INVESTMENT WORLD
OPEN OFFERS
Hughes Software: Reject
SHAREHOLDERS of Hughes Software Systems can ignore the open offer being made by News Corporation (along with persons acting in concert) for a 20 per cent equity stake at Rs 232 per share. The open offer was ...
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PENSION PLANS
HDFC Standard Life Pension Plan
WITH the salaried class increasingly realising the importance of having to plan out their finances for their post-retirement days, pension plans are gaining in prominence. One such plan is that of HDFC Standard Life. ...
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INSIGHT
Small-caps: All-season flavour
HINDUJA TMT and Balaji Telefilms are classic examples of small-cap stocks. Both are high-profile small-cap stocks that have seen better days in the market, and both have fluctuated wildly. Small-capitalisation ...
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Micro-cap sizzlers and damp squibs
STOCKS with market capitalisation of less than Rs 100 crore are generally more suitable for trading than for investment. Such stocks move up and down for reasons not known to the majority of the investing public. ...
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Insurance schemes: Suitable for debt, not equity
In insurance schemes, the impact of administrative charges wipes out the benefits of their tax-efficiency. As such, insurance schemes are not attractive options for channelling your investments into equities.
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Sifting inside information
A sketchy news of a big order, restructuring or the magical word — divestment — is all it takes for a barely-heard-of-stock to take off into the stratosphere, with investors queuing up to place buy orders.
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Bajaj Auto demerger plan — Of corporate intent and SEBI's inaction
When it comes to corporate actions and their material disclosure, hair-splitting distinction between intent, objective and development is best avoided.
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MUTUAL FUNDS
Templeton India Growth Fund: Hold/Avoid fresh exposure
WITH an absolute return of around 60 per cent since December 2002, Templeton India Growth Fund (TIGF) has been an active participant in the recent bull run. The fund's performance in the recent rally compares favourably ...
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Fancy for dividends — Investors can land in trouble
WITH equity funds notching up stellar returns over the past six months, dividend announcements from equity mutual funds have been coming thick and fast. On the face of it, this is a healthy trend for retail investors in ...
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UTI Services Sector: Hold
INVESTORS in UTI Service Sector can stay with the fund. The across-the-board run-up in stock prices has left only a handful of few sectors in which the downside risk is lower in the near term. One such is the banking ...
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MFs: Schemes, dividends galore
WITH the stock market bullish, mutual funds have been adopting a range of strategies to lure investors. Quite a few funds, such as Canbank Mutual, BoB Mutual, IL & FS Mutual Fund and Tata Mutual Fund, have launched ...
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Franklin India Prima Fund: Invest in phases
INVESTORS can consider exposures in the Prima Fund despite the run-up in equity prices. However, investment can be phased out using options such as the systematic investment plan. This will enable them to capitalise on ...
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STOCKS
West Coast Paper: Book profits partially
West Coast Paper may manage the Rama Newsprint acquisition comfortably, given the strength in raising fresh equity, possible restructuring of the latter's debt and the firm trends in paper prices, says S. Vaidya Nathan.
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Wheels India: Buy
TAKING into account the strong fundamentals and improved business prospects, long-term investors can contemplate equity exposure at the current price of Rs 129. Along with a host of auto ancillary companies, Wheels ...
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Lakshmi Auto: Buy
THE stock of Lakshmi Auto Components has been on the ascendant in the current market rally. From around Rs 71 in early May, the stock has appreciated 65 per cent to trade at around Rs 117 now. In the last couple of ...
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Swaraj Mazda: Hold
PART of the Punjab-based Swaraj group, Swaraj Mazda (SML), has leveraged the strong performance of the commercial vehicles sector the past six quarters. The company's has carried forward the impressive performance ...
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Cadila Healthcare: Book profits partially
PARTIAL profit booking may be considered in the Cadila Healthcare stock. Investors can also consider part-liquidating their holdings at significant upticks from current levels so as to lock into concrete gains. Re-entry ...
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Union Bank: Attractive valuation
FRESH investments can be considered in the stock of Union Bank of India, which trades at a discount to its book value of Rs 48 and at a multiple of less than four times its earnings for the 12-month period ended June 2003. The stock offers a ...
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Seshasayee Paper: Valuable paper
Investments can be considered in the stock of Seshasayee Paper Boards, which is set to capitalise on the firm trends in international and domestic paper prices that have stabilised at higher levels. Over the past two months, international pulp ...
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TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Query corner
I would like to know the outlook for Zee Telefilms and Tamilnadu Petroproducts. — S.M.Dani Zee Telefilms (Rs 103.8): Though the stock appears to have potential to seek higher levels, a drop below Rs 100 would impart ...
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Book profit in United Phosphorous
ITC (Rs 804.6): In line with last week's expectations, the stock ruled weak and dropped to a low of Rs 800 on Friday. While a short-term rally to the Rs 840-850 range is not ruled out, the stock appears to be headed towards the target zone ...
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Weakness to persist in Nifty, Sensex
Preferred view: The much-awaited technical correction took place last week. Though the overall outlook for the market is still bullish, the downward correction that begun on Tuesday is not complete as yet. The Nifty is likely to seek ...
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LIFE INSURANCE
Group superannuation plans — Giving employees a happier retirement
GROUP superannuation schemes offered by insurance companies can be a good option for organisations to systematically plan for the increasingly crucial post-retirement days of their employees. A well-crafted plan can ...
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LIC announces lower bonus
THE Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced lower levels of bonus for its policyholders for 2002-03 compared to 2001-02, The following are the salient features of the bonus announcement: Final ...
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STOCK MARKETS
Up `n' down the street
BEML (Rs 115): The stock surged 21 per cent on market talk that the company has bagged orders worth Rs 30 crore for the supply of Railway coaches. Sister PSU Bharat Electronics was also in the limelight. Welspun Gujarat (Rs 31): ...
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Select FMCG stocks perk up
Godrej Consumer Products, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer and Procter & Gamble have been on a steady rise. The stock price of Godrej Consumer's sister outfit, Godrej Industries, has also been on an uptrend. The price of the engineering major, ...
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Stocks in trade-for-trade
THE National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange have shifted certain stocks to the trade-for-trade segment. What is this segment, and why did the stock exchanges adopt such a measure? The trade-for-trade ...
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DEBT MARKET
Bonds likely in tight range
THE yield curve ended marginally higher week-on-week. The 10-year yield was up 4 bps compared with the previous week. Going forward, bonds may continue to trade in a tight range with a somewhat upside bias. The primary factor driving sentiment ...
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DERIVATIVES MARKETS
Futures in premium
WITH the futures contracts trading in premium and the build-up in open interest across contracts, barring M&M, i-flex, Grasim, L&T and BSES, the indication is that the underlying sentiment in the F&O segment is positive. Nifty: The ...
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Using futures/options
In the futures and options market, an open contract means any contract - future or a put or a call- that has not been exercised, closed or expired. Open interest is the number of open contracts for a given future contract or option. For ...
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Options guide
CORPORATE BONDS
Capital gains bond: SIDBI too cuts rate
The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has reduced the interest rate on its capital gains bond to 5 per cent from 5.5 per cent, effective September 10. Last week, Nabard had effected a similar cut in the interest rate on its ...
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FIXED DEPOSITS
Escorts: Ride it for a year
THE fixed deposit programme of Escorts is open for fresh investment. Given the attractive interest rate, investors can opt for the one-year tenor. An investment beyond that can be avoided as the company's earnings ...
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INCOME TAX
Sharing tax shelter with spouse
MY WIFE and myself are employed and have jointly taken a loan from ICICI for purchase of a flat. The total interest payable on the loan is Rs 2.60 lakh per annum. Can I claim the interest up to Rs 1.50 lakh and my ...
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Treading into day trading
I AM engaged in buying and selling shares without actual delivery, that is, in day trading of shares. What is to be taken as turnover in such a case? Is it the gross sales or the net income from such sales? Under ...
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Interest on excess tax paid reduced
Interest rate on excess tax paid by assesses has been cut by two percentage points. On excess tax paid, the Government will now pay interest at 6 per cent per annum against the earlier rate of 8 per cent. If there is a delay in filing returns, ...
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IPOS
B.A.G. Films: Reject
INVESTMENTS can be avoided in the initial public offering (IPO) of B.A.G. Films. The shares, which have a face value of Rs 2, are being offered at Rs 10 per share. There is a possibility that on listing, in the current ...
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Lux Hosiery Industries: Reject
INVESTORS need not consider participating in the capital offer of Lux Hosiery Industries, which markets a range of undergarments under the Lux brand name. At a price of Rs 50 per share (face value of Rs 10), the ...
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Vardhman Acrylics: Reject
INVESTORS can stay away from the offer for the sale of the equity stake of Mahavir Spinning Mills in Vardhman Acrylics (VAL). The offer for sale is through the book-building route at a floor price of Rs 10 per share. ...
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BOOKS
BOOK VALUE
Sound investors enjoy sound sleep
HE WROTE an investment book and dedicated it "to all investors, large and small, who do NOT adhere to the philosophy: `I have already made up my mind, don't confuse me with facts.'" About this book Warren Buffett wrote ...
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CARTOON
Shortsell
"Everything is back on rails! How about giving the first round of funding now and the second after lunch?"
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