Centre sells 74% stake in Andrew Yule unit: The Government has sold 74 per cent stake in the belting division of Andrew Yule to German multinational Phoenix AG for Rs 34.85 crore. Describing the deal as a "trend setter", minister of state for industry Sukhbir Singh Badal said that Phoenix had paid the money to Andrew Yule, and the new firm came into existence from February 1.

Toyota's diesel car: Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corporation plans to launch a new 10-seater multi-utility diesel passenger car in India next year, followed by a small car. Over $170 million has been spent so far on the joint-venture project between Toyota Corporationand Kirloskar Group of India, Toyota director Hideaki Otaka said.

Best & Crompton: Best & Crompton has taken up a restructuring exercise to improve its bottom line. For the nine months ended December 1998, the company had a turnover of Rs 40.62 crore. Losses for the same period was Rs 5 crore.

Tata's hopes from Indica: Telco chairman Ratan Tata on Friday said that its recently launched 1400cc car Indica would drive the company out of the red. Tata, who was talking to reporters at the IETF '99 in a video conference from Mumbai, said that the overwhelming response of over 1.25 lakh initial bookings for the car had come as a surprise.

Infosys Technologies: Infosys Technologies has filed a registration statement with the Securities & Exchange Commission of the US covering a proposed public offering of 1,800,000 American Depository Shares, which represent 900,000 equity shares excluding the underwriters overallotment option. NaionsBanc Montgomery Securities LLC, BancBoston RobertsonStephens, BT Alex Brown and Thomas Weisel Parteners LLC will be the managing underwriters of the offering.

Sensex up 24 points:

Stock prices held themselves on Friday despite it being the last day of the settlement on the BSE. The 30-share Sensex closed 24 points higher at 3337.49 points and moved in a narrow range of 3351.84 and 3319.34 for most part of the day. The sustained rally in the pharma and software sectors continued unabated.

Sebi serves showcause notices on NSE, BSE: Sebi has issued notices to the BSE and NSE to show cause as to why action should not be taken against them for their failure to detect price manipulation in three scrips in May last year.

Arthur Andersen: IDBI has appointed Arthur Andersen as consultants for establishing an asset-liability management system and to prepare for future challenges including universal banking and the euro. The consultant's report will be ready in two months, and will also look into computerisation of the asset-liabilitymanagement system, according to IDBI executive director TM Nagarajan.

Tarapore's view: With the insatiable appetite for borrowing by the Government and the frequent forays into the market by financial institutions, corporates must realise that the underlying fundamentals are against any significant reduction in interest rates, Reserve Bank of India's former deputy governor SS Tarapore said on Friday. Tarpore was addressing `The Economist Intelligence Unit-Third Annual Chief Financial Officers Round Table' in Goa on `Managing Financial Risks in a World of Turmoil'.

On tap issues: The Reserve Bank has closed the "on tap" issues of Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The central bank did not give details about the amount that both these states mopped up. Three states including Goa went for on tap issues on February 10. While the Goa issue closed on February 10, the other two states for which the requirements were larger were kept open till February 12. This is the first time that states have gonein for on tap issues to meet their fund requirements.

Bank of Japan: Bank of Japan said on Friday that it would lower its target for the key overnight call rate, citing worries that recent rises in long-term interest rates and the yen, as well as weak prices, would further batter the nation's flagging economy. The bank also said it may guide the overnight target rate down further depending on market conditions.

American Airlines: American Airlines asked a federal court on Thursday to find its pilots union in contempt of a judge's order to end a work slowdown that has disrupted air travel nationwide. United States district judge Joe Kendall directed the Allied Pilots Association to end the job action that has stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers and grounded more than 3,800 of American Airline's flights since last Friday.

Seagram results: The thumbs down given to many of its highly touted movies was a key factor in Seagram Co's reduced earnings from continuing operations inits second fiscal quarter, the company said on Thursday. The continuing earnings before a restructuring charge of $18 million, or 5 cents a diluted share, were below the pre-charge earnings of $58 million, or 17 cents, a year earlier.