Seattle blues
UN secretary general Kofi Annan has hit the nail on the head. If the new round of WTO talks fails to extend benefits of free trade to the Third World, Annan told the WTO meet at Seattle, there will be a backlash from developing nations.

VAT will augment revenues of manufacturers
Finance ministers of states having decided to replace their sales tax laws by value-added tax (VAT) effective from April 1, 2001. Questions are being asked about what VAT is and how it operates.

Insurance companies must look at catastrophe bonds and options
Two typhoons in two months! Are we ready to manage calamity of such a scale. What will GIC do tomorrow if Kandla is hit again or Paradeep, or Haldia? How many such hits can an insurance company take? The answer for many years now has been in reinsurance.

Thrust on quality will aid competitiveness of exports
The status and prospects of exports have dominated our thoughts in the last few months. The importance of exports need not be restated, as we all know that in order to maintain a credible current account deficit in

Time to begin
The long wait of the financial markets for the introduction of derivative products could finally be over, now that the amendment bill has been passed by the Lok Sabha.