Tread with caution

The govt has won the trust vote and the road for the reforms seems to be clear now. The only disturbing factor is that the time available is very less. The left parties have eaten in to four and a half years in to the indian progress and with just six months in hand the task is uphill. The finance minister has already hinted on the insurance sector and financial sector reforms apart from efforts for disinvestment. I personally feel that six months would not be time enough for any major disinvestment drive. But if the govt can prove that it is serious on the reform front the markets are sure to support any such moves. We might also see some measures like the one proposed by samajwadi party windfall tax. By the very term this seems to be an interesting way and moreover something which would be widely accepatable to the public that the private sector which is making good money while public sector companies are bleeding do share some burden. I have also seen that the govt planners have come face to face with the facts that they need to cut down wastages and plug loopholes which lead to demand in fuel. The policy which is likely to charge excise based on fuel effeciency would be just sending the right signals and manadatory use of green energy would too play its role in reducing dependency on crude. I would suggest the the investors now make infromation based moves and invest in those companies which are likely to benifit from the reforms.

Its hightime we start investing

Dr Manmohan singh seems to have played his cards well and is proceeding to sign the nuclear deal. This is a very positive development and would give support to the markets. I think we need to now take a relook at the markets and shrug off some of the pessimism which has engulfed the market. Another positive news is that the crude has been cooling off and is now below the 140$ a barrel mark. I personally would be taking up some stocks for investment. I am currenly interested in buying tata teleservices, w.s.industries, polymedicure, morepen labs, petronet lng. I would be investing around 15% of my surplus cash into these stocks tomorrow and hopefully once the govt proves its majority we would see some support for the market.

Reality stocks in for a big correction

The real estate stocks are experiencing a huge correction. Most of the stocks including heavy weights like DLF, Untiech, Parsvnath and omaxe are witnessing heavy correction. The basic reason behind this is that they are now in for a phase where there would be a sharp reduction in demand for their products and would result in fall in realestate prices. Many of the companies like Parsvnath and omaxe are in dire need of cash to meet their commitments. Omaxe had earlier pleged its shares to raise money and now the news is that the promoters are intersted in selling a part of their stock to raise money. With interest rates on a rise and likely increase in EMI's there is likely to be a fall in the total disbursement of home loans further adding to the problems of the real estate players. So if you are in for investing in these stocks then dont expect quick returns. You need to be careful and take a long term view of the stocks.

Taming inflation

The RBI today announced steps to curb the money supply in the system by announcing a 50 basic point increase in the CRR to 8.75%. This hike would be in two stages 25 basis points from july 5 and another 25 basic points from july 19. The repo rate has also being hiked by 50 basis points to 8.5%. This is likely to suck of over Rs 60,000 crores from the system. The move would have impact on the economic growth of the nation as the cost of funds is going to increase.
I feel that the govt missed the bus and is now desperate to take short term measures to cut inflation. The fact that no steps have been announced where in it shows that the govt has in mind to keep infalation under control in the long term surprises me. Everytime the govt meets on ways to curb inflation i hope for the same but in vain.
Here are some of my views to curb inflation over the long term.
Lets ananlyze what are the major concerns today. The very first one rising crude prices and with it depreciating ruppee. Both quite out of the control of the govt. So what can be done. We need to promote alternative sources of fuel and energy to cut down the requirement for crude over the longer term. Steps need to be initiated to promote green energy like solar power, wind energy and hydel power. Sources for all these are in abundance here. But no steps have been announced till date on these fronts. Have we ever analysed that kind of fuel we are burning in traffic jams. I think a study on these can be an eye opener for the policy makers. Why not promote buidling highways, bridges to cut down travelling time and thus fuel consumption. Many would argue that the govt does not has enought funds. Here the answer is private public relationship.
Steps need to be taken to promote fuel effecient vehicles. The recent increase in taxes on larger engines sounds funny. Why not classify vehicles as fuel effecient and inefficient ones. Then levy heigher taxes on ineffecient vehicles giving the manufacturers clear signals that they have to move to an effecient regime.
Crop planning is another area where the govt needs to take a look. IN one year we have a bumper crop which may be followed by a shift in farming and the very next year we are scarce in that very product. A planning of the areas according to their suitablity to the crop could not only help in keeping prices under control but also lead to heigher yeilds per acreage helping the farmer as well as controlling inflation.
What the govt seems to be doing today is just short term moves to prepare for the elections. Hope somebody is listening.

Pay per post - any blogger would love to be here

payperpost When i began with blogging i thought its just the simplest way to make money on the net. I had researched the net and found that people have made a seperate earning stream by blogging. I began with my blog and started with what i knew the best Stock markets. I used to visit other blogs and came to know that one can earn by posting posts on one's blog. This seemed to be a great opportunity and i certainly needed to take a look at this. I am glad that i did. I applied for approval by Pay per post and my blog was approved.
Let me tell you more about Pay per post.
Firstly, why would one like to register here. Because you get an opportunity to post on your blog regarding opportunities provided to you and inturn you get paid for the same.
The registeration process is pretty simple. You need to submit your blogs URL for review. Pay per post will reivew your blog and see if it meets the standards set by them. Before submitting your blog take a look at the terms you need to fulfill.
1. Your blog should be atleast 30 days old.
2. The blog must carry atleast 10 entries in the past 30 days.
3. Blogs with a gap of more than 30 days between one entry and the other are not accepted.
These i feel are purely to keep at bay bloggers who are not serious at their work. The attempt is surely to get in quality blogs.
Once your blog is approved you will be provided your own page which will carry opportunites available for you and also a total list of opportunites available to all bloggers. You can go through their description and the links one need to post along when writing on the topic. The reward attached for the same is also specified and the tone in which one need to write is also specified.
Once you have read the requirements and are sure that you can meet the same you can click on 'reserve this opportunity' button and you would be carried to the next page. You would be provided with a link that you need to paste in your post. Also remember to copy and paste 'my custom tracking image' in the post. Once you have written the post in your blog submit the post and its done.
One thing worth mentioning here is that the number of posts per post are limited as per the requirements of the advertiser so you need to be quick to grab one.
Finally, i would say that this is a perfect place for any blogger to be in. Go for it.

You can join Pay per post here

When to invest

The key question today for an investor is when to invest and what kind of investments to go for. Should one go for long term investments or one needs to move in to day trading. This will all depend on the kind of funds available with the investors. An investor who has the capability to invest for the long term should keep his funds ready now. With the nuclear twist taking a final turn there could be a sharp fall if the govt falls. This would be an excellent opportunity for the long term investor to park his funds. The advance tax data is expected to be robust and this could lead to short term upward spikes in the market however the trend surely seems to be down with a lot of uncertainity on the political and the inflation front. Another investment opportunity which would come up over the coming months would be the debt market mutual funds. The interest rates are on a rise and the when signals appear in that the rates have peaked and the trend is likely to be reveresed then one should park money in debt funds as this would result in not only good interest income but also capital gains as the reducing interest rate would lead to higher valuations for the bonds.

Inflation hits seven year high

The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation rate unexpectedly accelerated to a more-than-seven-year high at 8.75 per cent for the week ended May 31, surprising analysts and policy makers.
Current inflation rate is the highest since January 13, 2001, when it stood at 8.84 per cent. Inflation rate for the corresponding week last year was 5.09 per cent.
Finance Minister P Chidambaram termed the inflation as a "worrying" factor but said the government was confident of bringing down the price rise.
However, more worrying for the government is the fact that the latest surge in inflation is largely driven by rise in food prices.
Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today a good monsoon would strengthen the agriculture sector and bring down prices of commodities.
Analysts also apprehend that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may further tighten monetary measures before its quarterly policy review on July 29. The central bank on Wednesday unexpectedly raised repo rate by 25 basis points to a six-year high of 8 per cent, to keep a check on rising inflationary expectations.
The fact that the govt has failed to control inflation is a worring factor for the stock market and is likely to have a negative impact on monday and the future weeks to come.

Reliance power bags UP power projects

Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Power has emerged as the lowest bidder to build two power projects in the Allahabad district of Uttar Pradesh, pipping Lanco Infratech, National Thermal Power Corporation and two other bidders.
Reliance Power agreed to supply power at Rs 2.64 a unit for the 1,980-mw project in Bara and Rs 2.60 a unit for the 1,320-mw project in Karchchna.
The other bidders for the 3,300-mw projects included Lanco Infratech, National Thermal Power Corporation, Jindal Steel and Power and CESC.
The Uttar Pradesh power regulator last month ordered fresh bids for the projects after the previous lowest bid of Lanco was rejected for being on the higher side.
Now the matter would be put before the evaluation committee and the energy task force for the final decision.
This should be good news not only for reliance power but also for reliance energy which is likely to get good business through these projects.

Its here

Yes we finally had a price hike on the fuel front from the govt. The hike includes a 5 rs hike for petrol, 3rs for deisel and a Rs 50 hike in LPG cylinder. The govt also resorted to duty cuts on import of crude and diesel to cut losses of the oil marketing companies to the tune of Rs 22,000 crores. What i found missing in this whole episode was any concrete steps to reduce dependence on imported fuel. I was expecting some steps on setting up of solar power plants and plans to set up pipelines for the use of natural gas which is available in india in abundance. But all this was missing. Hope the govt tries to make the country self dependent by changing the way fuel is consumed in large projects. The markets did not take this lightly and the stock market tanked by over 447 points. This could be a good time for some investment now. I feel its time to begin making some investments. My personal picks would be petronet lng, noida toll, rpl, reliance industries, morepen labs, lakshmi elec, larsen & tubro.

stock market in for a toss

The indian stock market is in for hard times keeping in mind the current scenerio where in there are a combintion of political, local and international economic pressures on the system. The economists seem to have a hard time trying to balance between them all and till date with no results. The congress loosing elections in karnatka has just added to the woes. The fertiliser subsidy, loan wavier for farmers, rising fuel subsidy is just threatening to take the fiscal deficit out of control. All this could lead to a fall in the growth in the economy. What is very much worring is that the FII's are pulling out money out of the indian stock markets even today when the ruppee has depreciated and the stock market are nearing the january lows. This means that either they are busy booking their profits or they feel that the indian markets are not the best choice and their attitude towards the indian markets could mean a further downslide for the markets as they are surely largely dependent on the large foreign input they got in the past and had a long bull run. Now with the things just reversing this may be the bears time to celebrate for sometime now unless oncourse the govt takes some concrete steps to check the increasing fiscal deficit. This requires great political courage and it seems to be missing. Most actions are focousing on keeping allies happy so that the govt keeps going and this has slowly led to a situation which is now too tricky to solve in a single go. Lets hope tomorrows meeting on the fuel price hike is successful and the govt sends a message that its serious about the economic crisis we are in.

Omaxe ltd

Omaxe ltd recently announced its annual results which came as a pleseant surprise for the holders of the stock. The company managed a turnover of Rs 2281 crores and a consolidated profit of Rs 498.4 crores on an equity base of 173.56 crores resulting in an eps of Rs 29 after extraordinarly items. Its resrves stood at Rs 1239.6 crores. The public shareholding is just 10.72 percent. The company has been in news over the past for good. In feb the company won a contract from Naya raipur developement autourity to build a township which would include resdiential and commercial buildings, golf villas and a hotel and the project cost stands at Rs 1200 crores. It then tied up with thai based company for spa franchasie in north india. Then came the news that the company had floated a subsidiary National Affordable Housing and Infrastructure which will be building the affordable houses. In all, Omaxe plans to build about 10 lakh low-cost houses. Proposals have already been sent to the state governments of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan. The company has earmarked Rs 200 crore for slum rehab projects. Such projects will help Omaxe in acquiring land at a cost which will make development of affordable or low-cost houses a feasible option. The latest new around is that the promoters are scouting buyers to sell a part of their stake in the company to raise around Rs 1500 crore. If this deal goes through this would be big boost for the stock and one can expect fireworks here. I personally am keeping a close watch on the stock and would be putting money here in tranches.

stock markets in for a tough time

With the govt having a tough time taming inflation the indian stockmarket is going to have a tough time in the near term. What is even more worring is that the govt has till date artificially controlled inflation by keeping a controlled price on petrol, diesel, kerosene and LPG. But with the subsidy burden balloning beyond control we can expect an increase in the prices soon which is going to add to the already heavy inflation. This price hike may well take inflation near double digits forcing the govt to take further corrective action which could be by cutting of the money supply leading to heigher interest rates and inturn would hurt growth. All this scenerio is going to bring in bad days for the stock market. Todays results in karnatka elections could just make thing worse and there would be more pressure to take politically correct actions forcing the govt to keep growth at bay for the time being and purely focus on politics which is demanding lower inflation. So its time to be careful before investing in the market.

depreciating rupee

The rupee has been depreciating and this is likely to change the economics for many. The depreciating ruppee is going to jack up the bill for the govt as far as imports of crude oil is concerned and add to it the rising crude prices, the govt is most likely to now take steps to attract foreign investments. The purpose is simple try to control the deprecaiting ruppee. This could be good news for companies who plan to raise foreign loans as some relaxation is expected on this front. FII's too can hope for some change in rules which could ease investments in the capital markets. This depreciated ruppee could also be good news for the companies and banks who had made provisions for the losses on forex derivatives. It could well be a windfall gain in their balance sheets in the current quarter.

Govt likely to approve merger of NMDC and SIIL

The government is likely to consider tomorrow the merger of Sponge Iron India Limited with country's third most valued company National Mineral Development Corporation. The proposal of merger of SIIL with state-owned blue chip NMDC is slated to be considered by the union cabinet tomorrow, sources said. SIIL, manufacturer of sponge iron, has been facing acute raw material shortage for a couple of years. "The company has been facing acute shortage of iron ore during the year. This problem would be permanently solved once the company merges with NMDC," SIIL Chairman and Manging Director V K Uppal said in his message on the company's website. The merger of SIIL was recommended by the expert group constituted by Ministry of Steel under the chairmanship of former steel secretary B L Das.

poly medicure results

Poly medicure has announced its results for the quarter ending march 08. It managed sales of Rs 232 million and a net profit of 14.69 million which is quite lower than its previous quarter when it clocked a net profit of Rs 22.21 million. A close analysis shows that the interest cost has risen by 0.72 million and depreciation by 2.87 million resulting in a fall in the eps from 3.87 to 2.59. The cash eps too has fallen from 6.52 to 5.67 which reflects that there has been a fall in the margins of the company. The good news is that the china project is expected to commence production in the current quarter which would have positive effect on the topline as well as bottomline. The board of directors have also recommended a dividend of 25% i.e Rs 2.50 for the year 07-08.

cement firms to be effected by price control

Cement companies' latest quarterly performance shows that they have begun to feel the pinch of the government's anti-inflationary measures.

The latest price cut of 1.5 to 3 per cent at the government's persuasion and a decision to hold prices for the next three months could impact earnings even more.

An analysis of the 2007-08 fourth-quarterly performance of major manufacturers points to the lower profitability over the corresponding quarter of 2006-07.

Compared to the steep rise in net profit in Q4 2006-07, the corresponding quarter of 2007-08 has seen either significantly slower growth or a fall for all the companies concerned.

The trend change is primarily due to the inability of cement companies to increase prices since April 2007 despite an increase in raw material and fuel costs.

Over the last one and a half years, the government has taken several measures to check cement prices to control inflation, which has mostly stayed above the central bank's target level of 5 to 5.5 per cent.

The latest restrictions have been an export ban and a 12 per cent ad-valorem duty on cement selling above Rs 250 per 50 kg bag.

Last year, the government made cement import duty free. Cement has a weight of 1.73 per cent in the wholesale price index (WPI).

"Continuous government intervention has resulted in an uncertain price environment, which together with a significant increase in input costs will have an adverse impact on margins," an Ultratech Cement release said.

According to ACC, India's largest cement producer, production costs went up 12 per cent during the quarter due to significant cost pressures in respect of major inputs such as coal, gypsum, power, freight and so on. Coal prices alone increased around 31 per cent.

"Despite all these unprecedented cost-push factors, the company absorbed most of this escalation and our cement prices went up by only 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter," an ACC spokesman said.

The cement industry added a capacity of 10 million tonnes in 2007-08, taking total capacity to 175.6 million tonnes. According to the Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA), the industry is likely to create an additional capacity of 32 million tonnes in 2008-09.

Garden silk mills to double yarn capacity

With demand for polyester yarn and chips increasing in South American and European markets, Surat-based Garden Silk Mills is planning to double its capacity by March 2009.
A one-time leader in polyester sarees and dress materials under the brand name Garden Vareli, the textile company is now focusing on yarn and chips, demand for which has risen in domestic and global markets. Garden Silk Mills will invest Rs 350 crore for the expansion, said a company official.
According to the capex plan, Garden Silk Mills will double the existing capacities of 700 tonnes per day of polyester chips, 300 tonnes per day of partially oriented yarn (POY) and 120 tonnes per day of polyester textured yarn (PTY).
The company will increase the share of exports in its total turnover from 5-10 per cent to 30-40 per cent, the official added. Currently, polyester yarn and chips form 95 per cent of the company's total production. Garden Silk also manufactures filament yarn.
Meanwhile, the company has decided to maintain a status quo in the capacity of polyester fabric and finished products such as sarees and dress materials at 50 lakh metres per month and 25 lakh metres per month, respectively.
Post-expansion, Garden Silk Mills is expecting its turnover to rise significantly from over Rs 400 crore that the company registered in the financial year 2007-08.

Honeywell automation india ltd

Established in 1988, at that time known as tata honeywell, Honeywell corporation is a subsidary of Honeywell asia pacific inc which in turn is a subsidary of US$ 30 billion Honeywell INtl Inc USA. HAIL is indias leading process management and control system solutions provider. It supplies industrial automation and control solutions to core industries like petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas, mining, power and metals.
Spread over 36000 sq ft, HAIL's production facility at Pune is certified by Honeywell and several govt and defence establisments.
It has five strategic business divisions: Global services, Control services, Process solutions, Building solutions and Honeywell security group.
Looking at its financials we find that the company has reserves of 225 cr on a equity base of 8.8cr. This makes this stock a potential bonus candidate. For the year ended 31st dec the company managed an eps of Rs 73 and paid a dividend of Rs 10 per share.
The 52 week high low stands at Rs 2624 and Rs 1309. The stock now trading at 1364 is near its lows and has a good chance of moving up. Over 81% of the stock is held by the promoters, 3.68% by mutual funds and hardly 15% is held by the public. The only hitch i find is that it is not actively traded stock.

Lafarge buys Larsen and tubro concrete for Rs 1480 cr

Lafarge, the world's second biggest cement maker after Holcim, said it agreed to buy Larsen & Toubro's (L&T's) ready-mix concrete (RMC) business for an enterprise value of Rs 1,480 crore ($349 million) as part of its plan to expand into emerging markets and establish its leadership in India.
Lafarge will buy 66 concrete plants of L&T located in key markets, including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bangalore, with a total estimated volume of 4.1 million metric cubic capacity in 2008.
With this acquisition, Lafarge's third in the country, the French firm will lead the Indian RMC market and capture a market share of 25 per cent in India.

Announcements by companies already reviewed

Polymedicure ltd
Poly Medicure Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on May 20, 2008 for considering the approval & authentication of the Audited financial results of the Company for the year ended March 31, 2008 and for considering the proposal for recommendation of dividend respectively.
India glycol ltd
India Glycols Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on May 23, 2008, to consider and approve Annual Accounts / Audited Financial Results of the Company for the financial year ended March 31, 2008 and recommendation of Dividend, if any, on equity shares of the Company for the financial year 2007-08.

Falling ruppee good for some, bad for others

Falling ruppee may be signifing good times for IT companies and exporters as it would help them in increasing their margins and at the same time making them more competitive too. However there is the other side of the story which should not be forgotten. The weak ruppee has added to costs of imports and this is going to have a negative effect on the oil refineries and would also put pressure on the foreign exchange reserves and could derail the efforts made by the govt to control inflation. Secondly, it is going to have a negative impact on the companies who have taken foreign currency loans and who are close to repay them. They would now have to shell out more ruppees to buy dollars adding to their costs. Two sides of the coin.

Mysore cement to merge group companies with itself

Heideberg the german cement major has announced the merger of its two companies into mysore cement. The merged companies are Indorama cement and Heidelerg india. Both these companies are unlisted.
The shareholders of Indorama Cement will receive 1.3544 equity shares of Mysore Cements for each equity share of Indorama, while the parent will receive 0.1469 shares of Mysore Cements for every share of HeidelbergCement India.
The purpose is to increase synergies and reduce costs which would in turn help in increasing the EPS. There are also plans to increase the capacity to around 12 mt from the consolidated total of around 3 mt now.
The merger would make it easy to undergo expansion as mysore cement is currently sitting on a cash of Rs 250 crore and the proposed expansion needs around 800 to 900 crores. The merger would help leverage resouces. The merged entity will have a turnover of Rs 1200 crore and EBITDA of Rs 150 crore.
Indorama Cement's plant is located in Raigad district of Maharashtra, while Mysore Cement's plants are situated in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, providing Heidelberg with access to markets in central, north and south India.
I had earlier recommended mysore cement for long term and based on its results which i have posted here it looked quite attractive. With great plans around the corner the stock should see good movement on monday.

Larsen and tubro close to selling its Ready mix concrete business

French cement major Lafarge SA, the world's second-largest cement maker, has emerged the frontrunner in the race to acquire the ready-mix concrete (RMC) business of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T). Deal size estimated at over Rs 1,000 crore.
The construction giant sold its cement business to the Birlas in 2003, now UltraTech Cement, but retained the RMC division. The company is the leader in the RMC segment with a market share of 25 per cent. The revenue is Rs 1,000 crore annually.
L&T has 66 RMC plants across the country with an overall annual installed capacity of around 4 million cubic metres. Twenty five of these plants are in the south, while the rest are in the west and the north. Industry analysts said RMC constitutes 3 per cent of the total cement business at present, but the growth opportunities are enormous with spending on infrastructure on the rise.
Lafarge currently has three cement plants in India, two in Chhattisgarh and a grinding station in Jharkhand. It is expanding capacity in Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh, taking its overall capacity to 12 million tonnes by 2010 from the current 6 million tonnes.
L&T would be losing out around 4% of its turnover if this deal goes through. But at the same time it is likely to get a good price for the business and could see an upside from the current levels. I would recommend that one adds in tranches and act according to the actual information flow regarding the deal price from the company.

Airtel seeks new markets

Telecom major Airtel is now looking in for new markets within india. Rural india is what it has found to keep up its growth. After having made a good place in the urban areas of Punjab, Himachal Pardesh and Haryana its now giving additional facilities to the rural areas of the three states. It would provide economical handsets to make mobile with in their reach. It has also tied up with IFFCO as a partner for rural operations so that the agriculturalists additionally get information beneficial to them, including relating to weather, farm prices and on agricultural inputs. The IFFCO members would also be given a calling rate of 50 paise per minute against the normal local tariff of Re one per minute for urban areas. This clearly shows that the management is always targeting big and they see huge potential in the indian rural market. Every attempt is being make to capatalise the same and would have long term positive impact on the working of the company.

MRPL likely to sell diesel to Iran

MRPL will soon conclude a deal to sell 250,000 tonnes of diesel to Iran over the next eight months replacing Reliance Industries as a major supplier to the OPEC member. MRPL sold its first spot cargo to Iran last month as the Iranian National Oil Co sought new suppliers after India's Reliance halted sales. Sources said Reliance's bankers refused to confirm letter of credit raised by Iran's central bank due to increasing Western pressure over Tehran's nuclear programme. It would be able to sidestep the payment problems that Reliance faced by settling its deals through the government-run SBI.
The news is likely to have a positive impact on the stock and this would mean a good price for part prouction of the company.

India still a favourite among FII's

Jhon A Thain chairman and CEO of Merril lynch said that high economic growth rate and domestic demand makes india a very attractive market and in a way also immunes india from the slow down in the US economy.Thain believed India would offer huge opportunity in the coming days for the company as on the wealth management side, Merrill Lynch anticipated huge opportunity emanating from the huge amount of wealth being created and on the investment banking side, India Inc is becoming more global with the outbound M&A activity on the rise.

Oil prices on a rise

Crude prices continued to rise and touched $121 a barrel something which we couldnt image 6 months ago. The situation seems to be quite alarming as the need for crude still remains unfulfilled and the houses are expecting the price to rally futher. This i think could have a very negative effect on the growth of the economy. The govt too is not in a hurry to raise prices of fuel as it is already busy trying to cool down rising inflation. This would inturn lead to more and more of subsidies and is not a good news for oil marketing companies.

PNC signs up with sony for 3 movies

Pritish nandy communications have entered in to an agreement with Sony Pictures wherein they will co produce there films. This is likely to give a new opening to indian talent and bring in latest expertise in making movies to india. The films would find a better place as regard to international marketing is concerned. One of the film Raghupati raghav raja ram is at the last stages of finalisation between the two.
The move is surely to have a positive effect on the stock price and we can see some action in this stock. Although i agree that the true effects would be visible only in the long term.

Edelweiss capital gets nod for mutual fund business

There could not have been a better timing for edelweiss to get a MF nod from SEBI when the market conditions are just ripe to get people back in to the market. The company today made a press release that it had been granted a license for the same. Registration has been granted to Edelweiss Mutual Fund and approval has been granted for Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd to act as investment manager to Edelweiss Mutual Fund. Edelweiss Asset Management plans to launch eight to nine products over the next 12 months. The product portfolio will include broad based equity funds, structured products, arbitrage funds, ETFs, and other innovative fixed income and equity funds.
This is likely to have a very positive impact on the share price of edelweiss which has taken a sharp beating from nearly Rs 1725 to around Rs 850 now.

Numeric power systems ltd

Numeric the number one UPS company in india is having operations in chennai. It began its operations in 1984 and became public in 1996. The company has since diversified in to solar power, volatage stabalizers, isolation transformers, invertors, DC power, custom built power conditioners and power management products.
Its clients include nationlised and multinational banks, research and eductional institutions, IT companies like wipro, honeywell, infosys etc, state and central govt bodies, defence and psu's.
The company reported an eps of rs 41for the year ending march,07 and had reserves of 97 crores on an equity base of just 5 crores. The company has reported an eps of rs 17.8, 21, 20.9 in the three quarters in the previous financial. This means that this would result in an eps of Rs 60 is the company maintains the current performance. The stock is currently trading around Rs 640 and is available at a p/e of around 11. The 52 week high of the compay was 1190 and a low of Rs 330. Some of the mutual funds like icici tax saver and principal mutal funds have holding in this company. The collective stake of mutual funds is 7.8% and the promoters and foreign individuals hold 63% inthe company. Kindly note that the volumes of the company are currently low at around 2000 shares a day.

Adani power plans $1 billion listing

Adani Group is planning a $1-1.5 billion initial public offering of its power unit, making it the first power company to come to market since the chaotic debut of Reliance Power in February.
It filed the ipo with the regualator on friday and is said to be the most advanced greenfield project in india.
What i am more interested in and i feel would be inthe interest of the investors too is whether the already listed group companies, mundra port and adani enterprises have a holding in the company and at what price. Secondly, what would be the issue price and thus the resultant gains to the companies on the listing of the company.
The 3i group had earlier aquired 10% stake in adani power for $227MN from adani enterprises whose subsidary adani power is. The current share holding of adani enterprises is not known but one thing seems to be sure that adani enterprises should see an increase in shareholder value once adani power is listed.

News our way

HDFC makes MTM gains
Quite unexpectedlly when all banks and corporates are making Mark to market losses on derivatives, HDFC has announced that it made a profit of Rs 293.56 crores as MTM gains on its portfolio.HDFC has an exposure of around Rs 2,600 crore ($650 million) to cross-currency swaps and another Rs 13,000 crore to interest rate swaps. It made an MTM gain on this portfolio. In addition, it has a forex loan exposure of around $1 billion, where there are separate MTM gains that have not been booked.
This news could act as a very positive one for HDFC and we can expect some good action in the stock tomorrow.
RCOM and TATA to pay Rs 700 crore to BSNL : SC
Just as RCOM posted better than expected profit which would have had a positive impact on the stock price of the company there is some negative news in the offing.
The Supreme Court has held Tata Teleservices 'Walky' and Reliance Communication's (formerly Infocom) 'Unlimited Cordless' as limited mobile phones, hence they are liable to pay Access Deficit Charge (ADC) to BSNL for interconnection.
A bench headed by Justice H S Kapadia, while dismissing Tata Teleservices and Reliance Communication's petitions, has upheld telecom tribunal Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal's (TDSAT) order of September 2005 that held these services are not fixed lines telephones, but limited mobile.
With this order RCOM is liable to pay over rs 400 crores and tata teleservices nearly Rs 300 crores.
However, RCOM later came out with a clarification that this would have no impact on the company as necessary provisions in this regard have already been made in the company books in the previous financial years.
I in my personal view feel that some impact would be felt as practically it would mean a reduction of cash for the company to the extent of Rs 400 crores and obviously could mean lower interest incomes or if the cash has already been used then greater interest outgo's.

Top news for today

Home loans may become chepear for some catagories
The fact that RBI hiked the CRR by 25 basic point is well known but there were also some silver linings in the policy. One was that RBI has reduced the risk weight -the amount of capital set aside for a loan--on home loans above Rs 20 lakh and upto Rs 30 lakhs to 50 per cent from 100 per cent earlier. This move now gives headroom to the banks to pass on the benifit to the comsumers. The move is likely to benifit the upper middle class consumers. Some bankers are expecting this to have an effect of 50 basis points on the interest rate.
RBI leaves repo rates unchanged
This was the worst fear the market had for today but surprisingly Mr Reddy did not hike the repo rate. This could be because the banks are already having surplus funds and wont need to borrow much from RBI. So leaving them unchanged he sent a feeling of relief in the market and the market rallied on the news closing by over 350 points.
Controlling inflation
The govt may be taking all possible measures to control inflation and the latest measures taken by reducing customs duty on raw materials and imposing export duty on finished goods for the steel sector is just one such move,however the industry heads have a different view. They feel that steps should be taken to increase supply by adding more capacities rather than imposing curbs to control inflation.

A look at India Glycols

I am trying to put up a review of this company which seems to me as having a great potential for medium term investment. India glycols is engaged in the manufacture of Glycols, ethooxilates, PEG's, peformance chemicals, Glycol ether and acetates, guar gum and potable alcohol.

Interestingly this is the only company in the world to use renewable agro route using molases to manufacture Ethylene Oxide and mono ethylene glycol.

Mono ethylene glycol is a keyingredient to make any kind of polyster (fibre, yarn, film, chips etc), and its price moves with that of crude oil. So, high oil prices is a boon for the company as it pushes the price of MEG. The company benefits from the molasses route as its cost of production is significantly lower than other producers who make it from crude. The MEG capacity has also been expanded in recent past. The prices of MEG have been on a rise and have risen from $880 in march 07 to around $1200 now. This is likely to boost margins significantly for the company.

To improve raw material security the company has commissioned a facility to produce molases directly from sugar juice thus reducing its dependence on sugar factories. The manucturing facility are located at Kashipur, uttranchal which is the key hub of sugar industry.

The company has a wide marketing network covering asia, europe america, australia and south africa.

The stock of this company is held by many mutual funds including DSP ML micro cap fund, DSP ML tax saver fund, HDFC capital builder fund and Sundram leadership fund.

During the last financial the company posted a net profit of Rs410 million on an equity base of 278 million. The company has posted a total profit of 1513 million during the nine months period of april to dec 07. This results in to a EPS of Rs 54 for this period.
This makes this company an excellent investment opportunity.

Top News

Sesa goa to consider stock split and bonus issue.
Sesa Goa Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company, at their Meeting to be held on April 28, 2008, will also to consider the following:
1. Sub-division (split) of the Equity Shares of the Company.
2. Issue of Bonus Equity shares
The news itself is likely to see big fireworks on monday the 28th as this is going to increase trader interest tremendously in this stock. There are no circuit limits to the stock price movement as it is traded in forward market.During the last financial year the company had reserves of Rs 16850 million on an equity base of 393 million which gives an impression that the company would be giving a bonus of 1:1

Top news

SRF board approves buy back
SRF Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on April 25, 2008, inter alia, have approved:
1. Buy-back through open market route (stock exchange route).
2. Buy-back at a price not exceeding Rs 160/- per equity share.
3. Buy-back offer shall remain open upto April 24, 2009 or such earlier date as may be determined by the Board at any time even if the maximum limit of Buy-back of shares has not been reached, by giving an appropriate notice for such earlier date, if any, whichever is earlier.
4. The proposed Buy-back could absorb a maximum of Rs 70.00 crores which is less than 10% of the paid up capital and free reserves of the Company.
The actual number of shares bought back would depend upon the average price paid for the shares bought back and the actual amount deployed in the Buy-back, subject to the limit specified in point No. 4 above.
Pyramid Saimira opens food court
Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd has informed BSE that Pyramid Saimira Group inaugurated its food court at TDI Mall, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, on April 25, 2008. This is the group's second food court in North India, after Faridabad. The food court was inaugurated by Shri. Ramesh Lamba, MLA, Rajouri Garden, New Delhi, in the presence of Mr. Saminathan, Group Chairman, Pyramid Saimira Group and Mr. N Narayanan, Director, Pyramid Saimira Group.
Speaking at the launch of the food court, Mr. P S Saminathan, Group Chairman, Pyramid Saimira Group, said, "Pyramid Saimira focuses on 360 degrees entertainment, which includes food & beverages. We are evolving into a full scale food chain and our food offering also will focus on 360 degrees expansion from canteens in screens, food courts in theatrical locations, high street restaurants, institutional catering etc.
As a practice, we scale up in an aggressive manner and in just three months of start, we are inaugurating our second food court in the North India. We will be investing close to Rs 100 crore In the F&B division, over the next year and we expect that this will contribute close to 25% of our top-line. We will be scaling up operations extensively in the NCR, and Delhi is a pivotal market for us.
With increase in disposable income of consumers, rapid urbanization, and increasing popularity of convenience foods, food and beverage sector is expected to grow at an incredible pace and Pyramid Saimira will capitalize on this boom.
"Commenting on Pyramid Saimira Group's strategy, Mr. N Narayanan, Director, said "We are the only organised food court operator, who is not sub-contracting the food with various vendors, but has developed various genres of food offering and has organically owned about so von distinctive brands, each catering to a specific cuisine.
"Commenting on the exclusivity of the Pyramid Saimira food court, Mr. Alok Kumar, Vice - President, Food & Beverage, Pyramid Saimira Group, said, "Our paramount focus at Pyramid Saimira food court will be food safety, hygiene and consistent quality. All our employees are undergoing pre employment, as well as periodical medical examinations, as per international food handling guidelines Pyramid Saimira food court will offer its customers, high quality and safe food, without compromising on taste.
"Pyramid Saimira is creating a niche for itself in the F&B segment with 2 food courts in operation with the following brands - Apple Tree, Red Curry, Shivalay, augrita, Tahal, Beverage & More and the latest being Brahmin's Kitchen, an initiative to bring traditional Brahmin food in the modern format. Another segment of F&B, under the brand name, Cineteria is operating at 106 theatres, across South India.
Reliance power fixes date for bonus
Reliance Power Ltd has informed BSE that the Register of Members & Share Transfer Books of the Company will remain closed from June 03, 2008 to June 05, 2008 for the purpose of Issue and allotment of Bonus shares
Court orders benifits for essar oil
Essar Oil Ltd has informed BSE that on April 24, 2008 the Company has received a judgment passed by a Division Bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad, restoring eligibility of the Company to avail Sales Tax / Value Added Tax deferment benefits to the extent of 125% of eligible capital investment in the Company’s Refinery Project at Vadinar, District Jamnagar, under the New Capital Incentive Policy — Capital Investment Incentive to Premier / Prestigious Unit, Scheme 1995-2000.
The High Court has directed the Government of Gujarat to grant the above benefits and issue Final Eligibility Certificate within one month subject to certain concessions from the Company
Gokul Refoils and solvents IPO to hit market on may 8
Gokul Refoils and Solvent plans to enter the capital market on May 8 with its initial public offering of 71,58,392 equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash, at a price to be decided through 100 per cent book building process.
The company has fixed a price band of Rs 175-Rs 195 per share. The issue will close on May 13. The issue comprises a reservation of upto 75,000 equity shares for employees and a net issue to the public of 70,83,392 equity shares. The issue will constitute 27.14 per cent of the fully diluted post issue paid-up capital of the company. Qualified institutional buyers shall be allocated 50 per cent of the issue. From and out of the QIB portion 5 per cent for mutual funds, 15 per cent to non-institutional bidders and 35 per cent to retail investors.
The company is primarily engaged in the business of solvent extraction, refining of edible oils and vanaspati manufacturing. At present the company has 680 TPD of seed processing, 600 TPD of solvent extraction, 1200 TPD of refining and 200 TPD of vanaspati manufacturing capacities. The company plans to utilize the proceeds for - setting up a new 1500 TPD Soyabean processing plant near Gandhidham, Gujarat; expansion of the existing edible oil refinery at Surat; investment in Singapore subsidiary; funding part of the long term working capital; brand building activities; investment in increasing warehousing capacities and continuous capex for exising units; general corporate purposes and for public issue expenses.
ICRA has assigned Grade "3/5" to the IPO. The shares will be listed on Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India. The book running lead managers to the issue are Anand Rathi and Intensive Financial Services.
Fixed line telephony to be exempted from licence fee
The government on Friday said that fixed-line telephony will be exempted from licence fee to encourage service providers, especially those in the private sector, to go to the rural areas. BSNL will be the largest beneficiary of this move as it will save up to Rs 1,200 crore annually. Private operators such as Airtel, Reliance and Tata have minimum presence in the landline space.
“I have already asked the Telecom Commission to deliberate on the issue to exempt fixed-line telephony from licence fee, charged as percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR),” telecom minister A Raja said at a function organised by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).
Currently, telecom operators pay 6-10% of their total revenues, including revenue from landline and braodband, towards licence fees. Due to this announcement, state-run BSNL will be the biggest gainer as the state run PSU has over 90% market share in the fixed-line space. BSNL gets an annual revenue of about Rs 15,000 crore from its fixed-line operations and the PSU pays on an average, 8-9% of AGR as license fee to the government.

Mysore cement results

Here are the results declared by mysore cements for the quarter ending march 08. I had recommeded this stock for investment earlier with details and would now like to review the quarterly numbers of the company.
Figure are in lakhs
Net Sales/Income from Operations 18146.27
Other Income 887.59
Total Income 19033.86
Increase/Decrease in Stock 506.33
Consumption of Raw Materials 7227.40
Purchase of traded goods -
Employees Cost 1390.47
Depreciation 367.27
Other Expenditure 5723.68
Total Expenditure 15215.15
Interest 76.35
Exceptional items
-
Profit(+)/Loss(-) before tax 3742.36
Tax Expense 21.22
Net Profit(+)/Loss(-) after tax 3721.14
Extraordinary Items -
Net Profit (+) / Loss (-) for the period 3721.14
Dividend (%)
-
Face Value (in Rs.) 10.00
Paid-up Equity Share Capital 15801.88
Reserves excluding Revaluation Reserves -
Basic EPS before Extraordinary items (in Rs.) 2.33
Diluted EPS before Extraordinary items (in Rs.) 2.33
Basic EPS after Extraordinary items (in Rs.) 2.33
Diluted EPS after Extraordinary items (in Rs.) 2.33
Public Shareholding (Number of Shares) 64426449.00
Public Shareholding (%) 40.77
The company has been able to give a good performance in this quarter inspite of pressure from the govt to keep a check on the prices of cement to control inflation. The EPS of the company has risen from 1.23 in the previous quarter to 2.33 in this quarter showing a very healty improvemet. Calculated on an annual basis the stock is now available at a p/e of 4 which is very low showing there is significant room for improvement. A close look at the results have shown that the other income has a constituent of Rs 59 lakh on account of sale of assets of sponge iron plant and some further progress in the sale of steel plant assets in expected in this quarter. The board has also approved appointing consultants for suggestions on increasing shareholder value.

Top news for today

HOEC- open offer
N M Rothschild & Sons India Pvt Ltd ("Manager to the Offer") on behalf of Eni UK Holding Plc ("Acquirer") Eni S.p.A, Burren Energy India Ltd & Burren Shakti Ltd ("Persons Acting in Concert"/ "PACs") has issued this Public Announcement ("PA") to the shareholders of Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd ("Target Company"), Pursuant and in compliance with Regulations 10 & 12 and other applicable provisions of the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares & Takeovers) Regulations, 1997 and subsequent amendments thereto ( "SEBI (SAST) Regulations" or "Regulations").
The Offer
The Acquirer is making this Offer to acquire up to 26,115,455 fully paid up shares ("Offer Size") of the Target Company representing in aggregate 20% of the Paid up equity share capital of the Target Company in terms of Regulation 21(1) of the SEBI (SAST) Regulations, at a price of Rs 144.2 per share ("Offer Price") payable in cash.Schedule of Activities
:Specified Date - April 24, 2008
Date of Opening of the Offer - June 11, 2008
Date of Closing of the offer - June 30,2008
ELF trading board to consider bonus issue
ELF Trading & Chemicals Manufacturing Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on May 02, 2008, inter alia, may consider a proposal for issue of Bonus Shares.The Board of Directors may also consider waiving the entitlement for the aforesaid issue of bonus shares by the "promoter Group" in accordance with Companies Act, 1956, and all other applicable provisions, if any.
Gujarat NRE coke declares results
Gujarat NRE Coke Ltd has announced the following results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2008
:The Unaudited results for the Quarter ended March 31, 2008The Company has posted a net profit of Rs 642.00 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 509.30 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 1866.70 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 3993.60 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
The Un-Audited results for the Year ended March 31, 2008The Company has posted a net profit of Rs 1695.40 million for the year ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 557.30 million for the year ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 5336.00 million for the year ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 9179.00 million for the year ended March 31, 2008.The figures for the year ended March 31, 2007 are Audited.
Mercator lines - updates
The Company has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (the "MOA") for the purchase of a geared Panama dry bulk carrier named 'YK Taurus' (the "Vessel"), at a total consideration price of approximately US$ 65.5 million (the "Proposed Acquisition"). Built by Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Co Ltd in Japan in 1997, the vessel is of aggregate capacity 69,186 dwt and was purchased from Ken Line, S.A., of the Republic of Panama (the "Seller").
The vessel is the second to be acquired by the Company since the Company IPO on December 14, 2007. It is currently hired on a time charter-in basis by the Company, and the time charter is scheduled to expire at the end of April 2008. The vessel is due to be delivered between June 1 and June 30, 2008, expanding the Company’s owned vessels to 9 out of which 5 are geared Panamaxes. Post- acquisition, the Company will operate a fleet of 11 dry bulk vessels, of which 9 are owned and 2 chartered-in, comprising geared and geadess Panamaxes and Kamsarmaxes with an aggregate capacity of 829,057 dwt.
The Proposed Acquisition was arrived at a willing buyer willing seller basis and the consideration was negotiated on an arm’s length basis. It is tentatively proposed to be financed by the proceeds of the IPO, internal accruals and debt.This Proposed Acquisition is expected to have a positive material impact on the net tangible assets per share, earnings per share and operating results of the Company for the financial year ending March 31, 2009

Tata Power Completes the Signing of Financial Agreements for 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project at Mundra, Gujarat
Tata Power Company Ltd has informed BSE that, on April 24, 2008, the Company completed the signing of financial agreements for the 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project coming up at Mundra, Gujarat under the Special Purpose Vehicle Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd. The cost of the project is estimated at INR 17000 crores (USD 4.2 billion) with the first of the five units to be commissioned in September 2011. The entire plant is expected to be commissioned by end of 2012.
A Consortium of Banks including leading multilateral agencies and Exim Banks are participating in the financing of this project. The financing comprises of equity of Rs 4250 crores, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) of upto USD 1.8 billion and Rupee Loans of upto Rs 5550 crores.
In this regards the Company has issued the following Press Release :
"The Tata Power Company Ltd, on April 24, 2008 has announced the completion of signing of financial agreements for 4000 MW Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP), coming up at Mundra, Gujarat under the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL). The cost of the project is estimated at INR 17000 crores (USD 4.2 billion) with the first of the five units to be commissioned in September 2011. The entire plant is expected to be commissioned by end of 2012.
A Consortium of Banks Including leading multilateral agencies and Exim Banks are participating in the financing of this project. The financing comprises of equity of Rs 4250 crores, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) of upto USD 1.8 billion and Rupee Loans of upto Rs 5550 crores. The ECB’s include The Export-Import Bank of Korea, International Finance Corporation, Korea Export insurance Corporation, Asian Development Bank, BNP Paribas and Rupee lenders Include SBI (Lead bank for rupee lenders), India infrastructure Finance Co Ltd., Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd., Oriental Bank of Commerce, Vijaya Bank, State Bank of Bikaner & Jaipur, State Bank of Hyderabad, State Bank of Travancore and State Bank of Indore. SBI Caps are the Financial Advisors and Mandated Lead Arranger for Rupee loans.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Prasad N Menon, Managing Director, Tata Power said "The signing of the financing agreements for Mundra UMPP is an important milestone. The good response demonstrates the faith of the lenders in our execution capabilities and expertise to complete the project in time. The terms of debt financing provides us long tenure of loans supporting our competetive bid price assumptions.
"The 4000 MW Mundra Ultra Mega Power Project (UMPP) is the first of the UMPP which heralds the entry of super critical boiler technology In India for the first time which is significantly environment friendly than the conventional ones using sub-critical boiler technology. The project site, approx 1000 Hectares is located south of Tunda Wand village in Mundra Taluka, Kutch district of Gujarat. The project consists of 5 units, each of 800 MW which will generate saleable power of 3800 MW to be supplied to five states namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab. The super-critical technology and the choice of unit sizes will help the project achieve higher efficiency thus saving fuel and reducing greenhouse gas emissions vis-à-vis conventional technology prevailing in the country.The Site preparatory works are in progress and orders for all major equipments have been placed. The Company has signed the contract for complete Boiler island scope on EPC basis with Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co Ltd., Korea and contract for supply of Steam Turbine Generators with Toshiba Corporation. The project has been comprehensively covered by a seamless Insurance cover by Oriental Insurance Co Lied.

Poly medicure ltd

This company which was establised in 1995 has come a long way and could prove to an excellent bet itn the future. The company is engaged in the manufacture of following products used for medical purposes.
Infusion therapy products
I.V.cannulae
Three way stop cock
Three way stop cock HP
Stop cock with extention tube
I.V. infusion sets
Flow regulator
Obturator
Extension tubes high and low pressure
Polyvol Borette set
Anaesthesia products
Suction cateters
Nasal oxygen cannula
Oxygen catheter
Yankaur suction set
Guedel airway
Urology products
Urine collection bags
Urine drainage catheters
Gastronetrology products
Ryle's tube
Levin's tube
Mucus extractor
Infact feeding tube
Umbilical catheter
stomach tube
Blood management products
Blood administration set
Blood bag systems
transfer bag
Blood taking set
Surgery and wound drainage products
redon drain
Close wound suction unit
thoracic drainage catheter
Thoracic catheter with trocar
abdominal drainage set
Water sealed drainage set

POLYMED's Quality System encompasses a comprehensive and exhaustive series of physical, chemical, biological & microbiological tests and inspection at different stages in the manufacturing cycle, begining with constant surveillance of raw materials and its suppliers; intensive in-process control of all manufactured components & sub-assemblies to the final inspection & testing of the finished products. POLYMED has successfully implemented a well documented QMS (Quality Management System) which has been accredited by SGS Yarsley International Certification Services, United Kingdom with ISO 9001:2000, ISO-13485:2003 and CE mark from DNV, Norway thus making the entire product range compliant with International Quality Standards.
The company reported a turnover of Rs 213 million for the quarter ending dec 07 and a net profit of 22.2 million on an equity base of 55.06 million reslting in to a quarterly eps of rs 3.82 The company paid a dividend of 25% for the last financial year and one can expect a better one this year. The plant in china is expected to begin production in the first quarter of the current financial which will further add to topline and bottomline of the company. The stock is avaiable at a p/e of around 7 and is a very good long term bet.

Resullts corner

United spirits
United Spirits Ltd has announced the following Unaudited results for the quarter & year ended March 31, 2008
:The results for the Quarter ended March 31, 2008
The Company has posted a net profit of Rs 651.10 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 535.20 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 6898.00 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 7697.20 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.
The results for the Year ended March 31, 2008
The Company has posted a net profit of Rs 3210.60 million for the year ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 4940.10 million for the year ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 27787.40 million for the year ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 31956.40 million for the year ended March 31, 2008.
The figures for the year ended March 31, 2007 are Audited
TCS
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) has announced the following Audited results for the year ended March 31, 2008
:The results for the Year ended March 31, 2008
The Company has posted a net profit after taxes of Rs 45087.60 million for the year ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 37572.90 million for the year ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 151565.20 million for the year ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 189796.70 million for the year ended March 31, 2008.
The Consolidated results are as follows:
The consolidated results for the Year ended March 31, 2008
The Group has posted a net profit of Rs 50260.20 million for the year ended March 31, 2008 as compared to Rs 42126.30 million for the year ended March 31, 2007. Total Income has increased from Rs 189142.60 million for the year ended March 31, 2007 to Rs 233494.50 million for the year ended March 31, 2008.

L&T to develop Rs 3500 Cr "Integrated Commercial Complex at Seawoods, Navi Mumbai

Larsen & Toubro Ltd on April 21, 2008 has announced that the Property Development Division of the Company proposes to develop a world class Integrated Commercial Complex at Seawoods railway station, Navi Mumbai over 40 acres of land at a project cost of Rs 3500 crore. L&T will also develop a state-of-art Seawoods-Darave Railway station over the next three years.
The Development Agreement between L&T and CIDCO was signed on April 21, 2008 at CIDCO's Mumbai office by Mr. G S Gill, Vice Chairman and Managing Director CIDCO and Mr. Vivek Mehta, Vice President and Head - Property Development for L&T, in the presence of Mr. Y M Deosthalee, CFO and Member, L&T Board, and other senior CIDCO officials. The proposed development project is planned to be completed over the next 5 years.
CIDCO had floated this proposal in mid 2007 and the same was opened on February 05, 08. L&T was one of the three qualified developers and bagged this project by bidding Rs 1809 crore.
The project has the potential to develop 4 to 5 Million Sq. ft. of usable space. The development will consist of a modern railway station, large format retail and entertainment space, multiplexes, office complex, and premium category hotel and service apartments. L&T is in the process of short listing international architects to develop the concept and master plan for the project. M/s Cushman Wakefield and Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj have been engaged for real estate advisory services for the project. This is the single largest investment by the Company in the Real Estate Development Sector.
Navi Mumbai real estate market has gained importance steadily over the past few years with the increase in commercial activity and influx of IT companies setting up shop in Vashi, Kharghar, Belapur and Airoli. Approximately 8 million Sq. ft. of IT space is proposed to be constructed in Navi Mumbai over next three years. Other infrastructure initiatives like the Navi Mumbai International Airport, Navi Mumbai Multi- Services SEZ, Mumbai Trans Harbor link connecting Sewri to Navi Mumbai and proposed Mumbai Metro Rail project is expected to create huge demand for quality retail and office space, and hospitality in Navi Mumbai.
The proposed project is very close to the Palm Beach road and has access roads on all four sides. The impetus of the Company will be to plan superior traffic management system and to develop parking space for 5000 vehicles to cater to the railway station as well as the commercial complex. Also the appropriate integration of various components of this project holds the key to its success.
L&T proposes to develop this project as a destination for urban shopping and entertainment catering to Navi Mumbai and Mumbai. This will be done by dedicating large spaces for entertainment, gaming sports activities and entertainment facilities for children. The Company also proposes to create a differentiated shopping experience by creating various specialty malls like home interior and jewellery malls.
Currently there is a shortage of 'A' class offices in Navi mumbai. Approximately half of the project will be dedicated to be developed as 'A' class, high end office complexes catering to various sectors like Banking and Financial services institutions, logistics, Aviation, Engineering, Automobiles, Manufacturing and Communication. The office complexes will have high end operations and management facilities and will be furnished with superior building management systems specially designed by L&T. Also premium facilities like Helipads on building tops will make it an ideal place for companies to set up their corporate offices. The commercial offices will be high-rise towers with both small and large floor plates to accommodate all types of clientele. Space will be allocated for making built to suit facilities for corporates.
L&T has been approached by international hospitality chains for operations of the premium category hotel and service apartments to cater to the growing business activity in and around Navi Mumbai.
L&T considers property development as a good opportunity in the growing retail, commercial, hospitality and residential sectors, due to its inherent project management, execution strength and stringent quality standards. L&T has already announced its intentions to float a Realty Equity fund to attract investments to such long term, highly profitable project ventures.Once this project is commissioned, L&T will develop in-house capabilities to build and operate such Transit Oriented developments around Railway Stations. This expertise will help the company in future on several such projects of redevelopment of railway stations across the country.

Economy news

Inflation effect : RBI hikes CRR by 50 basic points.

The Reserve Bank on Thursday hiked Cash Reserve Ratio, the amount of depositors' money that banks need to park with it, by half a per cent to tighten money supply, as part of concerted efforts with the government to ease inflation. The hike, which would take CRR to 8 per cent, will come into effect in two tranches of 0.25 per cent on April 26 and May 10. The measure would suck out liquidity to the tune of Rs 18,500 crore from the banking system and would leave banks with less money to lend and in turn would help cool inflation.
CRR effects : Home loans rates likely to increase
THursdays announcement by RBI of a hike in CRR is likely to effect retail loans as more of funds would be sucked out of the system and banks may need to hike rates to maintain their margins. Although most banks are likely to wait for the 29th of april before increasing the PLR but retail loans may be effected soon.
MMTC profits more than doubles
MMTC Ltd on Thursday announced a standalone net profit of Rs 90.62 crore for the quarter ended March 31, about 2.32 fold increase over the corresponding period a year ago. The company had a stand-alone net profit of Rs 38.90 crore for the corresponding quarter last year, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The standalone total income increased to Rs 9,421.60 crore for the quarter under review, from Rs 4,889.57 crore in the year-ago period. For the year ended March 31, the company posted a net profit of Rs 206.15 crore, compared to Rs 126.80 crore in the previous year. Total Income has increased to Rs 26,313.57 crore for the year from Rs 23,347.31 crore in the previous year. Shares of the company closed at Rs 29,377.60, up 4.21 per cent at the BSE.
Saffron buys 30% in Parsvnaths mumbai project
Saffron Group, which manages real estate investment funds, has picked up a 30 per cent stake in a Mumbai realty project of Parsvnath Developers for Rs 186 crore. The investment has been made through two of its funds - Yatra Capital and Saffron Real Estate Fund I (SIREF I).
Jarul Promoters & Developers, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) of Parsvnath, is developing the BEST bus depot near Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai's new business district. The investment by Saffron's funds have valued the project at Rs 620 crore.
Parsvnath bought the depot land, measuring 30, 820 square metres, in an open tender for Rs 42 crore. The project involves planning, designing, constructing and re-modeling a fully-equipped bus depot, staff housing and commercial offices

top news

RPower to $2 bn ECB issue next month
Anil Ambani group's Reliance Power has identified HSBC, Standard Chartered and ABN Amro among other foreign banks for raising $2 billion of debt to help fund its ultra mega power project in Sasan. The company has received the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approval for this external commercial borrowing (ECB) proposal to finance the foreign exchange portion of debt for Sasan and is looking to complete the process next month, sources close to the development said. Besides, the company is also in the process of finalising the names of local financial institutions for a domestic debt of about Rs 6,600 crore in the next few months, they added. When asked about the financing plan to raise Rs 14,600 crore of debt.
L&T and TIDCO to build shipyard near Chennai
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) signed a joint venture agreement to set up an integrated shipyard complex and port facility near Chennai. The partners will invest an estimated Rs 3,000 crore in the new facility, which will come up at Kattupalli village near Ennore in Tiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu.Construction is likely to start by the end of 2008, and the project will be completed in 24 months.
The shipyard complex will build commercial ships like very large cargo carriers (VLCCs), specialised cargo ships for liquid and gas transportation and cruise vessels. It will also have the capability to build defence vessels, offshore platforms and floating production-cum-storage facilities for the oil and gas sector. The shipyard will also have facilities for refitting and re-engineering of commercial and defence vessels, and heavy engineering fabrication and components production for ship building purposes

PUNJ LLOYD

Punj Lloyd Limited is a transnational company specialising in the energy and infrastructure sectors. Our operations spread across the Middle East, Africa, the Caspian, Asia Pacific and South Asia.
The company provides the following EPC services

Oil & Gas
Offshore
Onshore Field Development
Onshore and Offshore Pipelines
Tankage & Terminals
Process
Refineries
Civil Infrastructure
Highways, Flyovers & Bridges
Buildings
Metro Rail
Thermal Power
Asset Management
Asset Preservation and Maintenance
Telecom & Broadband
Bandwidth Solutions: Corporate & Retail
Internet Data Centre
Video Broadcast & OFC Solutions
Metro Ethernet & WiMax enabled

The company has a large fleet of sophisticated equipment including horizontal directional drilling rigs and pipe-laying barges. Central workshop and equipment maintenance yards in India, Indonesia, Abu Dhabi and Kazakhstan ensure minimal downtime on all projects.

Punj lloyd was formed in 1988 as punj lloyd engineering pvt ltd and was renamed as punj lloyd private ltd. In 1992 it becomes a public limited company and wins an overseas pipeline contract in indonesia. In 1993 it got its first middle east contract for feild development. IN 2002 in gained entry in to caspian, with KAM pipeline, kazakshtan. In 2005 it extablised its first thermal power plant in india.

It has several subsidaries namely

Punj Lloyd Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, is the holding company for Punj Lloyd subsidiaries in Asia Pacific region and is also working as an EPC contractor for projects in Singapore and other neighboring countries.

Some of the important projects of Punj Lloyd Singapore are listed below:
Bulk Liquid Products Terminal – Phase I , II, III for Horizon Terminals Limited
Petroleum Storage Expansion Project Phase 5 and Topside Facilities for Jetty 9 & 10 for PB Tankstore
Bulk Liquid Storage & Blending Facility at Meranti, Jurong Island, Singapore for Helios Terminal Corporation.

PT Punj lloyd, indonesia was incorporated in 1997 to establish a regional presence in South East Asia.
The company constructed a swamp and near shore pipeline project from Pt. Bouygues Offshore for the owner, TOTAL E&P Indonesie. This project resulted in the company’s continued presence in Kalimantan, with TOTAL E&P Indonesie as the client.

PT Sempec Indonesia is an established Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) company.

Notable projects are as follows:
1,350 MMSCFD gas process plant, including power generation and utilities for Total Indonesie Peciko Project, Kalimantan
1 MTPY LPG recovery plant, including storage, power generation, utilities and onshore pipelines for PetroChina Indonesia Betara Development Project, Sumatra
1,200 MT offshore LPG refrigeration deck and 300 MT 4-leg jacket and loading terminals, including subsea pipelines for PetroChina Indonesia Betara Development Project, Sumatra Offshore
1,500 MT offshore oil & gas process deck and 1,000 MT 6-leg jacket for Korea Development Company Poleng Project, Java Sea
4 units of 2,000 MT wellhead process decks and 1,200 MT 4-leg jackets for ONGC Heera Re-Development Project, India

Punj Lloyd Kazakhstan LLP

projects executed
Oil & Gas Pipeline Project - Kashagan Experimental Program for AGIP KCO Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of Export Oil & Gas Pipeline 24” 150 kms. Under execution. Expected completion January 2009
SGP Offsites & Utilities for Tengizchevroil / PFD at Tengiz. Construction of Pipe fabrication and erection upto 70,000 inch dia with Mechanical equipment erection of 29 nos and 3 nos. tie ins. Completed in October 2006.
Large Bore and Small Bore Pipeline at Wellhead with Metering Station for Tengizchevroil / PFD at Tengiz. Construction of 410 Kms Well connecting Flowlines 2” to 24” and Metering Station. Successfully executed welding of 10” Pipe with 33 mm thickness. Pipe fabrication and erection of 140,000 inch dia. Completed in September 2006.
KAM Pipeline Project for Petrokazakhstan Kumkol Resources at Kyzylorda.Construction of 16” X 177 Kms Crude Oil Pipeline from Kumkol to Dhuzaly with 85% of local content. Completed in May 2003.

PLN Construction Ltd , specializing in Horizontal Directional Drilling with the largest fleet of Maxi HDD Rigs in India. The Company is active in the Indian market since 1997; PLN has executed crossings totaling 41600 meters. It has laid pipelines under expressways, railways, rivers, creeks and canals. The company owns two 250 Ton Rigs and one 400 Ton Rig, which can execute crossings up to large diameter.
Significant Projects
The longest HDD crossings in India to pull 18”+ 6” dia pipeline i.e. 1700 and 1770 metres at the Krishna-Godavari basin on the eastern coast of India for GAIL India
Longest HDD Crossings in India to pull 42” dia pipeline i.e. 1041 metres at Tapi River near Surat for ONGC
Longest HDD Crossing in India to pull 30” dia pipeline i.e. 1595 meters at Backwaters from Island to LFP 6 near Kochi for Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
Longest HDD Crossing in India in Hard Rock Strata to pull 24” dia pipeline i.e. 900 meters across Kal River near Mumbai for Gail India Limited.

Todays top news

Punj lloyd updates
Punj Lloyd Ltd has informed BSE that the Company (i.e. Punj Lloyd Ltd) and its subsidiary Punj Lloyd Pte Ltd., Singapore have been awarded projects worth Rs 18640 million.Sembawang Infrastructure (India) Pvt Ltd (a subsidiary of Sembawang Engineers and Constructors Pte Ltd, Singapore) has been awarded projects worth Rs 970 million.With the award of above projects, the order backlog for Punj Lloyd Group is Rs 214,092 million. This is the total value of unexecuted orders as on January 01, 2008 and new orders received till date.

Lanco Infratech wins 3300 MW Power Projects in Uttar Pradesh
Lanco Infratech Ltd (LITL) has announced that the Company has won two super critical power projects with an installed capacity of 3300 MW in Uttar Pradesh. The bids called by the Uttar Pradesh Government for development of the two thermal power projects viz., Prayagraj of 1980 MW (3x660 MW) and Sangam of 1320 MW (2x660 MW) were opened on April 11, 2008 at the Office of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd which conducted the competitive bidding process on behalf of the Government. As per the terms of the bids, while 90% of power generated through the projects must be sold to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, the remaining 10% could be sold by the successful bidder through the merchant market.LITL has won both the projects by outbidding other top players like Reliance Power, NTPC and Jindal Steel & Power. The projects include all the required infrastructure linkages like road, water, fuel and rail.From among the four leading business houses that participated in the bid for the Prayagraj Power Project, LITL won the bid with a quote of Rs 2.88 per unit. The second lowest bidder Reliance Power quoted Rs 2.94 per unit, followed by NTPC's Rs 3.44 and Jindal Steel & Power's Rs 3.591. The Sangam Power project had five players in the fray - LITL, Reliance Power, JSW, Jindal Steel & Power and RPG. Here also LITL won the bid through a quote of Rs 2.838 per unit while Reliance Power's was Rs 3.051, CESE's Rs 3.389, JSPL's Rs 3.51 and JSW's Rs 3.545.LANCO Chairman L Madhusudhan Rao said the Group needed to invest around Rs 14,000 crore for developing the two projects in Uttar Pradesh. With the addition of the two projects, LANCO would now have a total capacity of around 13,000 MW, covering both operational and those under implementation and development.
Rural electrification updates
Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd has informed BSE about the provisional financial highlights for the year 2007-08:"ROBUST FINANCIALS:The provisional and un-audited loan sanctions of Rs 607640 million during 2007-08 as against Rs 329250 millions registering an Increase of 84.55%.The provisional and un-audited loan disbursement of Rs 163030 million during 2007-08 as against Rs 137320 millions registering an increase of 18.72%.The provisional and un-audited profit before tax is Rs 13000 million during 2007-08 as against Rs 10060 millions registering an Increase of 29.22%.
Motilal oswal to consider stock split
Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd has informed BSE that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company will be held on April 21, 2008, inter alia, to consider the following:1. The Audited financial results of the Company for the financial year ended March 31, 2008.2. The Audited Consolidated financial results of the Company and its subsidiaries for the financial year ended March 31, 2008.3. The recommendation, if any, of the dividend for the financial year ended March 31, 2008.4. The sub-division (split) of the Equity Shares of the Company, and5. The recommendation, if any, of the Remuneration / Compensation Committee to frame Employees' Stock Option Scheme(s) for the benefit of the employees of the Company and its subsidiaries

Top news for today

Uco bank to raise Rs 625 cr
State run uco bank today approved raising of funds by issuing perpectual non cumilative preference shares. This may come in tranches through public issue or private placement to individuals, companies, state govt, central govt, institutional buyers, financial instutuions and banks.
IMF willing to discuss rising food prices
The International Monetary Fund is willing to be a part of a framework that will address the issue of rising global food prices, a top official of the multilateral lending institution has said. He said the issue of rising global food prices has indeed a negative impact on trade balances and current account. The problem in trade balance means problems in current account and problems in the current account means problems for the IMF. We are going to talk about this tomorrow ... and see what decision can be made... The IMF is totally prepared to be a part of this," Strauss- Kahn said.
RIL in talks with foreign firms to dilute 10% stake in KG Basin D6block
Ril is considering bringing in a strategic partner for deep water exploration in its KG basin D6 Block. The partners could be energy gaints likeExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Total and Petrobras, as these are the companies with required expertise. Goldman Sachs is the key consultant to the deal. RIL is believed to have reached up to 1,500-2,000 meters of drilling so far and there is scope for 7,000 to 8,000 meters, for which it would need some foreign partners with expertise in this area.
Germany's Drescher bank to be in india in 2009
Germany's Drescher bank said that it would be opening branches in India after obtaining the necessary licence in 2009. India being a booming market and high potential for growth cannot be ignored said the chairman Herbert Walter in a statement posted on the web site. The banks parent company allianze has already made its presence in india through Bajaj Allianz Life and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
Haryana to strengthen transmission lines
TheUttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has drawn a comprehensive investment plan of Rs. 722.74 crore during the current financial year to strengthen the trasmittion and distribution network. The work would be carried out in Panchkula, Ambala, Yamuna Nagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar and Jind and the project cost would include plan expenditure of Rs. 112.85 crore and non-plan expenditure of Rs. 609.89 crore. 33 New 33KV substations would be set up and 290km of new 33KV lines would be laid apart for agumentation of 20 33Kv sub stations.

Mutual fund analysis

I am taking up an open ended mutual fund
Kotak opportunities fund (G)
The asset size of this fund is Rs 700 crores as on 31st march 08 and the minimum investment in this fund is Rs 5000.
The fund has generated a negative return during the quarter ended 31st march to the tune of 30%. This is but natural keeping in mind the huge market fall during the same period. The fund generated an annual return of 86% during the year 2007.
Here are the details of the portfolio held as on 31st march 2008


Equity /value( Rs crs) /Quantity %
Relinace industries 30.59 /135,000/ 4.37
larsen and tubro 21.25/ 70,000/ 3.03
Bharti Airtel 19.98/ 241,800/ 2.85
ITC 18.98/ 9,20,000 /2.71
HDFC 4.00 /2.63
Infrastructure Development Finance Company 17.21/ 1140,000 /2.46
Tata Consultancy Services 17.02/ 210,000 /2.43
Aditya Birla Nuvo 16.75/ 120,000/ 2.39
Jindal Steel & Power 16.56/ 80,000/ 2.36
State Bank of India 16.31/ 101,950 /2.33
Welspun Gujarat Stahl Roh 15.33/ 400,000/ 2.19
Crompton Greaves 15.19 /551,619 /2.17
Axis Bank 15.01/ 190,000 /2.14
Tata Chemicals 14.90/ 531,209/ 2.13
Maruti Suzuki India 14.06 /170,000/ 2.01
Ranbaxy Laboratories 14.03 /320,000/ 2.00
Reliance Capital 13.62/ 110,850/ 1.94
Sterlite Industries (India) 13.58 /190,000/ 1.94
United Spirits 13.52/ 90,000 /1.93
ICICI Bank 13.46 /175,000 /1.92
JSW Steel 12.97 /158,258/ 1.85
Punj Lloyd 12.43 /400,000/ 1.77
Infosys Technologies 12.24/ 85,000/ 1.75
IVRCL Infrastructure and Projects 12.17 /300,000/ 1.74
Aban Offshore 12.06 /40,000 /1.72
Steel Authority of India 12.04 /650,000/ 1.72
Glenmark Pharma 11.46/ 234,300/ 1.64
Satyam Computer Services 11.10 /280,000 /1.58
Pantaloon Retail 10.97 /257,068 /1.57
Nagarjuna Construction Co. 10.74/ 500,000/ 1.53
Reliance Communications 10.70/ 210,000 /1.53
Bank Of India 10.70/ 422,500/ 1.53
Hindustan Petroleum Corporation 10.26 /400,000 /1.46
Jaiprakash Associates 9.63/ 425,000/ 1.37
Canara Bank 9.00/ 400,000/ 1.29
Balrampur Chini Mills 8.89 /1100,000 /1.27
Housing Development and Infrastructure 8.87 /135,000 /1.27
Century Textiles and Industries 8.73/ 120,000 /1.25
Patel Engineering Company 8.71 /142,550 /1.24
DLF 8.59/ 133,000/ 1.23
ABG Infralogistics 8.00 /206,381/ 1.14
Godrej Industries 7.63/ 295,000/ 1.09
Lanco Infratech 7.38 /190,000 /1.05
Indiabulls Real Estate 7.32 /150,000 /1.05
GVK Power & Infrastructure 6.89/ 1719,560 /0.98
Television Eighteen 5.79 /146,195 /0.83
Reliance Energy 5.75 /46,000 /0.82
Ballarpur Industries 5.64 /2028,570 /0.81
Hindustan Construction Company 5.56 /420,000 /0.79
Future Capital Holdings 5.12/ 80,000/ 0.73
Mundra Port and Special Economic Zone 3.76/ 65,000 /0.54
Indiabulls Securities 3.03 /115,000 /0.43
Rural Electrification Corporation 2.33 /219,205 /0.33
Adlabs Films 1.84 /30,000/ 0.26
Term deposits /Rs cr/ %
Kotak mahindra bank 8.50 /1.21
Money market instruments
icici bank 12.74/ 1.82
karur vysya bank 4.92/ 0.70
State bank of pataila 14.87 /2.12
indian bank 4.93 /0.70

The portfolio as one can see is an agressive one and has been able to earn a good return in a bull market but this portfolio may not prove to be good one in the current market as there is lack of defensive stocks which can beat the downturn in the market. The portfolio is having a large chunk in the infra sector which would continue to grow over the long term even if we see a lower target of around 7 -8% for the GDP growth. However a heavy exposure to the banking sector is a cause of concern due to the derivatives writedowns expected and a tightning monetory policy by the RBI to contain inflation. Similarly investments in iron and steel are also likely to give negative returns in the near future. If one wants to invest in this mutual fund one should wait for the quarterly numbers and RBI policy and let the NAV adjust itself to their impact. Only then one should consider investing in this fund which i feel would be available at a lower level by the end of this month.

Near term view of the market

The market seems to have found some support at last and this is likely to give a trading opportunity. The sebi data reveals that FII's were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1364 crores on friday,april 4. This could be sign of the things to come. The result season is beginning soon and this is likely to affect the market performance to a large extent. The govt seems to be finding some feet as far as inflation is concerned and this is likely to be reflected in the weekly data's to come. One can buy for short term gains in this market keeping in mind ofcourse, the trend in the US market. Any negative sentiment there could play a spoilsport. I would be going in for petronet lng and rpl tommorow morning for trading purpose. I am also considering a strong investment in welspun gujrat keeping in mind that the demand is not likely to dry up as 250 citites would be opened for laying pipeline infrastructure. Moreover, the backward integeration steel plate plant is also likey to add to margins of ths company.

Sevent hings to remember in a bear run By economic times

The year 2008 has been unkind to investors so far. Many have suffered huge losses. Who knows, there could be more pain ahead. It’s worth reminding ourselves of basic lessons that every retail investor ought to keep in mind to avoid, or at least minimise, losses in one’s portfolio.
1. High rewards don’t come without taking high risk.
During a bull market, retail investors get taken in by the rise in the stock market. They don’t want to be left out. So, they rush in and buy in an indiscriminate way, without realising that they might be taking on too much risk. Remember, if you chase high returns, high risk will follow you. Let’s take the example of publicly-listed real estate sector in India. The industry has a very favourable long-term future. However, the rapid rise in the sector’s stock prices over the past year made a short-term investment in these stocks a risky bet. As it turns out, the risks have been borne out and this sector has collapsed spectacularly. Understand your own risk profile and how you emotionally deal with volatility in stock prices.
2. Understand what you own — don’t always rely on the latest tip or prediction.
If you knew the secret location to some buried treasure, would you share it with others around you? If someone really has a hot tip on an investment that is going to earn high returns, always ask why they are sharing it with you. In today’s wired world, it is possible even for retail investors to understand, even if in basic ways, what is it that you are about to invest in — what does the company do, who its customers are, is the company profitable and so on. You must form your own view about the company’s prospects. Stay away from fast risers. The more you understand investments that you have made, the more confident you will become.
3. Leverage is a double-edged sword that can destroy you in falling markets.
The recent collapse of various hedge funds and banks has shown that living on borrowed money can be dangerous. During good times, leverage can amplify your returns. But in rough times, it can kill you. Currently, even the world’s best risk managers on Wall Street are having a tough time dealing with their leveraged exposure to markets. Be careful about making investments using leverage. Remember, nobody is going to flash an emergency light announcing the arrival of the next crisis.
4. You dont always need to be fully invested
This is where the professionals really distinguish themselves from amateur retail investors, because they keep some cash available to take advantage of falling prices. Professionals think of a correction in stock prices as a sale in stocks. But to benefit from these sales, they keep some cash ready. They don’t feel the need to be fully invested all the time. If you use up all your cash to make your investments, you will never be able to take advantage of the cut price sales that will happen in times of severe correction like now. Corrections occur periodically — be prepared to take advantage of these situations.
5. Build portfolio on a strong foundation.
Just like you cannot build a house on a weak foundation, your stock portfolio also needs to be built on the back of strong companies and predictable stability. The more junk you have and poor quality stocks you own, the quicker your portfolio will also collapse during a correction. Weak companies with unfavourable long-term business prospects, weak balance sheets and poor operating performance might look tempting as they promise short-term growth. They may go up faster than the market in a bull phase, but come racing down at the slightest evidence of any stock market trouble.Build your portfolio on the back of stable, blue-chip companies that have long track records of success across economic conditions.
6. Keep a wishlist of companies.
Smart investors keep a wishlist of companies whose shares they want to buy when the opportunity and price are right. Corrections will give you the opportunity to pick through names. But, like we said in point 4 above, you need to have some dry powder to be able to add your wishlist to your portfolio. Warren Buffett has been known to keep his eye on his wishlist companies for decades before he finally finds a good entry point for an investment.
7. Invest for the long-term.
Serious investors put money to work for the long-term. They don’t get distracted by seasonal or cyclical fads, or get caught up in short-term performance. Don’t day trade, and especially not on margin. For every day trader who wins, there is another trader on the other side of the trade who has lost. In this speculative game, its likely that you will on average have as many bad days as good days. If you invest for the long-term, you will be less affected by all the noise in the market that will clutter your thinking and cause you to make impulsive and short-sighted decisions. You will also avoid the tax liability associated with short-term trading that can add more complexity to your finances. It is never too late for serious investors who want to build long-term wealth to learn and apply the above lessons. With a little bit of discipline, your portfolio too can survive any stock market correction and achieve excellent long-term performance. (The authors are graduates of the Harvard Business School and co-founders of www.iTrust.in, a financial advisory business.)