Indian Companies announcing quarterly results on 25 April 2008

• 3I INFOTECH
• ABB LTD
• ALBRIG WIL C
• ALEMBIC LIMI
• AMBUJA CEME
• ANDHRA BANK
• AREVA
• ARMAN LEA FI
• ASHIAN AGR I
• B&A MULTIWAL
• BAJ HIN SUG
• BALA TEC GL
• BEST & CROMP
• BHARAT ELECT
• BHARTI ARTL
• BIOPAC INCOR
• BIRLA VXL
• BLUE CHI TEX
• BRIGADE
• CENTRUM CAP
• CHASE BRIGHT
• CHOLA DBS
• CIPLA LTD.
• DB(INTR)STBR
• DIC INDIA
• DUJODWA PROD
• ESQUIR MONEY
• FOODS & INNS
• GANDHI SPG.M
• GLAXOSMI CON
• GLOBAL BROAD
• GUJ HOTELS L
• HINDO SPG WV
• HINDUS CONST
• I BRIGHT ST
• INDIACO VEN
• INTEGR KNIT
• INTEGRA HIND
• JASCH INDUSR
• JAYSHRE TEA*
• JAYSHREE CHE
• JHUN.VANS.
• JINDAL SOUTH
• JP HYDROPOW
• KALE CONSUL
• KANIKA INFOT
• LIBORD INFO
• LIBORDS SECU
• LIC H. FINAN
• M.R.F LTD
• MAHINDRALIFE
• MIC ELECTRON
• MODERN DAIRE
• MULLER & PHI
• NEOCORP INTE
• ODYSSEY TEC
• POLYCHEM LTD
• QUINTEGRA SO
• RAS RESR APR
• REGENCY CERA
• ROBIN WORLD
• RSYSTEMS INT
• SAWACA BUSI
• SE INVESTM
• SHEETAL BIO
• SHOPPER STOP
• SIDDHESW GAR
• SIEMENS LTD
• SIMMOND MARS
• SOLVAY PHARM
• SRF LIMITED
• STEWART LLOY
• SYNERG LOGIN
• TANFAC INDUS
• TAYO ROLLS
• THANA ELE SU
• THIRU AROORA
• TITAN IND.
• UNI LEGEWEAR
• WALCHAND IN
• WENDT INDIA

Testosterone is the key to success in stocks? What bullshit!!

According to some nutty researchers from University of Cambridge testosterone could be the key to success in stock market trading. I have not heard of a bigger bullshit than this. Read the report here

RK

Hot off the shelf : India-focused hedge funds lose over 25% in 2008

Just because they are big and secretive doesn’t make them safe from market corrections! India-focused hedge funds have lost a jaw-dropping 26.6 per cent till date in 2008, after clocking returns of nearly 52 per cent last year. Hedge funds are believed to be able to generate positive returns, even when the stock markets fall as they use a host of strategies such as short selling, market timing and arbitrage to take advantage of every blip in the market.

The loss suffered by these India-centric funds led by little-known ‘hedgies’ (hedge fund managers), dwarfs the losses made by similar country-specific funds in China (negative 13.7 per cent), Russia (negative 4.6 per cent), Brazil (negative 4.2 per cent), real-time estimates captured from hedge fund tracking firm HedgeFund.net (HFN) show. The developments are in line with the difficult period faced by funds such as Monsoon Capital, a $1.2 billion hedge fund firm, which lost over 40 per cent till March 20. Hedge fund managers earn fat fees, sometimes as high as 20 per cent, for earning high returns.

The financial market turmoil that clamped down on fund flows into emerging markets such as India, and apprehensions about the effect of US recession on domestic companies have resulted in Indian investors cumulatively losing nearly Rs 20 lakh crore in wealth, as shares prices have plunged.

India whining

After a less punishing February, where 40 India-focused hedge funds lost just 3.2 per cent, the pain continued in March. Fifteen such funds have already reported losses aggregating to over 14 per cent for March, HFN’s India-specific average shows. It could get much worse as more than half the funds are yet to turn in their numbers. Interestingly, hedge funds focused on US, the original root of the current financial conundrum, have lost only 2.3 per cent in all of 2008, with the month of January alone accounting for the bulk of losses.

Difficult March

The majority of hedge fund strategies lost ground in March contributing to the first negative Q1 performance on record. Increased volatility surrounding the ultimate failure of investment banking giant Bear Stearns and the ensuing the US Treasury actions defined a difficult month, HedgeFund.net said while releasing the March estimates. Overall, hedge funds with a country-specific mandate have performed the worst (negative 12.5 per cent) this year, followed by long-only funds (negative 10.7 per cent) and capital structure arbitrage funds (negative 8.8 per cent).

source: Sify Piece by Kumar Shankar Roy

rk

Analysts and Brokerages Views and analysis round up - 15 Apr 2008

R Sukumar of Franklin Templeton said the markets will see more declines than advances. "Another 10% downside cannot be ruled out from current levels. News flows will remain negative from a fundamental perspective."

Sukumar expects earnings to grow in 15-20% band instead of 30% earlier. "Forex derivatives losses will also impact profitability."

Nitin Rao, Executive VP, HDFC Bank recommends people to start looking at fundamentals more closely. “We strongly believe that the fundamental valuation levels for the market would point to a forward P/E range of 17 and we strongly believe that these levels offer attractive investment opportunities for investors over a one-year period at least” he says.

SN Rajesh, Director of UTI Ventures says that while picking up companies, they look at the execution capabilities because growth capital and a lot of success comes from their execution capability and the ability to build big.

Rajen Shah of Angel Broking said Infosys’ numbers would be very much in line with its guidance. "The new guidance for FY09 could probably be lower than what the market estimates because they will factor in maybe a rupee appreciation. In order to control inflation, we could probably see the government letting the rupee appreciate."

rk
http://yourmitra.wordpress.com

India Stocks, Stock Market and Business News Round up - 15 Apr 2008

FIIs three-times more bullish than promoters
Sify.com Yesterday at 8:16 PM

It is the 'heavy selling' by FIIs being blamed squarely for meltdown at Dalal Street, but if their market activity patterns are to be believed, overseas investors seem to be over three times more confident than India Inc itself regarding the market's future growth.


Banks may hike lending rates if RBI hikes CRR
Sify.comYesterday at 8:13 PM

Top Bankers today said the lending rates may go up by upto 0.5 per cent after RBI's credit policy on April 29, which may hike CRR by upto 0.5 per cent to contain inflation.

US financial crisis not to derail India growth story: Soros
Sify.comYesterday at 7:24 PM

Showering praise on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh-led reform process and Ambani brothers for their contributions to Indian economy, legendary investor George Soros has said that the US financial crisis would not have much impact on the country's growth story.

Stainless steel supply sufficient: ISSDA
Sify.comYesterday at 6:42 PM

Amid concerns that the government may curb exports to contain rising inflation, stainless steel makers today said there is no dearth of the commodity in India and as such they should not be treated at par with carbon steel industry which is facing flak for raising prices.

IOC losing Rs 320 crore per day
rediff.comYesterday at 8:48 PM

Indian Oil Corp, the nation's largest oil firm, today said it is losing Rs 320 crore (Rs 3.20 billion) a day on fuel sales and may see future projects getting impacted if the current situations continues in 2009. "We are losing about Rs 320 crore a day on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene," IOC Chairman Sarthak Behuria told reporters on the sidelines of 5th Asia Gas Partnership Summit in New Delhi.

Interest rates may rise after April 29
rediff.comYesterday at 8:48 PM

Bankers have said that lending rates could go up to 0.5 per cent after the Reserve Bank's annual credit policy, which is widely expected to take stringent monetary measures to contain price rise. Many expect the central bank to effect a hike in cash reserve ratio (CRR), the rate of amount all commercial banks need to keep with the Reserve Bank, in its annual credit policy on April 29. Many banks, including SBI, had revised their lending rates downwards early this year.


rk
Singapore Rentals and Property Classifieds

India Stock Market News : Tata's overseas acquisition bandwagon just continues to roll!

"Tata makes hostile offer to acquire Brazilian ore miner AVG" is the headline of a news report that I just finished reading. Just can't believe that they have not stopped with Corus, where the hell are they going to get the money from! Here is the complete news report

New Delhi: After a spectacular takeover of Corus, Tata Steel has made a hostile offer to acquire Brazilian iron ore miner AVG, which is owned by global mineral giant MMX.

The Steel Business Briefing (SBB) quoted a MMX President Eike Batista as saying that "the domestic steel giant has made the offer." Eike, however, did not reveal the value offered by Tata, but said a deal could be made if Tata guarantees it will build a carmaker on the outskirts of Acu Port, the complex MMX is building on the coast of Rio de Janeiro,'' it quoted the daily as saying. If this happened MMX could sell as much as 50 per cent stake in AVG to the domestic steel giant.

However, when contacted a Tata Steel spokesman could not confirm the same to PTI.

AVG was purchased by MMX last year for $224 million. Its current capacity is around 2.3 million tonnes per year, but MMX has already announced plans to integrate this asset into its recently acquired Minerminal mineral company and expand the combined out put to 6.1 million tonnes this year and upto 10 m.t. by 2010, it added.

RK

India Stock Picks and Recommendations by Brokerages and Analysts - 11 Apr 2008

Broking House

Company

Action

Date

Price

Prime Broking Blue Dart Expres Buy Apr 10, 08 607.00
Karvy Nitin Fire Protectio Buy Apr 10, 08 585.00
Emkay Research Jubilant Organosys Buy Apr 10, 08 469.00
Prime Broking Aegis Logistics Ltd. Buy Apr 10, 08 292.00
HDFC Securities Tanla Solutions Buy Apr 09, 08 1,074.00

source: Rediff

HeadLines from MoneyControl:

Inflation to decide if Sensex will cross 16k: Envison Cap

See Infy price target at Rs 1875: JP Morgan

Banks to see muted Q4 earnings: Angel Broking

See Q4 earnings growth at 18-22%: JM Fin

Everyday India Stock Market and Business Round up - Apr 11 2008

ArcelorMittal wins EU approval for JV
Sify.comToday at 6:23 AM
ArcelorMittal, the world's largest steel maker, won approval from the European Union (EU) on Thursday to form a flat carbon steel joint venture (JV) with Swedish company BE Sverige, Xinhua reported.

March gold imports drop 50% yr/yr
Sify.comYesterday at 8:32 PM
India's gold imports in March halved from a year ago to 27 tonnes, extending a sharp downward trend as high prices kept buyers away but recovering from a heavier fall in February, a top industry official said.

Food prices make inflation control difficult: PM
Sify.comYesterday at 8:18 PM
A steep rise in food prices will make inflation control more difficult, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Thursday, as he urged the global community to act together to ease a supply-demand mismatch.

Bicycle industry may hike rates by 5%
Sify.comYesterday at 6:25 PM
The bicycle industry is thinking of increasing the prices of bicycles by atleast 5 per cent as the production cost of a bicycle has shot up following the imposition of a surcharge of Rs 5,000 per ton on hot rolled steel by the primary steel manufacturers.

BSL Board to consider dividend
Sify.comYesterday at 5:57 PM
BSL Ltd has informed the BSE that a board meeting will be held on April 30 for consideration and approval of audited financial results for the quarter and year ended March 31, 2008 and to consider recommendation of dividend for the year.

Madras Aluminium board to consider dividend
Sify.comYesterday at 5:43 PM
Madras Aluminium Co Ltd has informed BSE that a board meeting will be held on April 29 to consider the audited quarterly financial results and dividend for the period ended March 31, 2008.


Tata Motors shifts gears on overseas expansion plan
Sify.comYesterday at 5:31 PM
Tata Motors gained on Thursday on reports that the company plans to expand its business in Africa by setting up assembly facilities, mainly for commercial vehicles.

NTPC net up 4%, to double coal imports
Sify.comYesterday at 5:23 PM
NTPC Ltd, India's largest power producer, on Thursday reported a 4 per cent rise in full-year provisional net profit and said it would double coal imports in 2008/09 as it expands capacity.

FIIs make a case ahead of SEBI meet
The Economic TimesToday at 9:49 AM
FIIs have requested SEBI that margin money and collateral deposited with the exchanges be made fungible across cash and derivative segment

War on rising prices may leave exporters high, dry
The Economic TimesToday at 7:49 AM
The political focus on taming inflation has robbed this year’s update of Foreign Trade Policy and exporters looking for sops are in for disappointment.

Foreign companies may get to bid for 3G spectrum
The Economic TimesToday at 5:49 AM
Government wants a pie of the spectrum revenue to meet debt relief and other social sector obligations.

RIL to sell up to 10% in KG basin
The Economic TimesToday at 3:48 AM
The company is learnt to have mandated Goldman Sachs to scout for a strategic partner in lieu of technology for further exploration and production

Tata Motors' rating may be downgraded
The Economic TimesYesterday at 10:48 PM
Moody's said Tata Motors' liquidity position is weak since the company has a high reliance on domestic bank debt.

SEZ to attract Rs 15,000 cr investments
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
TIDCO and AMR Constructions signed a MoU to implement the Nanguneri multiproduct SEZ.

Indian Hotels postpones rights issue to Sept 09
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
In a release to the Bombay Stock Exchange, the company said that it has extended the closing date for the issue by nine days and has pushed the exercise of warrants to next year.

Alternative use matter of concern for rising food price
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, expressed deep concern over the rising commodity and food prices both at the global level and in the country. He said that the situation was becoming complex due to alternative uses being developed like for production of bio-fuel.


Rice stocks fall as AP tightens supply
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
Rice stocks have fallen to alarming levels in Kerala after Andhra Pradesh government earmarked the lion's share of its 19 million tonne bumper paddy harvest for its own 'Rs 2 per kilo' rice scheme.

ICICI Bank buys back $50 m bonds
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
ICICI Bank Ltd, the nation's second biggest bank, has bought back $50 million of bonds out of the $2 billion issued by its Bahrain branch in October, a statement from the bank said.

Global real estate investment to take 30%-hit, says report
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
After a record year in 2007 for direct real estate investment globally, with volumes up 8% year-on-year to $759 billion, the investment outlook for 2008 expected to be down over 30% on 2007.

Ranbaxys twin presence in Orchid under sharp focus
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
Even as the Ranbaxy group made it clear that it wasn't interested in hostile takeovers, the group's presence in the Orchid Pharmaceuticals case on two separate occasions is now the topic of intense discussion in market circles.

SBI, SBS merger likely to take a backseat
The Financial ExpressYesterday at 2:54 PM
The SBI is likely to put its merger with associate bank SBS on the backburner. The contentious issue would not be brought up at SBI's board meeting to be held on May 2, sources said.

RK
http://yourmitra.wordpress.com

India Stock Review : Bartronics Limited

I came to know about Bartronics Limited in Nov, 2007. Bartronics Limited was mentioned in an article on Rediff.com as one of the top 10 stocks to invest in 2008. I had followed it since then and I saw it trade in a range for a major part of the year. I liked this company, if you take a look at their numbers over the last few years you can really see they are moving in the right direction. I wanted to get in at the right time so when the stock fell to 190 towards the end of March I jumped in. But the stock, surprisingly, nose dived right after and now it is around 145.

I want to put in some money now. I don't hear any bad press about this stock but there seems to be lack of buying interest as well, which is evident from the low volumes. I am not sure at this point if this is going to move up or down from here - no trigger as well except for a news item that its US subsidiary was given a patent for non-reusable radio frequency-based tamper resistant wrist band or bracelet-like identification device, with an option for advertisements.

I dont have any doubts about the growth of this company over the long term but I dont want to lock in anymore of my hard-earned money. So I am going to watch for a week or two and if I see a trend then I make a decision and, of course, will update this post as well.

RK

Indian Stocks that I am currently watching!

I was in a dilemma earlier if I should sell or hold Satyam shares but had made a decision to let go go of them for a decent gain. Now with the money back in my account I am itching to make a buy.

The one mistake I had committed earlier was to buy everything in a single day for all the money that I had got. Now that I think I am maturing I made a decision not to buy in one go but do it in small lots - either in the same day if the prices are fluctuating too much or in subsequent days. I am implementing this approach with buying into DLF slowly but this is anyway for long term.

Ok, coming back from my approach bullshit, I am currently watching few stocks to buy for a short term. Pharma is doing well but I don't want to enter now as they are in the middle of an uptrend. IT is doing well but 25% of my portfolio is already in IT. I had invested in IT in late 2007 when no one bothered about them, they got beaten down further and even after the market interest my IT portfolio is still reeling in negative!!

Anyways coming back to the original topic, need to kick out the habit of digressing, I am focusing on the beaten down sectors or stocks now - ICICI, Maruti, Tata Motors, BHEL and L & T.

I have not made a choice yet and I wont rush into it. I will wait even if its going to take a week or 2 to find the right one ( that's bullshit!! Don't be surprised if you see a post in few hours stating that I made a mistake by rushing into something)

RK

Long term investor or a short term speculator - Whats your style?

I started thinking seriously at investing Indian Stock Market late last year. The market was already at its peak. I made a decision to allocate a sum of money which can I do away with even if wiped out completely. I took a conscious choice to be in the market as an investor something what Warren Buffet suggests.

As fate would have it the Indian Markets started to decline just as I started investing and they have gone lower and lower since then. I was, and still am, not worried or perturbed with this development. I see investing or speculating during tough times as a valuable learning for the future. I added on capital during these months and bought more stocks and I tried to be in the long term and stick to that philosophy.

But I learnt slowly that going long term just for the sake of it in a declining market makes no sense and one needs to take advantage of the price fluctuations if they can. I had my portfolio swing between green and red and also I had seen individual stocks up 20% and then down 20% during these periods. If I had sold some of them when they were up I could have re-invested the money buying the same or another stock at a lower price but I let the opportunity go.

But now, as I mature I am trying to mold the philosophies and thinkings from famous investors to suit my own style, I also have the urge like many to do something in the market - just sitting idle is boring isn't it ;). So, now I allocated a part of my capital to speculate and make use of the market fluctuations. I am still invested in quality stocks on long term basis and would not sell for marginal profits. I am picking stocks which I can hold for a month or two and make 10-20% out of it.

Thats going to my way till I learn some more... How about your style when you started out and how it changed over the time?

RK
http://yourmitra.wordpress.com

Dilemma with selling a stock - Price is right? Does it have any upward momentum left?

This is a personal post but it reflects the dilemma most of the investors or traders face while selling stocks. The question that needs to be answered while thinking of selling is whether the stock's price is right and if there is any significant upward movement left? I am talking more from a short-term view point.

I currently face the dilemma about Satyam computers. Charts say that it moves within ranges and I have seen it happen. So I had bought Satyam at 375 (low range) and now the price is around 425 (close to high). I had a target of 430 in my mind but from the charts it can go till 440 (short-term max). So my dilemma is whether to give it time to reach 440 or should I sell it off at 430. Greed makes to wait till it reaches 440 and maximize the gain and also since IT stocks are doing well of late there is this optimism that the price can go even higher.

On the other hand, I had seen the prices fall rapidly back to the lows. It happened twice already in the last 3-4 months where Satyam's price fell back to 400 or even less. Should I wait and watch the gains evaporate or monetize them?

The money involved is not huge so I can wait and I can afford mistakes. Since I am only in the learning phase I am alright with committing mistakes since mistakes teach you more than success. One thing I definitely learned is no matter what read in the books and no matter what advice you get from the experts it is finally up to you to make a decision and to follow a style of investing/trading that suits your character and maturity.

I think I will wait and give it a couple of day's time but I have not matured so much that I can control the urge to sell if the price starts to drop. If it moves upward then I might just hold on. Lets see!

RK

3 Apr 2008 - Round up of important Indian Markets and Business News and Views

Bad news from Wall Street this time. The Fed chief had indicated that US may have slipped into recession already. This means that Asian stocks should take a hit today but oddly I see all the bourses in green. Indian Markets have not opened at the time of this post but I think it will follow its Asian Bros.

Wall Street stocks ended lower on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested the world's largest economy may have begun to slide into recession in the first half of this year.

Testifying before Congress, America's top central banker told lawmakers that the US economy would show scant expansion "and could even contract slightly" during the first six months of 2008.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 45.44 points (0.36 percent) at 12,608.92 after moving in and out of positive territory. The blue chip stock barometer had rallied by almost 400 points just a day earlier.

Indian Auto Majors foreign buying spree continues!

A consortium of Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and ICICI Venture Funds on Tuesday signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% stake in Italian gear maker Metalcastello. Company officials refused to divulge details of the deal. The acquisition is part of M&M’s larger strategy to consolidate its gear business in the European market. ET first reported the deal on November 6, 2007.

More news of Indian Government fighting inflation hard! I bet we would not have seen such swift actions if not for the impending general elections. Onions led to BJP's downfall once, can this be the catalyst for Congress's demise in the next election? Lets wait and see!!

With rising prices spoiling the economic growth party, the government is ready to crack the whip beginning with a ban on cement exports.

Simultaneously, efforts are on to increase imports from Pakistan, which is willing to supply up to 11 million tonnes.

On Tuesday, in the midst of the government's multi-pronged crackdown on inflation, the cement producers had announced a rise in prices.

The export ban will augment domestic availability while the cheap imports from Pakistan will soften prices.

Some news headlines from major papers and websites

1. Anil Ambani group's financial services arm Reliance Capital has got a new Chief Executive Officer with Sam Ghosh taking over charge
2. Bajaj Auto Ltd, India's second-biggest motorcycle maker, on Wednesday said vehicle sales in March fell 10 per cent to 176,101 units from 196,592 units a year earlier.
3. Suzlon Energy Ltd has informed the BSE that Suzlon Wind Energy Corporation, the subsidiary of Suzlon Energy Ltd has signed a repeat order with Horizon Wind for 200 MW of wind turbine capacity.
4. The National Commodities and Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) will commence trading in future contracts of Certified Emission Reduction (CERs), the first of its kind in the developing world.
5. Rising oil prices has made a dint in profits of Fast Moving Consumer Goods sector. Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, a major player in FMCG market has projected that slowdown in this sector will continue and is also mulling over revising the prices of its product range shortly.
6. The National Multi-commodity exchange on Tuesday introduced futures contract in Coffee Arabica and Coffee Robusta, besides other commodities, after receiving approval of the forward markets commission.
7. The government has decided to lift the ban on exports of castor oil, coconut oil and edible oils of minor forest produce with effect from April 1, 2008

RK
Singapore Apartment Rentals

3 Apr 2008 - India Stock Market Analysis, Recommendations and Analysts Picks

Some quotes, tips and recommendations from brokerages and analysts

Expect Q4 earnings to disappoint: Religare Sec

Mkts may not touch 18k soon: Aletheia SG Cap

Eye financial sector at the moment: Anagram

Broking House Company Action Date Price

Karvy JSW Steel Market Performer Apr 02, 08 878.00
HEM Securities ABG Shipyard Buy Apr 02, 08 870.00
Emkay Research Sunil Hitech Enginee Buy Apr 02, 08 280.00
Karvy Sun Pharma. Market Performer Apr 01, 08 1,410.00
Emkay Research Vakrangee Soft Buy Apr 01, 08 304.00

RK

Indian Business going global : Motorola's Mobile Handset business could be taken over by an Indian company (Videocon)

Another Indian company is going after global business unit. Videocon has shown their interest to acquire Motorola's mobile handset business which Motorola wants to hive off as a different entity. Reason for this interest can be gathered from this news snippet

Explaining why he was bidding for Motorola's handset business, Dhoot said his group was ready to launch its pan-Indian GSM mobile operations at an investment of Rs 6,000 crore.

Also, it has a consumer durables retail chain under the brand name "Next" with over 1,000 stores across the country that stock mobile phones too.

"The Indian market for mobile phones is around 120 million units a year and we have our own retail chain stories that we can leverage. Also, we can transfer the manufacturing plant to India to leverage cheap labour in the country," added Dhoot.

Its too early to predict if this will materialize but this again goes on to show the confidence that Indian businesses are showing to become truly global players

RK

Every day Indian Stock Market News Round up

There is lots of talk about Inflation nowadays. I think it has more focus now due to the coming general elections.Snippet of two reports highlight the urgency and important of this issue

1. With Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Yaga Venugopal Reddy describing the spurt in inflation to 6.68% as unacceptably high and economists predicting 8% soon, bankers and money Markets now expect swift, multi-pronged action by the central bank via a mix of key short-term rate hikes and a cash reserve ratio (CRR) increase.

Various players feel RBI may not even wait for its annual monetary and credit policy announcement slated for April 29. We expect RBI to announce some urgent measures very soon, maybe this week itself. RBI may go in for both a hike in CRR and a hike in the reverse repo rate to suck out liquidity, said a senior banker. A sharp increase to deal a body blow to inflation should not come as a surprise.

2. The extent of the government's concern about inflation was evident at the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Prices, which started at 8 pm on Monday and went on past 12 midnight.

On the government's to-do list of short-term measures to deal with foodgrain shortage, is an eye on arhatiyas (agents) who act as fronts of corporate houses and hoard grain till prices rise.

3. As part of its inflation management strategy, the Government is pitching for a 10-20 per cent reduction in steel prices before the month end.

Senior officials of the Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Steel on Tuesday met representatives of the Indian mining industry to explore ways of controlling spiralling steel prices.

And, there is good news from US Stock Markets. Surprisingly the huge write-downs from UBS and Deutsche Bank had positive impact on the US and European Markets.

Wall Street stocks rocketed on Tuesday as hopes mounted that stressed banks are starting to put housing-related investment losses behind them and come clean about outstanding mortgage loan write-offs.

Stocks gained after the US investment bank Lehman Brothers said it had raised fresh capital totalling four billion dollars and as Swiss banking giant UBS divulged fresh losses, but raised hopes it was getting a grip on its stricken balance sheet.

Subsequently, the US currency also rose which means happy times for Indian exporters. The reason given for the rise is

The US currency got a lift from a Wall Street stock rally spurred by renewed confidence in the banking sector that the financial crisis may be bottoming out, and a survey indicating manufacturing activity in the world's largest economy had unexpectedly strengthened.

Dealers said news of a successful cash raising exercise at US investment giant Lehman Brothers, which had been hit by rumours of problems in the wake of the US sub-prime, or high-risk, home loan crisis, cheered investors.

Mean while, Oil and Gold prices are declining

Gold fell in Asia underpinned by increased demand from jewellery makers after the precious metal declined in the past three days. Gold for immediate delivery gained $4.12, or 0.5% to $921 an ounce before trading at 917.06.

Bullion declined 3.9% in the past three trading days. Silver fell 0.6% to $17.1250 an ounce.

News that can cut down the costs of Telecom operators

In a move that would bring significant reduction in costs for rolling out telecom network, the Government has allowed operators to share all parts of the infrastructure except spectrum. This is expected to enable operators to save nearly 30 per cent of their costs which in turn will result in cheaper tariffs for consumers.

News that predict bad times for Indian Banks esp the Private Sector ones

1. Lower credit offtake, lower income from foreign exchange businesses, and capital market operations could hit bank profitability in the coming quarters, reckon analysts.

Indian banks, especially foreign banks and new private sector banks, have been aggressive in selling exotic foreign exchange derivatives.

For banks like HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank, income from foreign exchange revenues was estimated to be around 12% to 17% of the profit before tax (PBT).

2. It is not just the manufacturing sector which is worried these days. India’s banks, which have seen record loan growth during the last few years, now have a major challenge on hand this fiscal as an imminent slowdown threatens to hit loan growth while the prospects of another hike in interest rates (the after effect of monetary tightening to combat inflation) could well dent their bottomlines.

The stock market has been quick to read the signs with bank stocks being pummelled. Since January, the stock prices of banks have been on a southward course.

RK
Singapore Property

Indian Stock Market News Round up - More bad news from Global Banks!!

The Indian Market did not do well yesterday and is volatile today. And to add to the misery global banks have again come out with fresh package of bad news that is sure to affect the market sentiment world wide.

Major head line news item is UBS writing down whopping 19 billion dollars!! Here is the snippet from one of the websites

UBS AG wrote down an additional $19 billion on U.S. real estate and related assets on Tuesday, causing a net loss of 12 billion Swiss francs ($12.03 billion) in the first quarter, and said it would seek 15 billion francs through a rights issue of shares.

The writedowns come at the upper end of expectations and on top of $18.4 billion in damage caused by the subprime crisis last year, which had already forced the bank to ask shareholder approval for 19 billion francs in capital-raising measures in February

Another news item that caught my eye today and which sounded so nonsensical and funny was this -

Day traders would abstain from trading on Tuesday to protest the Budget proposal on Securities Transaction Tax (STT), which would make their activity in the stock market unattractive.

But this one is definitely worth reading and is a positive move as far as I am concerned.

On the heels of rising inflation and slackening industrial output comes the latest change in accounting norms, requiring Indian companies to disclose losses arising out of derivative contracts.

The market is clueless as to how many companies have signed such deals. But that has only added to the already long list of worries; nobody knows which company may throw up a nasty surprise in its fourth-quarter numbers. Still, the dominant concern at the moment is inflation, which has now climbed to a 13-month high.

RK
Singapore Property