Country's largest power producer, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has informed that a MOU was signed on 01 December 2008 amongst NTPC, NHPC, Power Grid and DVC to form a joint venture company.

The JVC will be set up with equal equity participation an Online High Power Test Laboratory (OHPTL) for short circuit testing facility.

Presently, manufacturers and utilities are sending their equipments to overseas testing labs which is not only time consuming but expensive too.

Astra Microwave Products Ltd, India's leading provider of microwave wireless technologies used in defense, space, and telecommunications, has won an order worth Rs 570 million from Israel's ELTA Sy

New York  - US stocks plunged by the most in more than a month Monday, erasing about half of last week's rally amid fears of a widening economic slowdown.

Industry figures showed that the US manufacturing sector fell to its lowest level since 1982. The Institute for Supply Management's index fell to 36.2 in October. A reading below 50 marks a contraction.

General Electric Co and Caterpillar Inc both lost nearly 10 per cent on the news.

London  - Liverpool hit the top of the English Premier League on Monday night despite being held to a goalless draw at home by West Ham United.

The home side dominated possession but failed to break down a resolute West Ham defence and were held to a goalless draw at home for the third time this season.

Despite the failure to win, the draw moved Liverpool one point clear of Chelsea at the top of the table, with champions Manchester United another five points behind in third.

Washington  - The United States has been in a recession since December 2007, the country's official arbiter of economic growth said Monday, confirming the long-held views of many economists as the country grapples with a debilitating financial crisis.

The announcement by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a private grouping of the country's top economists, marks the first recession in the United States since 2001, ending more than six years of expansion.

The NBER said it had rated the world's largest economy in recession after a private conference call between its seven-member committee held on Friday.

Wellington  - New Zealand consumers, who have kept their wallets closed as the economy moved into recession for the first time in nearly 10 years, will fire a gradual recovery when they start spending again next year, an influential think tank predicted on Tuesday.

The New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) forecast the recession to continue through the current fiscal year ending in March with economic activity contracting to its lowest point of 0.1 per cent

It would recover slowly during next year, with private consumption stimulated by lower petrol prices, falling interest rates and tax cuts from October 2008 and anticipated tax cuts in April 2009, NZIER said in its scheduled quarterly predictions.