IBT Staff Reporter

Mahindra Satyam, a leading global consulting and IT services provider, said on Thursday that it has received a contract from Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to implement SAP ERP.

Moody's Investor Service upgraded China's 3 big policy banks and Chinese government's bond rating to Aa3 from A1.

Toyota Motor Corp plans to market a new electric vehicle based on its iQ ultra-compact car in 2012 in Japan, roughly coinciding with its release the United States, Kyodo news agency reported on Thursday.

Greece's budget problems are far from over, as its deficit is likely to have narrowed much less sharply than the Government had predicted, Capital Economics said in a note. Greece will now come under heavy pressure to implement an even more draconian fiscal squeeze, Ben May, a European economist with Capital Economics, said.

Netherland-based TomTom, a provider of location and navigation services, boosted its presence in India by increasing its stake in its Indian joint venture to 90 percent from 60 percent.

India's annual rate of inflation for food articles declined 0.29 percentage points to 12.30 percent for the week ended October 30, 2010, from 12.59 percent in the previous week, according to a government release on Thursday.

British private equity firm 3i Group Plc reported a profit and a rise in net asset value for the first half, and it lifted its interim dividend by 20 percent to 1.2 pence.

U.K. real estate investement trust Land Securities Group Plc swung to a pretax profit for the first half, helped by a valuation increase on its portfolio of 3.4 percent. Net assets per share rose 6 percent.

The SAP-Oracle trial has taken some interesting twists and the end result could be damaging to both companies.

Indian Railways' total approximate earnings on originating basis increased 7.73 percent to 520.60 billion rupees during April 1, 2010, to October 31, 2010, as compared to 483.23 billion rupees during the same period last year, said the Railways ministry on Thursday.

G20 leaders say they want nations to coordinate economic policy, but even the host country is looking out for number one.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday fixed the reference rate for euro at 61.11 rupees and the reference rate for the U.S. dollar at 44.39 rupees.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited (RLL), India's largest pharmaceutical company, said on Thursday its consolidated net profit stood at 3.13 billion rupees ($67 million) for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010, as compared to 1.16 billion rupees ($24 million) in the same period a year earlier.

Angel Gurria, Secretary- General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an organization consulted by the nations of the world, including most of the nations of the G-20, put the very complex matter of what the G-20 is attempting to do at its summit in Seoul this week, in simple and precise terms.

DLF Limited, India’s largest real estate company, said on Thursday its consolidated net profit fell 5 percent to 4.18 billion rupees for the second quarter as compared to 4.4 billion rupees for the same quarter last year.

Indian equity markets are trading lower by 29.17 points or 0.14 percent on Thursday with consumer durables, metal, healthcare and auto sectoral indices are in the gaining side and telecom, IT and realty sectoral indices are in the negative side.

Tata Motors, India's minicar manufacturer, has said it will offer to the customers of the Nano car additional safety device at free of cost and clarified the company is not recalling Nanos.

A big point of contention at the G20 Business Summit is how to reconcile the need for growth with the need to address environmental problems.

Not unexpectedly, the preliminary proposal of President’s Obama’s bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform has met with mixed reviews, from “unacceptable” to “most encouraging.”

Contrary to many expectations, the Manchester derby was dull, goalless affair and delivered little. Other than the fact that United continued their unbeaten run in all competitions to 25 games, it is fair to say nothing else perked interest.

Manchester City vs Manchester United live match coverage

Sixty-four percent of Americans support death penalty for those convicted of murder while one of two Americans feels death penalty is not imposed often enough, Gallup's annual Crime Survey has revealed.

Goods and services trade deficit in the U.S. narrowed in the month of September from the previous month, but still remained high with China, according to a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The CEO of Vestas, a major supplier of wind turbines, is asking for heads of state to meet for an hour to help come up with methods of weaning the world from fossil fuels.

The Korean government is using the G20 as a chance to boost prestige, using the concept of branding.

Gold prices rose above the $1,400 an ounce barrier for the first time ever today. New fears sparked by the latest Irish debt problems drove investors to seek security in the eternal metal. Comments from World Bank President Robert Zoellicks earlier today, in which he suggested that major global economies should return to a new gold standard, helped push investors towards gold, where gold set a new record high at $1408.10 an ounce.

The suicide concoction of fiat currency, debt, military empire, and delusion has been painless for those in power, but painful for the working middle class of this country.

China is not too pleased with America's plan to inject more capital into its economy in the form of a second round of quantitative easing.

Low voter turnout and allegations of fraud marred the polls in Myanmar. Counting is currently under way as polling booths closed in the late hours of Sunday. Though official figures are yet to be released, media reports suggest that not many people were enthusiastic about the elections. This is for the first time in 20 years that the Burmese people have been allowed to vote.