DOWNFALL OF THE WALL STREET GIANTS: LEHMAN BROTHERS GO BANKRUPT AND MERRILL LYNCH SOLD : Some events leave their mark on the history of money and change the rules of the game forever. As traders watched the news tickers in shock and horror, they sensed that history was unfolding before them. “Lehman failed, Merrill sold and AIG trying to raise $50 billion before the opening bell”—it was surreal.......More....

SANJEEV NANDA AND THREE OTHERS HELD GUILTY IN BMW CASE : In what could be a precedent, a city court has convicted Sanjeev Nanda, the grandson of former naval chief S M Nanda, in the BMW hit-and-run case holding him guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder as against a less stringent provision of causing death due rash and negligent driving..........More....

GROUP OF MINISTERS ON INSURANCE APPROVE PROPOSAL FOR 49% INSURANCE FDI : THE much-deliberated proposal to raise foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in insurance to 49% from the existing 26% has obtained green signal from the group of ministers (GoM) on insurance headed by external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee........More....

DIRECT TAX COLLECTIONS UP 38% DURING APRIL-AUGUST : THIS is one growth story that remains intact despite some signs of a slowdown. Direct tax collections grew by over 38% in the first five months (April-August) of the current fiscal to Rs 84,409 crore as against Rs 61,030 crore in the year-ago period.......More....

FOREX KITTY SHRINKS BY A RECORD $6.5 B :FOREIGN exchange reserves dipped by a record $6.5 billion during the week ended September 5, 2008 — the steepest weekly decline since December 2005.....More....

STAMP DUTY CUT ON DEBENTURES, P-NOTES : In a move that’ll enable companies to raise debt at a lower cost and help deepen the country’s bond market, the government has slashed stamp duty on key financial instruments — debentures and promissory notes..........More....

VACANT OBC SEATS TO GO INTO GENERAL CATEGORY, SAYS SUPREME COURT: The Supreme Court has said that the seats remaining vacant after the implementation of 27% OBC quota in central educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs, will go to the general category candidates.......More....

SUPREME COURT APPROVES SMOKING BAN IN PUBLIC PLACES : THE Supreme Court has refused to stay the Central government’s notification imposing a ban on smoking in public places from October 2.......More....

NUMBER OF JUDGES TO BE INCREASED AT ALL LEVELS: CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA : The number of judges at all levels of judiciary will be increased to ensure speedy disposal of pending cases, Chief Justice of India (CJI) K G Balakrishnan said .......More....

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RESERVE BANK RAISES ADVANCE REMITTANCE CAP TO $500,000 : Importing services is set to become easier for consultancies, infrastructure and design companies. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to further increase the cap on advance remittances toward the import of services......More....

IBM INDIA INKS $450-M IT DEAL WITH MNYL : : IBM India has entered into $450-million IT outsourcing contract with private insurance player Max New York Life (MNYL).........More....

RIL KING OF BRANDS AT $6.8 BILLION : INDIA’S trillion-dollar plus stock markets boast of 20 companies with brand value of over a billion dollars, up from 16 at the end of 2006. There are now a dozen Bombay Stock Exchange-listed companies with brand value over $2 billion (vis-à-vis nine last year) and half-a-dozen with over $3 billion (up from four last year).......More....

HDFC MF OVERTAKES ICICI PRUDENTIAL AS SECOND-LARGEST MF IN INDIA : HUGE inflows into its fixed income schemes have propelled HDFC Mutual Fund to the number two position among fund houses, in terms of assets under management.......More....

M&A, PE DEALS CROSS $5.57-B MARK IN AUGUST, 2008: After a quiet July, dealstreet was again buzzing with action in August. The total value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and private equity (PE) deals during the month is pegged at more than $5.57 billion against a mere $1.23 billion in July’08......More....

FDA ADMITS IT HAS NO EVIDENCE TO SHOW THAT RANBAXY HAS SHIPPED DEFECTIVE PRODUCTS : THE actual revenue impact on the company will vary on a host of factors, such as inventory that has already been shipped to the US, on whether the company manufactures these drugs at other locations, and whether it has obtained marketing approval to manufacture the banned drugs in other facilities........More....

FDI PROPOSALS WORTH RS 1,400 CR OKAYED : THE government has cleared 12 proposals involving foreign direct investment (FDI) of Rs 1,400 crore, including that of Goldman Sachs Group to set up a primary dealership firm in the country........More....

PARLE AGRO REJECTS CADBURY’S PEACE OFFER OVER FRUITY : THE legal tussle between Parle Agro, makers of Frooti and Appy brand of beverages, and Cadbury India, makers of the Dairy Milk brand of chocolates, has aggravated with Parle Agro rejecting a peace offer made by Cadbury India over the latter’s alleged trademark violation........More....

INFRA COS CAN NOW BORROW $500 M VIA ECBS : COMPANIES developing infrastructure projects can now borrow more abroad. The government has relaxed external commercial borrowing (ECB) norms to allow infrastructure companies to borrow up to $500 million a year for rupee spending in India, a five-fold hike over the current limit of $100 million........More....

CBDT EXEMPTS NRIS’ AGENTS FROM E-FILING OF TAX RETURNS : The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has exempted agents of non-resident Indians from mandatory e-filing of income-tax returns. The board had, in March 2008, notified new return forms for different categories of taxpayers for assessment year 2008-09........More....

SWISS MAJOR ROCHE SUES CIPLA OVER VALCYTE PATENT BREACH : SWISS major Roche has moved the Bombay High Court (HC) against domestic major Cipla for allegedly infringing both the patent and trademark of its patented drug Valcyte in India.......More....

SRL RANBAXY RENAMED AS SUPER RELIGARE LABORATORIES : Pathology chain SRL Ranbaxy has been renamed Super Religare Laboratories with the aim to leverage the Religare brand, a company release said. Recently, the group’s pharma retail firm Fortis Healthworld was also renamed as Religare Wellness......More....

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NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND JOINT VENTURES

TUSCAN VENTURES BUYS 40% STAKE IN SINGAPORE FIRM : Mumbai-based logistics company Tuscan Ventures has said that it has picked up a 40% stake in Singapore-based Rasmussen & Simonsen International (RSI) for an undisclosed sum.........More....

AZIM PREMJI BUYS 10% IN SUBHIKSHA FOR RS 230CR : WIPRO chairman Azim Premji has picked up 10% stake in Chennai-based supermarket chain Subhiksha Trading for Rs 230 crore.....More....

SAHARA ACQUIRES 11,000 ACRES FOR TOWNSHIP PROJECTS : Almost half-a-decade after announcing the construction of a chain of townships under the banner of Sahara City Homes, the project seems to be gathering speed. Sahara has completed the process of acquiring about 11,000 acres which will help kickstart the Phase-I of their project in about 102 cities located in 22 states across the country.......More....

CONSTRUCTION FIRM GAMMON INDIA ACQUIRES 50% IN ITALIAN POWER CO SOFINTER : Construction firm Gammon India has announced acquisition of a 50% stake in Italy-based power firm Sofinter for an undisclosed sum. The deal is Gammon’s third acquisition in the Italian market this year......More....

ERNST & YOUNG MERGES TWO MUMBAI FIRMS WITH ITSELF : GLOBAL accounting and advisory major Ernst & Young has merged with itself two large Mumbai-based accounting firms, PD Desai & Company and SV Ghatalia & Associates, in a move that will catapult Ernst & Young’s leadership position in tax and advisory services and also give a push to the ongoing consolidation in the industry......More....

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