cow Boy 2225.00 Haleeb ...

World currencies and Euro.
March 31, 2002... ==================================================== COUNTRY CURRENCY VALUE OF EURO ==================================================== Afghanistan...

Raw rubber rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== RAW RUBBER =================================== (Per Pound) CEYLON RSSV 24.00 Pale Crape...

Jute goods rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== JUTE GOODS =================================== TWINE (Per KG) Bawany 20x3 Bawany Brown 36.50 ...

Wool and hair rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== WOOL =================================== (Per 40 Kg) Pak Superior White 1350 to 1450.00 Pak...

Hides and skin rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== HIDES =================================== (Wet Salted Per Piece) ----------------------------------- (i) ...

Rates of spices and other allied commodities.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== (Per 40 KG) White pepper 9400.00 Singapore 4450.00 Ceylon 4500.00 ...

Rates of dry fruit.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== DRY FRUITS =================================== Katha 1900.00 Almond (Girdi) 2050.00 Almond (Irani) ...

Rates of betel.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== BETEL =================================== WHOLE Thai 60.00 Indonesian 37.00 Burma ...

Karachi paper market rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== Paper SIZE Rate thickness in grams =================================== Kraft Papers (Brown & White) (Each packet of...

Karachi Plastic/Urea Moulding Compounds Rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== PLASTIC MOULDING COMPOUNDS =================================== (Per Pound) HDPE (FILM) HDP 925 ...

Karachi chemicals and dyes market rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT =================================== DYES =================================== NAPHTHOLS CHINA (Per Pound) CHINA AS 100 percent 120.00 ...

Karachi Yarn Market Rates.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ================================== CONES CARDED ================================== 10/1 Baig (Magic) 320.00 Dewan 370.00 16/1 Moro ...

Multan commodities market rates.
March 31, 2002... ==================================== FOODGRAINS ------------------------------------ (Per 100 kilograms) ------------------------------------ Wheat 800/820 Sugar White ...

Lahore Grain Market Rates.
March 31, 2002... =================================== INDIGENOUS Per 100 KILOGRAMS Sugar 2120 to 2130 Gur 1250 to 1700 Shakkar 1500 to 2000 Wheat ...

Faisalabad yarn and fibre prices.
March 31, 2002... Byline: RECORDER REPORT ================================== 6/S Cone ---------------------------------- Crescent 205.00 Neli-Bar 310.00 7/S Cone Nishat ...

Lahore Paper Market Rates.
March 31, 2002... =================================== Imported (Germany, and Indonesia) =================================== Per ream (500 sheets) 20 X 30 80 1400 23 X 36 80 1925 ...