Exide Industries beats the taxman, announces interim for 2000-01
Calcutta: Even before the dust had settled down on the interim dividends being declared by companies to beat the June deadline for the increased dividen tax under the new budget, Calcutta based battery major, Exide Industries, has opened a new chapter.

The company has declared an interim dividend of 25 per cent for the year 2000-01 even before taking into account the anticipated financial results. Just three weeks ago the company had declared an interim dividend of 23 per cent for the year ended March 31, 2000. Announcing the decision to declare the interim dividend for the current fiscal, the chairman, Mr. S. B. Ganguly, said that this reflected the confidence of the management in facing the future. Mr. Ganguly also felt that the novel and swift move by his company will open the floodgates and other corporates ,who are strong and believe in their futures, will follow suit.
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Morepen Labs seeks better valuations
Mumbai: Pharma major, Morepen Laboratories, which is a major player in the bulk drugs business and which has obtained permission from the FDA for its Loratadine bulk drug, has seen its share price rise a whopping 630 per cent, from Rs. 130 to Rs. 1,000.

Besides the FDA approval, the diversification of the company’s product portfolio and gradual inclusion of formulations alongwith the traditional bulk drugs, have helped the company in its share price surge.
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Hospitality shares do well
Mumbai: With the tourist attraction to this country increasing, shares in the hotel industry have started catching the eye of the market. Leading players in the hospitality industry, like East India Hotels, ITC Hotels and Asian Hotels have recently seen an improvement in their valuations.

The past two years have been a very testing time for the industry with a fall in the room rates and low occupancies. With the process of liberlisation going ahead and the visit of the US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, the performance of the hospitality industry has seen improvement.
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After the carnage, sanity prevails
Mumbai: After the carnage, it was time for sanity to prevail and the sensex reflected this trend by coming up 65 points to close at 4,691.45 points. This upsurge was a result of the upswing in the Nasdaq, coupled with the government’s swift reassurance that the double tax treaty with Mauritius will continue to be honoured. Being the first day of the settlement at the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty closed with a gain of 6.55 points at 1,434.66.

There was short covering by operators in software stocks and selective buying at the cyclicals, said brokers. Senior NSE officials allayed fears that there were going to be major broker defaults. They stated that a check on the positions and obligations of leading brokers on Wednesday night showed that most of them had been covered by adequate margins and therefore there was no question of them failing to bring in their funds or securities.

The automated lending and borrowing window at NSE saw brisk trades as brokers borrowed and institutions lent shares for nine days to help brokers meet their settlement obligation. The rates at which the borrowing took place was in some cases more than 50 per cent on an annualised basis.

The advances and declines failed to give a clear indication at the market picture. Of the 140 stocks traded at the forward group there were 84 advances and only 53 declines. Similarly at the NSE-50, there were 31 advances and only 19 losers. However the information technology stocks continue to take a severe beating at the both the bourses as they ended the day at the lower end of circuit filters. The volumes too improved with the BSE recording a turnover of Rs 2,358.94 crore and Rs 2,633.72 crore at the NSE.
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