Companies continue to hire professionals from IIM-A despite low demand and tight conditions of financial market under the impact of global slowdown. Recently, around 50 companies visited the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) to recruit students of the post-graduate program (PGP), encouraging freshers  not to sit idle and face challenges aroused on accounts of breakout of global recession.

Public sector lender Punjab National Bank has announced a cut in car loans by 50 basis points with effect from March 1, 2009.

With the latest revision, the car loan would come down to 10.5-11 per cent from the existing 11-11.5 per cent.

It should be noted that earlier this month, the country's largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) had cut interest rates on home loans to 8 per cent and on car loans to 10 per cent for a period of one year

The new rates are applicable to all customers availing loans between February 23 and May 31, 2009, a bank official quoted in a statement.

The employees of central government have yet another reason to cheer as the Union Government has announced to hike the dearness allowance of employees and pensioners by 6 percent from existing 16 per cent to 22 per cent with immediate effect.

The new DA rates would be applicable from January 1, 2009 according to Home Minister P Chidambaram, who was addressing a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

A novel website dubbed Microsoft Elevate America was unveiled by Microsoft on Sunday, which basically is a portal developed to help consumers, students, and other interested parties with some basic computer skills.

The state governments, including Florida, Oregon, and Washington would be able to avail a complementary version of the site with discounted certifications.

It has recently come to vision that investment of Rs 450 crore would be made by Areva Transmission & Distribution India in calendar 2009 in order to increase equipment-making capacity at its three new plants as also existing ones. The company may make further investments, if required.

On Friday, it was stated by Rathin Basu, managing director at Areva T&D India that the construction and commissioning of the three greenfield manufacturing sites is going as planned.

The competitors have yet again been surprised by the State Bank of India (SBI), which earlier created hype in the home loan market and this time it has slashed interest rates on loans for new cars. Furthermore, SBI, the country's biggest bank has also reduced its lending rate against warehouse receipts for farmers.