The weather in Washington is balmy, but Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in the US to attend a meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, would feel a distinct chill as he readies to meet corporate America.

FM faces US chill: Business forums express concern

Business Standard

Andhra Pradesh Gas Distribution Corporation, jointly promoted by GAIL Gas Ltd and Andhra Pradesh Gas Infrastructure Corporation Pvt Ltd, has signed a Project Framework Agreement with GDF Suez LNG UK Ltd for jointly setting up a floating storage and regasification unit in offshore Andhra Pradesh.

Floating storage & regasification unit for AP

Merchandise exports reached $303.7 billion in 2011-12, a rise of 21 per cent over $251.1 billion in 2010-11, while imports stood at $488.6 billion, rising 32.1 per cent compared with $369.8 billion in the previous financial year.

FY12 exports up 21% at $303.7 bn trade deficit at record $184.9 bn

IndusInd Bank on Thursday said its net profit for the quarter ended March 31 expanded 30 per cent to Rs 223 crore, from Rs 172 crore a year ago, driven by higher fee income and rise in interest income from advances.

IndusInd Bank's Q4 net profit up 30%

ITNL Offshore, an arm of IL&amp;FS, has raised $100 million by selling dim sum bonds, which are denominated in yuan and issued in Hong Kong.

IL&FS arm raises $100 mn via dim sum bonds

As Dunlop India resumed trading after two weeks, the shares of the ailing tyre maker rose 19.92 per cent to Rs 11.68 on the Bombay Stock Exchange after promoter Pawan Ruia Group&rsquo;s plan to convert the company&rsquo;s outstanding loan of around Rs 60 crore into equity.

Dunlop resumes trading, hits circuit with 20% gain

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on Wednesday named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the world. Banerjee chose to dedicate the &quot;inclusion&quot; to the people of Bengal. &quot;I don't care about conspiracies. I dedicated the Time magazine inclusion to the people of Bengal,&quot; she said.

Mamata in Time`s 100 influential people

Genpact, the business process outsourcing major, said it would acquire Accounting Plaza, a provider of finance and accounting and human resources services. The financial details were not disclosed. Genpact said it expected to close the deal within a week. This would significantly expand its domain expertise in the retail sector, in addition to its service delivery in Europe, it added.

Genpact to acquire Accounting Plaza

Mill consumption this year has been on a decline and is pegged at 2.1 million bales (1 bale= 170 kg) compared to 2.4 million bales last year, according to the ministry of textiles estimates. &ldquo;Demand has been week since April last year, production of yarn and fabric has seen negative growth, while cloth has also seen a four to five per cent reduction. But in the last four to five months consumption has been improving,&rdquo; said A B Joshi, textile secretary. The situation at textile mills have been bad also due to power problems, some mills have been forced to buy power at a rate which is as high asRs 11 per unit.

Cotton mill consumption pegged at 2.1 mn bales

Mumbai-based Paracor Capital has invested $20 million (Rs 102 crore) in two residential projects of Chennai-based real estate developer Hallmark Infrastructure. Both are located opposite Mahindra World City on GST Road in New Chennai, and involve a development of 0.8 mn sq ft.

Paracor invests Rs 102 cr in Chennai projects

S P Jain Institute of Management &amp; Research (SPJIMR) has received approval for increase of seats of PGDM from from 180 to 240 from the academic year 2012-2014 from All India Council for Technical Education. The additional offers of 60 seats have already been made. &quot;We are very happy to see the speed with which AICTE has sanctioned the increase this year. This will help a large number of aspirants who were waiting for their wait list to move to get confirmed offer letters. We are fully geared up to welcome a batch of 240 from this academic year,&quot; said Parimal Merchant, head of the admission cell.

SPJIMR to increase intake of PGDM to 240 from 2012

IndiaProperty.com is holding its second property show, Gruhapravesham 2012, in Hyderabad from April 27-29. The first edition was held in Chennai last year. Ganesh Vasudevan, vice president, said the Hyderabad property market had a clear shift towards affordable homes with consumer preferring houses in the range of Rs 24-28 lakh from the earlier Rs 36 lakh. There had been a general slump during the the last three quarters but a revival looked possible in the next 2-3 months on the back of softening of interest rates among other factors, he said on Wednesday. According to him, people's preference has shifted to two-bedroom apartments from three in the past.

Property show in Hyd from April 27

Kingfisher Airlines&rsquo; dispute with the income tax department seems far from over.

Kingfisher challenges I-T dept's demand

German auto maker Daimler AG has decided to consolidate its truck manufacturing operations in India. As part of the plan, it will shift the production of Actros from Pune to Oragadam in Tamil Nadu.

Daimler sets up truck factory in TN

Having failed to get a response from the ministry of petroleum and natural gas for nearly five months, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Wednesday filed a plea in the Supreme Court to seek the appointment of an arbitrator in its dispute over the D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin.

RIL moves apex court on KG-D6 arbitration

SpiceJet on Wednesday became the first airline to receive the government&rsquo;s approval for directly importing aviation turbine fuel (ATF), a development that will enable it to lower fuel bill by seven per cent.

SpiceJet first to get nod for jet fuel import

Catching the attention of international players for its energy and environment conservation expertise, Sachin-based textile dyeing and processing firm Zenitex Ltd. is set to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with UK-based Metalube.

Zenitex to sign MoU with Metalube for R&D centre

Even as it emerges as one of the largest air cooler companies, Ahmedabad-based Symphony Limited is also looking to expand its rural reach. Within the country, Symphony is looking at 25-30 per cent of its sales from rural areas.

Symphony eyes 30% sales from rural areas

Tata Communications Ltd (TCL) has pulled out of the race to buy out London-listed Cable &amp; Wireless Worldwide (CWW), the Indian global telecommunications company said on Wednesday. The reason it cited was failure to agree on a price.

Tata fails to agree on price, pulls out of race for CWW

Nearly two months after the West Bengal government installed Industries and Commerce Minister Partha Chatterjee at the helm of Haldia Petrochemicals (HPL) as chairman, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is planning to move the court against the appointment, claiming this was an office of profit.

BJP to move court on HPL appointment

South Korea-based Woori Bank, a part of Woori Financial Group, has launched its first branch in India at Chennai, which would be the head office.

BS Reporter