Public-Sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) has inked MoU with Networth Stock Broking Limited (NSBL) for offering Internet trading services to its huge client base.

Under the arrangement, NSBL will provide its online trading platform and expertise for e-broking services in Equities, Derivatives and online IPO services to the customers of PNB.

Washington - US stock markets Monday opened slightly down after a week of turmoil as investors await the outcome of the US government's proposed
700-billion-dollar government bailout of bad mortgage debt that would be an unprecedented intervention in capital markets.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones index of blue chips was down more than 50 points, or about half a percent, at 11,337. The broad- based S&P 500 was also down more than half a percent, or 5 points, to 1,249.

Beijing - Chinese President Hu Jintao and US President George W Bush discussed the US financial crisis by telephone on Monday, the Chinese foreign ministry said.

Hu told Bush he hoped that US measures to bolster financial markets would soon have an effect and "lead to a gradual recovery," the ministry said on its website.

Recovery of US financial markets was in the interests of China as well as the United States and would benefit the entire global economy, Hu was quoted as saying.

Amsterdam - Short selling on the Dutch stock exchange will be prohibited for the next three months, Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos announced early Monday on Dutch television.

Short selling is when investors sell stock they borrowed from its owners, speculating the stock will lose value. If indeed it does, they can repurchase the same stock cheaper, increasing their profits.

Short selling by investors is believed to have played an important role in the ongoing global credit crisis. The US, Britain and several other countries have also imposed a temporary ban on the practice.

It marks the first time since the global credit crisis began in the summer of 2007 that the Dutch government has actively intervened in Dutch markets.

Manila - Philippine shares climbed by 2.32 per cent on Monday, buoyed by news about the United States government's ambitious plan to revive its ailing financial system.

The Philippine Stock Exchange's 30-share composite index gained 57.34 points to close at 2,520.13 from Friday's close of 2,462.79.

A total of 1.32 billion shares worth 3.09 billion pesos (67.15 dollars) were traded.

Gainers outpaced losers, 73 to 21, with 44 issues unchanged.

Tokyo - Stocks opened higher Monday in Tokyo as the market sentiment was cheered by the US government's 700-billion-dollar bailout plan to clean up bad assets.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average advanced 236.04 points, or 1.98 per cent, to 12,156.9.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also rose 25.58 points, or 2.23 per cent, to 1,174.7.

The Bank of Japan pumped 1.5 trillion yen (13.97 billion dollars) into the Tokyo money market Monday.