Siemens back in black, posts Rs 35cr net
Engineering major Siemens is back in the black. For the year ended September 1999, the company posted a net profit of Rs 35.12 crore against a net loss of Rs 56.02 crore in the previous year. Turnover was up 5.5 per cent to Rs 1,050.58 crore from Rs 995.93 crore in the last year.

Toyota-Kirloskar set to roll out Qualis
Toyota-Kirloskar Motor is all set to roll out its premium multi-purpose vehicle Qualis on January 11. Qualis will be available in two models - 8-seater and 10-seater. Company officials, however, remained tightlipped on the pricing of the vehicle.

IBA-unions deadlock continues
The latest round of negotiations between the nine bank unions and the IBA on the seventh bipartite wage settlement held recently proved to be a damp squib. However, the two sides have agreed on an equal split of the additional 16.5 per cent cost. The most contentious issue of distributing the load and charging of 26.5 per cent basic pay for the pension scheme remained unresolved.

McDowell faces winding-up petition
This one could give McDowell a real hangover. The Bangalore high court is scheduled to hear a winding-up petition filed against the company by its distributor. The Karnataka government's Mysore Sales International has alleged that the UB group outfit has failed to clear dues worth Rs 81 lakh.

Omega plans to spread network
Swiss watch major Omega is thinking ahead of its time. The company, under its second phase of strategy, plans to double its distribution network in India. The company will increase in sales and distribution network from eight to 16 cities by 2000-end and from 35 to 50 points of sale in the next 12 months.

Shasun Chem venture
The Chennai-based R&D wing of Shasun Chemicals and Drugs has entered into a venture with the US-based Austin Chemical Company to focus on the regulated American market. The venture will also fund projects under progress.

Shell Renewables' marketing plan
Shell Renewables India, in a bid to capture the domestic market for non-conventional energy systems, has embarked on a marketing strategy to push products as consumer durables. The company has struck deals with white goods companies to market its solar photovoltaic systems with refrigerators, TVs and other consumer durables in rural areas.

Asian Paints board ratifies transfer
The board of Asian Paints has approved the transfer of 18,33,200 shares of Choksey and associates to the company's promoters-Ashwin C Choksi, Ashwin S Dani and Abhay A Vakil. The shares, held by by Kotak Mahindra Capital, were offloaded to the promoters last week at Rs 406 per share.

Sensex down
Friday witnessed dull trading on the bourses with operators offloading certain stocks. Reflecting the mood, the BSE Sensex closed 9.75 lower at 4629.61 points against Thursday's close of 4639.36, while the S&P CNX Nifty closed 16.4 points lower at 1373.55.

ICICI pares coupon rates
In tune with the downward movement in interest rates, ICICI has pared the coupon rates on its latest Safety Bond tranche. The coupons have been brought down by around 15 basis points depending on the periodicity of interest payment.

Vodafone bid for Mannesmann, Orange
Vodafone AirTouch is moving ahead with plans to mount a hostile takeover bid for Germany's Mannesmann AG and Britain's Orange Plc valued at more than $100 billion. Vodafone's combined bid would total more than $100 billion.

Findings leave openings for Microsoft
Although mostly solid, judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's findings in the Microsoft antitrust trial may have been so sweeping as to leave the company room to chip away at them on appeal, some leading antitrust experts say. Experts say the judge's document is striking in its eloquence in concluding that the big software maker is a monopolist whose anticompetitive tactics have harmed consumers and stifled innovation.

Computer Associates brass in a spot
The Sri Lankan-born Computer Associates president and CEO and two other senior executives have been ordered by a US court to return about $560 million of stock awards they received from the company. The company's stock plunged 31 per cent soon after, triggering angry reactions from shareholders who contended that the executives withheld vital information about a slowdown in the company's business on account of the Year 2000 problem.

Compiled by V Keshavdev