US-based $2.8 billion Perot Systems would open a new facility in Chennai and one in Coimbatore in a bid to expand its business in the country. The new facility is aimed to bring the company's worldwide BPO (business process outsourcing) operations in a single floor to deliver efficient results. The company has already invested about $2 million for these facilities to make them operational by the end of March.

Sugar prices in the domestic and international market are increasing day by day amid reports of low output in the coming season. It is being traded at $420-$430/tonne and expected to witness further increase in the next month's contracts. Sugar future increases slightly on the on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange on Thursday due to increase in demand by bulk consumers.

Think twice before you decide to get a tattoo. A Mississauga tattoo shop might have put up to 3,000 people at risk of HIV and hepatitis and people who have received tattoos or piercings at that shop have been advised by health officials to get blood tests.

A Peel Region health official is of opinion that poor record keeping and little public health oversight might have put lives of up to 3,000 people at risk.

On Wednesday, Statistics Canada reported that Contractors' selling prices for new homes decreased by 0.6 per cent between December and January.

The largest decreases were noticed in the cities of Western Canada. The rate of decrease in January was somewhat faster than the 0.1 per cent drop registered in the preceding month. At that time the prices dropped 2.8 per cent in Edmonton, 2.1 per cent in Calgary, 1.1 per cent in Victoria and 0.7 per cent in Vancouver.

CanWest Global Communication Corp. dropped out of The Canadian Press national news organization in 2007, and now Sun Media Corp. is following in its footsteps. Quebecor-owned Sun Media has given notice that it plans to pull out of The Canadian Press and form its own news-gathering service.

Canadian Press executive editor Gerry Arnold told the Globe that is was already planning to restructure it co-operative configuration in which none of the news papers will be a part of the cooperative anymore. Instead, they will now function as commercial customers of the agency and will buy services.

Despite weak opening of European markets, Indian equities extended their gains this afternoon, with a key index ruling about 2.60 per cent higher than its previous close an hour before the closing bell.

However, inflation and IIP figures backed the market reaction.

Industrial production slipped by 0.5% in January 2009 despite stimulus packages declared by the administration to defend against the impact of worldwide slump.

This is the third time repeatedly where IIP contracted during this fiscal.