MUMBAI: The rupee ended marginally lower against the US greenback on heavy dollar covering by corporates at an active interbank foreign exchange (forex) market today. Opening slightly lower at 42.45, the rupee came under some pressure as corporates and banks were covering their dollar position because of a longer spot date due to the holiday on Monday in New York. The rupee ended lower at 42.46/47 against 42.43/44 of the previous day, losing its value by 2.5 paise.

Hero Honda

NEW DELHI: Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) today launched India's costliest motorcycle with a 156 cc engine and announced introduction of two more cheaper models next year. The new sporty look mobike named as "CBZ", targeted mainly at school and college going youths and having powerful engine, improved acceleration and advanced technology, would be available on-road in Delhi at a price of Rs 59,000 (disc version) and Rs 54,800 (drum version).

"The proposed new models would be positioned between 100 cc and156 cc engines segments and not be as costly as the new model CBZ launched today," Atul Sobti, Sr Vice President, HHML, told newsmen here at the launch ceremony. Designing and development of the new models would be done by Honda Motor Company Ltd of Japan, Sobti said adding the company had already started work on the new project.

NSE session

MUMBAI: The National Stock Exchange (NSE) will conduct a single trading session on February 27, when Union finance minister Yashwant Sinha will present annual budget for the fiscal year 1998-99. According to an NSE release, trading will be conducted during 9.55 am to 1600 pm on that day.

RRB strike

CALCUTTA: The United Forum of Regional Rural Bank (RRB) Unions, comprising seven officers and employees organisations, have called a two-day nation-wide strike from March 31 in support of their charter of demands. The forum, covering more than 70,000 RRB employees and officers, have been observing a series of agitational programmes since long for realisingtheir demands.

The demands, among other things, include restoration of legally established pay parity on par with sponsor bank, parity of retirement benefits and scrapping of certain recommendations of Narasimham committee report. The forum's general secretary, Dhisankar Pal, said that RRB employees and officers staged day-long dharnas in state capitals today as part of the agitational programme.