Bizbits

Oil prices at 20-month highLONDON: Oil prices surged to a new 20-month high on Tuesday after Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countrie...

Oil prices at 20-month high

LONDON: Oil prices surged to a new 20-month high on Tuesday after Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries OPEC leading producer Saudi Arabia said it wanted to retain a tough line on export curbs. London futures for benchmark Brent crude last traded 44 cents higher to end at 19.04, breaching 19 a barrel for the first time since November 1997.

Expressindia.com launches travel site

MUMBAI: Expressindia.com, India8217;s high traffic portal site with more than 2.5 million hits a day, has launched India Ahoy! 8211; one of the largest travel sites in the country. India Ahoy! is the most exhaustive travel site detailing information on various destinations within India. With 2000 destinations, India Ahoy! takes surfers through the most exhaustive valley of Jammu and Kashmir in the North to the religious town of Rameshwaram in the South and from the Western tip of Gujarat to the far East bordering China.

Eternit Everest plant goes on stream

MUMBAI: EternitEverest, leader and pioneer in the fibre cement roofing and flat products industry, has set up a new technology production line at its Lakhmapur plant near Nashik. Guillaume Metten, the Ambassador of Belgium, inaugurated the 8220;advance manufacturing centre8221;. The line, setup with an investment of Rs 60 crore will lead to an increase in production capacity to 3 lakh MT. The state-of-the-art machines, sourced from the Parent Etex group of Belgium incorporates advanced painting technology.

DHL launches Europe First8217;

MUMBAI: DHL Worldwide Express has announced the launch of 8220;Europe First8221;, an enhanced, guaranteed air express solution for Indian exporters who are pursuing business success across Europe. Europe First features a guaranteed delivery service into Europe and incorporates DHL8217;s competitive pick-up and cut-off times, expedited customs clearance and secure delivery. Its European services cover 69 countries through its 659 service centres located across the continent.

Tata Electric posts3.5 rise in net

MUMBAI: Tata Electric Companies TEC has posted a marginal 3.5 per cent increase in the net profit to Rs 79 crore for the first quarter ended June 1999 as compared to Rs 76.34 crore during the same period last year. The turnover has gone up by almost 11 per cent to 669.33 crore compared to Rs 603.94 crore earlier. This includes an other income of Rs 55.81 crore. During the quarter, the expenditure too rose by 13.27 per cent to Rs 498.22 crore against Rs 440.06 crore.