The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, December 14, 2003

The principal-agent problem
YOU may have observed that employees of several technology companies are now exercising their stock options. But did you know that stock options are incentives given to the employees to moderate the principal-agent ... More

INDUSTRY ANALYSIS

Paints: Coming out in flying colours
FRONTLINE players in the paint industry are likely to end financial year (FY) 2004 with bottomline coated thick black. The continued high demand for housing in the past two years and a further softening of home ... More

`Focus now is on strengthening our presence in decorative segment'
Dealers and contractors play an important role in the purchase decision for paints, as they are the major influencers. Over the past few years, we have concentrated on increasing our network in terms of depth and width. More

Brush with costs
The health of operating margins is highly dependent on material costs, which constitute about 60 per cent of sales. More

Black and glossy
Asian Paints: Buy
Goodlas Nerolac: Hold/Buy on declines
Berger Paints: Hold/Buy on declines
More

INSIGHT

Bull market: 1994-95 and now
On stronger ground, this time around
THE current bull phase, which appears to have momentum left still — despite a long-overdue correction — has been so broad-based as to make difficult zeroing-in on any sector that has missed the bus. In ... More

Risk factors for current bull market
Enhanced global linkage was perceived as a threat in the mid 1990s. Now it is viewed as a growth opportunity, especially for the auto component, pharmaceuticals and information technology sectors. More

Take advantage of administered rates
The high-administered rates on small savings options may be available only for a few weeks more. When administered rates decline, yields on competing options may decline too. So, advancing investment plans appear to be in order in the case of most de bt investments. More

Auto components stocks — Is the acceleration for real?
There is a growing impression that the next wave of outsourcing from India will be in auto components. The truth is that there are few companies that measure up to the rigorous standards required for supplying to multinational majors. More

Bulls on the rampage — Beware the horns and hoofs
Trying to ride the uptrend in a long list of stocks of companies with dicey credentials carries high risk. Exit option in most of the 1,200 stocks that have resurfaced on the trading list of the BSE has to be actively considered. More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Sundaram Taxsaver: Hold
INVESTORS can retain their present exposures in Sundaram Taxsaver. Over the past year, the fund has generated returns of around 94 per cent, in line with returns generated by other top performing diversified funds. The ... More

Income funds — Staying on is a safer option
AFTER about two years of relentless rise in values, the net asset values (NAVs) of debt mutual funds have fallen in the last couple of months. They have declined by about 0.7 per cent, on an average, in the last month. ... More

Magnum Multiplier Plus Scheme: Book profits partially
INVESTORS in the SBI Magnum Multiplier Plus scheme (MMPS) can book profits on part of their holdings to lock into the impressive gains over the past year. Reversing its disappointing run of the preceding years, ... More

HDFC Equity Fund: Invest
INVESTMENTS can be considered in the HDFC Equity Fund, which, till six months ago, was the Zurich India Equity Fund, as it continues to be an impressive performer. The fund's track record over the ongoing bullish ... More

UTI Mutual Fund

UTI Mutual Fund has announced a dividend of 100 per cent (Rs 10 per unit) for Master Equity Plan 1998, Master Equity Plan 1999 and Master Value Unit Plan. The NAVs of the funds are Rs 22.6, Rs 33.8 and Rs 31.1 ... More

STOCKS

Eicher/Eicher Motors: Poor harvest
Eicher: Pare exposures
Eicher Motors: Pare exposures
More

Atul: Hold/buy on declines
SHAREHOLDERS can retain their holdings in Atul, a member of the Lalbhai Group, taking into consideration the improved growth prospects, its eminent position in the dye segment and the company's increased focus on ... More

KPIT Cummins: Buy
KPIT Cummins Infosystems represents a good investment choice for investors with a medium-term perspective. The stock trades at a fairly stiff price-earnings multiple of 15 times its annualised per share earnings of ... More

IFCI: Hold
SHAREHOLDERS of IFCI can continue to hold the stock. The company's financial profile is set to improve, thanks to such measures as infusion of grants by the Government and the reduction in interest costs. This could ... More

Coromandel Fertilisers: Hold
The inorganic route that Coromandel Fertilizers has taken to further its growth plans comes with a dose of risk. But the company appears to have made all the right moves to mitigate these risks, says Aarati Krishnan. More

MRF: Buy
LONG-term investors can contemplate exposures in the tyre major MRF at the price of Rs 2,163. Though the stock has already appreciated by 140 per cent this year, there appears to be still scope for gains. The growth in automobile sector along ... More

Container Corporation: Long-term buy
Investments can be made in the stock of Container Corporation of India (Concor), which is a monopoly in containerised ferrying of cargo, at Rs 611. Any declines can be put to effective use to take exposures. Diversification of supply sources for ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Positive outlook for Wipro
Wipro (Rs 1609.4): The stock was confined to the limits of the bullish and bearish trigger price level of Rs 1650 and Rs 1420 respectively. The recent price pattern indicates that the stock could seek higher levels. A move past Rs 1650 ... More

Focus of the week
Elder Pharma (Rs 158): The share price has managed to move to the earlier mentioned (Edition dated November 9) target zone of Rs 145-150. The near-term outlook appears positive. The stock could move past the Rs 185-190 range in the near ... More

Further upside on the cards
Preferred view: The index moved right in line with previous week's expectations. As anticipated, Nifty recovered ground after a brief correction on Monday. Though the expected short-term weakness turned out to be short-lived, the index ... More

Query Corner
Please advise about Moser Baer and Lyka Labs. I intend to accumulate these stocks in huge quantity. — S. Venkata Ramanah Moser Baer (Rs 291.4): Despite the sharp run up in price in the recent months, there still appears ... More

CARS

Tips on buying premium small car
I am a marketing engineer working in Coimbatore, and in the process of buying a car. My choices are Maruti Alto LXi and Hyundai Xing. I want to know which will be a better choice. My friends suggest that I should opt for a used car instead. I ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

INSURANCE CORNER
LIC Bima Nivesh Triple Cover
LIC's new Bima Nivesh Triple Cover is an attractive investment-oriented insurance product. The main attraction is in the term of the policy and the guaranteed additions. How it ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE

Understanding health covers
SHOPPING for an insurance policy and selecting the right mix of benefits are arduous tasks. The sheer variety of products and the tag-on benefits offered leaves you confused. Take, for instance, the health cover ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Global markets end flat
IT was business as usual at the global equity markets; November was no exception as most of them created history of sorts by scaling new heights. But call it profit-takings, terrorist attacks (at Turkey) or corrections, global markets gave up ... More

The stocks that are active
Coromandel Fertilisers (Rs 149): The stock rose 25.8 per cent after it formalised the acquisition of its farm inputs division of EID Parry during the first week of December. Eicher Motors (Rs 237): The stock rose 23.8 per cent on ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Weak undertone in Nifty prevails
The put-call open interest ratio and the put-call volumes ratio on the Nifty options also point to weakness in the Nifty. Both the ratios have increased over the week. More

Using futures/options
What is the difference between the covered call (9/11/2003) and vertical spreads (bull call spread and bull put spread) - R Ganesan The two aspects, which make the bullish strategies - covered call and vertical spreads - different, ... More

Options guide
Call option: A call option gives the buyer `the right but not the obligation' to buy the stock at a specified price on a future date. Put Option: A put option gives the buyer `the right but not the obligation' to sell a stock ... More

CORPORATE BONDS

IDBI Flexibonds — Yield to Tax Saving Bonds
THE rates on offer in the case of IDBI Flexibonds, which is open for subscription, are more attractive than that offered by ICICI Bonds. However, they are still lower than what is offered by small-savings options. ... More

CREDIT MARKET

BANKING PRODUCT
SBI's Medi-Plus Scheme
YOUR loved one is hospitalised and needs surgery, but you do not have enough funds to meet the cost. Worried? You do not have to anymore. A host of loan products are now available that will help you meet such emergency ... More

INTERVIEW

`Insistence on pre-qualification is good' — Mr N. Nageswar Rao, Chairman and Managing Director, Madhucon Projects
Madhucon Projects, a Hyderabad-based engineering and construction company, has a strong presence in road and irrigation projects. The company, which recently completed a portion of the Tada-Nellore expressway — one of the largest BOT ... More

INCOME TAX

Property management from afar
MY HUSBAND and I were born in India but have been living in the UK since 1966. We are both British nationals. My husband owns a house property in India while I own shares of some Indian companies. We are now ... More

No WLL in the net
ONE of the criteria for filing a return even where the total income does not exceed the maximum amount not chargeable to tax is in a case where the individual is a subscriber to a cellular telephone not being a wireless ... More

BOOKS

BOOK VALUE

Before you trade, say abracadabra
ALL numbers are not equal. Some are magical, others just plain. There are the ones that reveal truths, and those hiding behind veils. After the Enron tragedy and WorldCom worries, nobody looks at columns of numbers with ... More

CARTOON