And the game begins. So many stocks so little money sigh! The portfolio is as follows:
Andhra Petro – 1333 @ 15/-
Panacea Biotec – 48 @ 415/-
India Cements – 91 @ 219/-
SRF Ltd – 83 @ 240/-
Reliance Industries – 17 @ 1,175/-
Total Value 99,739/-
Andhra Petro – growth story, part of a well-diversified conglomerate. Net up five fold.
Panacea Biotech - diversified biotech play.
India Cements – has turned the corner, increase in sales and better capacity utilization are translating in to healthy bottom lines.
SRF Ltd – Again good quarterly results, net up by 643%.
Reliance Industries – Index bellweather. If the Sensex has to go up from here Reliance will have to participate in some fashion I imagine.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Monday, September 11, 2006
Vidya Balan bats for Moneybhai
Sex sells. A hot looking Vidya Balan is exhorting all us viewers of CNBC TV 18, to logon to Moneybhai.com where there is "no risk only kamayee." Moneybhai is only a game, but it sends all the wrong signals to newbie investors. Ask any seasoned investor "no risk only kamayee" is just that, hokum.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
SEBI's PN Boruhaha Part Deux.
It has become fashionable for the securities market watchdog to raise the scepter of PNs from time to time. Maybe SEBI has run out to things to keep itself amused, so it has embarked on this venture to discipline FII's issuing PNs. Goldman Sachs is most definitely tickled pink by all of this and so is Citibank for that matter. Its (Goldman’s) total net revenues for FY 2005 were $24.782 billion. The fine of Rs.1 crore (approx $ 250,000) is to Goldman Sachs the equivalent of pocket change to you and me. But wait this gets better. Goldman’s pre tax earnings for 2005 were about $8.2 billion, as against the total FII inflows in 2005 (
SEBI is no stranger to making an fool of itself with respect to PNs; the case of UBS Securities does come to mind. SEBI is totally kicking ass and taking names as you can see:
"The 60-page order (SEBI's order) itself is an odd mix of innuendo and legal claims, endowed with more of an amateurish literary flavor than the professional competence of a legal department............... Instead, the SEBI order engages in elaborate innuendo that UBS tried to manipulate the market. SEBI then chickens out and does not actually charge UBS with market manipulation. The actual misdeed with which UBS is charged is delay in giving information."
It’s an open secret that a good portion of the so called FII inflow is dubious in origin. Infact a PN with its lack of transparency an ideal vehicle to launder ill gotten wealth. The final beneficiaries of a PN are hidden behind layers of shell companies and entities making it impossible to pin down the source of the money. Almost every one from promoters to politicians have money stashed abroad that is coming in through PNs. Further measures to curb the issuances of PNs and attempts to regulate them will yield precisely nothing. There is far too much at stake. This also the reason why the Finance Ministry is batting so aggressively on behalf of PNs. To further underline the hold of PNs on the markets as much has 52% of fresh FII inflows are through this route. So any attempts to curb this mode of investment in Indian markets will result in the markets imploding to the size not much larger that this full stop "." here.
Plans are afoot to bring about greater disclosure and transparency in PNs. It’s safe to assume that this will receive a quiet burial a few of months from now.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Kartik Kannan - The Future of Blogging in Chennai
Kartik Kannan is the future of blogging in Chennai, and if some people have their way in
Kartik's love for blogging is revealed by the fact that he left a plum job at Infosys to manage the blog channel at Sulekha. Some may choose to view this as one of the most assanine career moves ever, but not so Kartik. Indeed Kartik had found his true calling to shape the future of blogging in Chennai under the tutelage and able guidance of Kiruba Shankar. Kartik took to his new role like a duck to water. His move to leave comments /adverts about Sulekha on various blogs without the prior consent of the blog owner was truly breathtaking. Some might liken it to spamming, but then that would be making a mountain out of mole hill. After all violating a bloggers personal space is no biggie.
Kartik is also
The fact this event is ghosted by Sulekha and that Kiruba is his boss should be disregarded as a mere coincidence, a quirk of fate. There is no doubt that Karthik is a thought leader on Branding via Blogs as is evident from this. He is also something of a serial entrepreneur. This gem on tourism and travel can be found here. Notice if you will his amazing insight, and how he managed to arrive at a figure of Rs 100 just like that. Sheer mastery of the topic I tell you, I mean how else can you pull a revenue estimate out of thin air.
Another area of expertise is Kartik's nuanced understanding of interpersonal relations especially with the members of the opposite sex. He has demonstrated his mastery of this topic with his in-depth study, replete with case studies, statistical analysis and visual aids. For one so young he has mature head on his shoulders and is a picture of modesty. Here is Karthik on Karthik "THE WORLD NEEDS MORE MEN LIKE ME, to make it a better place. Most of my friends from the opposite sex at either workplace or college friends would also vouch for that, as they know how much of a difference I make when I talk to them". And you thought I was gilding the lily. And no Kartik is not a chauvinist, heavens no he is a man among men. Kind of like Charlton Heston back in the day.
Make no mistake people Kartik is the future of blogging in Chennai. Yes Sir the man himself, Kiruba and the rest of the select few are shaping the future of blogdom in Chennai. Their goal and dream is to transform blogging as a medium in the same way TOI, Deccan Chronicle, Headlines Today, CNN IBN and Times Now have done to their respective media. You just cant afford be left out of this paradigm shift happening in the desi blogosphere. And if you want in just gotta attend the unconference at Blogcamp , you just gotta. And you know what just like all the best things in life this is absolutely " F-R-E-E". Blogcamp Unconference be there or be square.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Happy Independence Day !!
" Remember, remember, the 5th of November
The Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot. "
This is the 60th year of our independence. India and its citizenry celebrate this occasion as only they can. Some of the significant achievements in honour of this special occasion are as follows
1) The government has finally found a way to legalize the issue of the office of profit. Which if I am not mistaken is what an MP seat is any way, so why the fuss you ask? What about the conflict of interest? What interest or rather who's interest? This all so silly really. We should send a petition to the president asking him to give his consent to the bill.
2) The bureaucracy has emphatically defended its inalienable right to disinformation, delay and obfuscation. The proposed neutering of the Right to Information act is supposedly to prevent "harassment " of bureaucrats.
3) In this our glorious 60th year of independence, we celebrate our right to free speech by the proposed introduction of a Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2006. We had a teaser promo of the intended application of the bill in the recent blogspot ban.
4) Perhaps one of the most notable achievements is that the government will guarantee the equality of outcome. This perhaps is a first. We all have heard of equality of opportunity, but that is so passé. By proposing reservations in jobs, schools and colleges and providing guarantee for rural employment, the government will guarantee jobs and higher education, without the populace having to actually work for it.
5) In a stunning display of honesty and civic duty the tax paying public has "voluntarily" decided to submit a cash flow statement to the tax authorities from the next financial year onwards. This the public feels will help the government keep track of all the "cash" being spent by the tax paying public.
Henceforth that 25p paise coin that falls into the couch will result in a mad scramble to recover it. The fear that this measure will be used as a tool for further harassment has not crossed the mind of the public at all. Instead they have taken the motto of paying tax and holding their head high to heart.
It was also heard that the tax department was inundated with requests for the "new" simple saral form. It seems that the new complex "simple" form of 4 pages is a great hit with those filing returns. The tax paying public just cant wait for the day they have to fill out these forms. Last heard there were cues being formed at income tax offices around the country in order to collect these forms for fear that they might run out.
6) Lest there be any doubt that we as nation take attacks on our citizenry and sovereignty with the seriousness it deserves, the Prime Minister has promised to reflect on the relations with our friendly neighbour. The use of this ultimate weapon has struck terror in the hearts and minds of those who were responsible for the attack on the Mumbai trains.
This approach is expected to shame the perpetrators of the train blast into committing suicide. So far this approach has yielded uncertain results. In contrast some nations have reacted to similar situations by bombing the living daylights out of those who would dare attack them.
7) In this our 60th year we have truly laid claim to our "free"dom. All we want is (to get things for free) to be free. We don’t really expect much from our government except for free TV, free land, free power, free co-op loans, (virtually) free rice, etc. Welcome to the ultimate "mai baap" sarkaar.
The Gunpowder Treason and plot ;
I know of no reason why Gunpowder Treason
Should ever be forgot. "
This is the 60th year of our independence. India and its citizenry celebrate this occasion as only they can. Some of the significant achievements in honour of this special occasion are as follows
1) The government has finally found a way to legalize the issue of the office of profit. Which if I am not mistaken is what an MP seat is any way, so why the fuss you ask? What about the conflict of interest? What interest or rather who's interest? This all so silly really. We should send a petition to the president asking him to give his consent to the bill.
2) The bureaucracy has emphatically defended its inalienable right to disinformation, delay and obfuscation. The proposed neutering of the Right to Information act is supposedly to prevent "harassment " of bureaucrats.
3) In this our glorious 60th year of independence, we celebrate our right to free speech by the proposed introduction of a Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, 2006. We had a teaser promo of the intended application of the bill in the recent blogspot ban.
4) Perhaps one of the most notable achievements is that the government will guarantee the equality of outcome. This perhaps is a first. We all have heard of equality of opportunity, but that is so passé. By proposing reservations in jobs, schools and colleges and providing guarantee for rural employment, the government will guarantee jobs and higher education, without the populace having to actually work for it.
5) In a stunning display of honesty and civic duty the tax paying public has "voluntarily" decided to submit a cash flow statement to the tax authorities from the next financial year onwards. This the public feels will help the government keep track of all the "cash" being spent by the tax paying public.
Henceforth that 25p paise coin that falls into the couch will result in a mad scramble to recover it. The fear that this measure will be used as a tool for further harassment has not crossed the mind of the public at all. Instead they have taken the motto of paying tax and holding their head high to heart.
It was also heard that the tax department was inundated with requests for the "new" simple saral form. It seems that the new complex "simple" form of 4 pages is a great hit with those filing returns. The tax paying public just cant wait for the day they have to fill out these forms. Last heard there were cues being formed at income tax offices around the country in order to collect these forms for fear that they might run out.
6) Lest there be any doubt that we as nation take attacks on our citizenry and sovereignty with the seriousness it deserves, the Prime Minister has promised to reflect on the relations with our friendly neighbour. The use of this ultimate weapon has struck terror in the hearts and minds of those who were responsible for the attack on the Mumbai trains.
This approach is expected to shame the perpetrators of the train blast into committing suicide. So far this approach has yielded uncertain results. In contrast some nations have reacted to similar situations by bombing the living daylights out of those who would dare attack them.
7) In this our 60th year we have truly laid claim to our "free"dom. All we want is (to get things for free) to be free. We don’t really expect much from our government except for free TV, free land, free power, free co-op loans, (virtually) free rice, etc. Welcome to the ultimate "mai baap" sarkaar.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Dabbler demystifies an Urban Legend
The term "Urban Legend" will always bring to my mind a Hollywood film of the same name. The film while nothing remarkable in it self, is quite an apt simile for the brouhaha surrounding the blog of "India's self proclaimed" top blogger Kiruba Shankar.
Without putting too fine a point on it, the film in question was your usual inane B grade slasher flick with a contrived ending, produced by the Wes Cavern factory. The same factory that was responsible for the camp classic Nightmare on Elm Street and its numerous sequels.
If one were to be charitable to the film, it was formulaic and catered to the lowest common denominator. The film had no pretensions and did not break any new ground either. Its star cast was composed of career B listers, who have since vanished without a trace. All in all a totally unremarkable, average film.
This is the point I think Dabbler was trying to make; the blog and blogger (Kiruba) in question are run of the mill, not quite contenders for "India's Best" which is a big rap. Nominating yourself and being endorsed as the best by one's peers or a credible rating system are two very different things. Such titles sound and look better, when conferred by a third party. Therein lays the problem with blatant self-promotion. Try as much as the emperor will, mere belief alone will not pass for clothing, there has to be something to work with.
Now if this were popularity contest, things would be different. Kiruba might well be India's most popular blogger and no one including your truly has problem with that. But popularity does not pass for quality of content or intellectual sophistry or genuine skill for that matter. I know this is very hair splitty and all that, but this is crux of Dabblers critique and mine.
It is rather unfortunate that the legions of adoring Kiruba fans anonymous or otherwise have missed this point. They approach has been to resort to anonymous commenting and name calling to make their case. Not that they have made one or that there is one to be made.
It bears noting that the critique is just that a critique, not a damming indictment or a personal affront to ones dignity. So I find it strange that there are so many fragile egos and hurt feelings for what is essentially an honest opinion. To me this simply smacks of a mutual appreciation society that has got its knickers in a twist over a frank opinion. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in all this it that makes hard to swallow.
Without putting too fine a point on it, the film in question was your usual inane B grade slasher flick with a contrived ending, produced by the Wes Cavern factory. The same factory that was responsible for the camp classic Nightmare on Elm Street and its numerous sequels.
If one were to be charitable to the film, it was formulaic and catered to the lowest common denominator. The film had no pretensions and did not break any new ground either. Its star cast was composed of career B listers, who have since vanished without a trace. All in all a totally unremarkable, average film.
This is the point I think Dabbler was trying to make; the blog and blogger (Kiruba) in question are run of the mill, not quite contenders for "India's Best" which is a big rap. Nominating yourself and being endorsed as the best by one's peers or a credible rating system are two very different things. Such titles sound and look better, when conferred by a third party. Therein lays the problem with blatant self-promotion. Try as much as the emperor will, mere belief alone will not pass for clothing, there has to be something to work with.
Now if this were popularity contest, things would be different. Kiruba might well be India's most popular blogger and no one including your truly has problem with that. But popularity does not pass for quality of content or intellectual sophistry or genuine skill for that matter. I know this is very hair splitty and all that, but this is crux of Dabblers critique and mine.
It is rather unfortunate that the legions of adoring Kiruba fans anonymous or otherwise have missed this point. They approach has been to resort to anonymous commenting and name calling to make their case. Not that they have made one or that there is one to be made.
It bears noting that the critique is just that a critique, not a damming indictment or a personal affront to ones dignity. So I find it strange that there are so many fragile egos and hurt feelings for what is essentially an honest opinion. To me this simply smacks of a mutual appreciation society that has got its knickers in a twist over a frank opinion. Perhaps there is a grain of truth in all this it that makes hard to swallow.
Monday, July 24, 2006
What would happen if you fell into a hole in the ground
Apparently if you fall into a 60 foot deep hole in the ground you can
1) Be the subject of live breaking news on TV.
2) Get the entire nation and the Prime Minister, no less praying for you.
3) Get an amount of 2 lacs, the annual wage of several indian families for err.. ..falling into a hole.
4) Have all your medical expenses taken care of as apart of the PM's blessing package.
5) And Ah!, get the Hindu to devote 2 whole pages for the same, with photos.
This largesse is no doubt on account of the fact that Prince was not a resident of Mumbai and hence could not rely on its fabled reselience to get back on his feet.
The Mumbaikars though will have to make do with half baked responses, appeals for communal harmony, minority appeasement and a compensation of approx 4 lacs (I guess thats the amount, I could be wrong). In other words getting blown to bits on a train is only twice as bad as falling into a hole.
So do we have any takers?
1) Be the subject of live breaking news on TV.
2) Get the entire nation and the Prime Minister, no less praying for you.
3) Get an amount of 2 lacs, the annual wage of several indian families for err.. ..falling into a hole.
4) Have all your medical expenses taken care of as apart of the PM's blessing package.
5) And Ah!, get the Hindu to devote 2 whole pages for the same, with photos.
This largesse is no doubt on account of the fact that Prince was not a resident of Mumbai and hence could not rely on its fabled reselience to get back on his feet.
The Mumbaikars though will have to make do with half baked responses, appeals for communal harmony, minority appeasement and a compensation of approx 4 lacs (I guess thats the amount, I could be wrong). In other words getting blown to bits on a train is only twice as bad as falling into a hole.
So do we have any takers?
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