Sony Corp co-founder Akio Morita, who helped give new meaning to the words `Made in Japan,' died on Sunday. Morita had been in failing health since a stroke in 1993. Morita co-founded Sony in a bombed-out department store after World War II. He was the last of a generation of Japanese industrialists including carmaker Soichiro Honda and electronics rival Konosuke Matsushita.

Royalty on music reproduction

The Centre has decided to permit royalty payments on reproduction of foreign music by wholly-owned Indian subsidiaries to their foreign parent companies. The present guidelines do not permit royalty payments by wholly-owned local subsidiaries to their foreign parent but an exception has been made in the case of music industry, sources said.

Inflation rate rules steady at 2.02%

Arresting the four-week rising spell, the inflation rate remained static at its previous week level of 2.02 per cent on September 18, despite the rise in the pricesof non-food articles. It is for the first time this year that the inflation rate remained unchanged. However, it was more than four times during the corresponding week last year when it stood at 8.61 per cent.

SAIL borrowings waiver cleared

The law ministry sees no legal road-block to the waiver of borrowings of Rs 5200 crore from the Steel Development Fund by SAIL, thereby clearing some of the hurdles that had come in the way of the restructuring of the ailing public giant. The law ministry clarification had come after the finance ministry sought its opinion on whether anyone had the authority to waive SDF borrowings.

Decline in return on investment

There has been a marginal decline in the return on investment in the private corporate sector during 1998-99. The return on investment is a ratio which examines the relationship between the size of earnings and the capital employed. This relationship gives a good indication of the profitability of the capital employed in the company orindustry.

Tata Steel update plan

Tata Steel plans to invest Rs 1,800 crore in the next two years on modernisation and strengthening the existing units. The company has spent over Rs 8,000 crore in the last eight years on modernisation programmes.

MRL yet to decide on plan

Madras Refineries has made it categoric that there is no way it will assure its participation in the Nagapattinam refinery with IOC till the submission of the detailed feasibility report in December. A team from the two companies is scheduled to go to Germany to check out on the progress of the DFR.

BSES Telecom's Net plan

BSES Telecom is awaiting the Centre's policy on Internet-based telecom services. The company is eager to provide Internet telephony and video conference facilities once the Government announces a policy in this regard.

Debt fund dominance continues

Notwithstanding the brouhaha surrounding equity funds post-budget, debt schemes are steadily amassing huge corpus as investmentscontinue to pour in. Despite a rising market, a deluge of investments still eludes equity funds.

Compiled by Joby P Johnson