13-April-09 News Headlines

Corporate News Headline
•L&T bagged order worth Rs. 6.05 bn from the Water and Steel sectors in the last quarter of FY09. (BS)
•ONGC, RIL, and IOC are stitching together an alliance to bid for developing a vast oilfield in Venezuela at a cost of USD 16-18 bn. (BS)
•SBI has reduced lending rates for new SME loans up to Rs. 5 lakh to 8% and that for loans of Rs. 5-25 lakh to 10%, SBI Chief General Manager B S Bhasin said. (ET)

Economic and Political Headline
•Inflation declined to 0.26%, the lowest ever in more than three decades, for the week ended March 28 mainly on account of food items and mineral products. (BS)
•The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance exceeded 600,000 for a 10th straight week and the total collecting benefits increased to a record, signs the labor market remains weak. (Bloomberg)
•The Bank of England left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5% and said it will keep buying government bonds to fight the deepest recession in a generation. (Bloomberg)
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