The government on Thursday appointed S.Sundareshan as the new petroleum secretary. Mr Sundareshan, who currently is special secretary in the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, will assume office on February 1, official sources said.

New York, Jan. 28: Mr Ramalinga Raju, the former chairman of Satyam Computers, who last year confessed to have inflated his company’s assets by Rs 8,000 crore, was declared a pauper by a court here exempting him from paying court costs.

Dearborn, Michigan, Jan. 28: Ford Motor, the only US automaker to avoid bankruptcy court, clawed its way to a $2.7 billion profit in 2009 and expects to stay in the black in 2010. It was the automaker’s first annual profit in four years.

Hyderabad, Jan. 28: Mahindra Satyam is all set  to sell Chennai-based animation division of its BPO arm. The sale would happen after the Company Law Board (CLB) clears the company’s decision to hive off the unit.

Mumbai, Jan. 27: The past few days have seen a mix of domestic and international factors pull the equity markets down. The BSE Sensex has lost close to 1,350 points in the past six trading sessions.

New Delhi, Jan. 27: Cheap raw material prices and increased sale of value-added products helped Steel Authority of India (SAIL) nearly double its profit.

London, Jan. 27: Reliance Industries chairperson said he was optimistic about India’s economic growth. “India’s strength is its soft power,” he said adding that India at the brink of a new development model as the world was restructuring itself due to the financial meltdown.

Mumbai, Jan. 27: The government is divesting five per cent of its equity or 41.2 crore equity shares in NTPC through the alternative book building process.

Bengaluru, Jan. 27: A few years ago 26th January was all about catching up on sleep, meeting friends and watching the Republic Day Parade. Not any more.

London, Jan. 26: Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer, Mr David Smith, has quit the Tata Motors-owned luxury carmaker. Mr Smith, 48, who had taken over as JLR chief executive in June 2008, has left with immediate effect.