Last week’s deadly terrorist attacks on the Taj Mahal Hotel owned by Tata was just one of Ratan Tata’s plethora of troubles. Two of the Tata group’s biggest companies, Tata Steel and Tata Motors, have been hit quite significantly by the economic slump.
The economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro entered its first official recession in the third quarter, EU data confirmed in a second estimate on Thursday. Facing the worst financial crisis in generations, the bloc’s combined economy shrank by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter .
The European Central Bank has cut its benchmark interest rate to 2.5 percent, following similar moves by central banks across the continent. The rate was previously at 3.25 percent, and some analysts had predicted it could have cut rates even lower in light of the financial meltdown.
The current economic slowdown has not even spared the new age industries such as Information Technology. As a result, one of the most successful IT companies in Indian history, Infosys, too is seeing tough times these days.
India has no intention of declaring war against Pakistan in the wake of the terror attacks in Mumbai, India’s National Security Advisor M K Narayanan was on Thursday quoted as saying by a senior German official.
There has been tight security at the airports in Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore after the Bureau of Civil Aviation issued a hijack warning.
The smiles didn’t take away from the tough line. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s message to Pakistan’s new government was blunt. ”We talked at length about the importance of Pakistan taking its responsibility to deal with those who may use Pakistan territory even if they are non-state actors.”
Though Vilasrao Deshmukh is on his way out, there is no decision yet on who will replace him as Maharashtra Chief Minister.
The government knows Mumbai attackers and their links with sections of the ISI. Yet it doesn’t know what to do next, specially since there’s fear of a military coup in Pak.
Operations appeared normal at New Delhi’s international airport early on Friday, a witness at the scene said, despite an earlier report of a shootout there.