Banks will be allowed to hedge their gold exposure in the international markets, finance secretary Vijay Kelkar said. He said the gold bond scheme, announced in the union budget, has been delayed as the ministry is seeking some clarifications. "In a month's time, we will announce guidelines for the scheme," he said.

IMF chief on global economy

The world economy is at a "critical juncture" with a US slowdown possible at any time, IMF managing director Michael Camdessus warned on Tuesday. The US economy can "slow down at any moment", he said.

Jagdish Khattar is second Maruti MD

Maruti Udyog joint managing director Jagdish Khattar has been appointed the second managing director of the automobile major with effect from July 1. Khattar's appointment is as per an MoU signed between the Government and Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan, 50:50 partners in the venture, early last year. MUL's other managing director is RSSLNBhaskarudu.

Incoming cell calls to be free

In a major effort to boost the cellular phone usage in the country, Trai has decided to make incoming calls free from August 1. It will come out with a notification soon, chairman SS Sodhi said.

Iridium in trouble, says report

Iridium, the first company to enter global satellite communication business with hand-held telephones last year, is in financial trouble, said a report published in the US. "It's certain that Iridium won't meet terms of its $800-million credit facility, which requires the sat-phone company to have 27,000 subscribers this month," it said.

L&T hive-off plan on

Larsen & Toubro's plans to hive off its construction equipment business at Pithampur as a joint venture with Case Corporation still hold good despite the world-wide acquisition of the American company by New Holland NV.

Amul board election

The election of board of directors of Kheda District Co-operative Milk Producers Union (Amul) will be held onMay 24 at Anand.

Sensex up 45 points

Long positions saw further squaring off on the second day of the trading cycle on BSE even as the index failed to find support at 4,088 levels. Reflecting the `wait & watch' attitude of brokers, who are awaiting the US-Federal rate hike, the Sensex closed at 4,085.11 points on Monday registering a net gain of 45.72 points.

RIL, IPCL zoom on petrochem euphoria

Rising petrochemical prices and early signs of recovery in the domestic economy saw punters betting on Indian petrochem giants like Reliance Industries and IPCL. On Tuesday, Reliance Industries touched its 52-week high of Rs 191 while IPCL closed at Rs 119.

RBI repo window goes dry

RBI's repo window has been running dry as liquidity is tightening. It received only one bid worth Rs 100 crore between April and May 17. "As the overnight call rate is ruling between 9-11 per cent for the last one month, market players are not going to the RBI window as the central bank is offering 300-400basis point below the market rate," money market sources said.

RBI bid to stem rupee appreciation

RBI has embarked on a sterilisation exercise in the forex market by buying out excess dollars and pumping in rupee into the system to stem any possible appreciation of the currency.

Congress crisis deepens

The crisis in the Congress deepened on Tuesday with Sonia Gandhi sticking to her decision to resign even as Sharad Pawar ruled out any compromise on the foreign origin issue raised by him. Sonia was under intense pressure to withdraw her resignation with all top party functionaries, including four chief ministers and CWC members putting in their papers.