World slowdown has severely impacted the steel industry across the globe. Steel companies are facing slow demand following the decline in demand from automobile and real estate sector.

Many steel giants have decided to employ cost cutting measures including production cut and retrenchment of additional staff. Steel prices currently stand at $500 a tonne in the international market as compared to $1,250 a tonne in March-April.

Europe based steel giant, Corus has decided to cut production by 30 per cent following slow in demand.

Non-banking finance companies registered a decline in loan disbursement amid global financial crisis. They are thinking to tie up with banks to survive in volatile market. NBFCs are also considering repaying short-term obligations to mutual funds.

Rating agency, Crisil, confirmed that disbursement is declined by about 70 per cent within two months. It expects that NBFS have to work under large banks and sell their services. They are facing problems due to low maturity period on their amount while banks give at least three year maturity period on loans to customers.

Dropping its case in High Court, Herefordshire Primary Care Trust ended its bid to force a terminally-ill girl to have a heart operation, after a child protection officer revealed that Hannah Jones was insistent that she would not undergo surgery.

Hannah, 13, of Marden, near Hereford, won the right to die after she refused to undergo a heart transplant for a hole in her heart, saying since there were no guarantees it would work, including having to take constant medication following the operation, she wanted to stop treatment and spend the remainder of her life at home, where she could die in dignity.

A Universite de Montreal and Ste.