The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, September 26, 2004

Question'n' auto
I want to buy a bike that offers good mileage, needs low maintenance and has good build quality. Can you help me choose among Hero Honda's Splendor+ and Passion+, TVS Centra and Bajaj CT100? I also want to know ... More

INSIGHT

Dividend dogs sniff out value
BIRLA Mutual Fund launched its dividend yield fund in 2003. While none of the other mutual funds followed suit then, now, a number of them, such as Principal, Tata and HDFC, are lining up to launch funds based on ... More

The foreign experts controversy
CONSIDERABLE controversy has been generated by the Planning Commission's move to rope in foreign experts for a mid-term appraisal of the Tenth Plan. Leaders of Left parties have gone ballistic in their criticism of the ... More

Ugly duckling portfolio of dividend stocks
Investors may be turned off by the look of the stocks in a portfolio of dividend dogs because of the small-cap bias. The strategy, however, demands blind faith and investors unwilling to do so could build a portfolio of their own by using their subje ctive judgment. More

ECONOMY

More bang for the statistical buck
INVESTORS pay great attention to numbers, so do regulators to back their decisions, both micro and macro. Normally we don't pause to ask if the cup of economic and financial statistics is `half full or half empty'. But ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Sundaram Select Midcap
Several stocks were added to the portfolio of Sundaram Select Midcap fund in August, a month that witnessed tremendous action in midcap stocks. The fund enjoyed strong inflows during the month of August; the net asset value of the fund ... More

SPOTLIGHT
Tata Tax Saving Fund: Hold
INVESTORS can stay with Tata Tax Savings Fund. The fund has turned in a reasonably good performance over one-year and three-year periods. The fund's performance over this period also compares favourably with other ... More

Templeton India Pension Plan: Invest
INVESTORS seeking a moderate exposure to equities through a balanced fund can consider investing in the Templeton India Pension plan. The fund has turned in a compound annual return of about 19 per cent over the past ... More

Templeton India Money Market Account: Invest
UNITHOLDERS in Templeton India Money Market Account (TIMMA) earned an annualised return of 4.75 per cent last year. This fund is suitable for two classes of investors. One class of investors represents those who need ... More

LIC Mutual Fund to launch floating rate MIP

Fund Talk

STOCKS

City Union Bank: Buy
INVESTMENTS can be considered in the stock of City Union Bank. It is a stock with market capitalisation of about Rs 150 crore and, therefore, risks involved can be considered higher. The stock, however, holds the potential to deliver returns ... More

Tata Chemicals: Hold
A FAVOURABLE change in the subsidy regime and strong volume growth in each of its businesses, point to a revival of earnings growth at Tata Chemicals after sedate performance in the first quarter of 2004-05. ... More

Crompton Greaves: Buy
EXPOSURE can be considered in the Crompton Greaves stock at Rs 222. The stock trades at 13 times its trailing 12 months per share earnings of Rs 16.5. The improving business prospects for the power systems, ... More

TVS Srichakra: Buy
LONG-TERM investors may consider exposures in TVS Srichakra at the prevailing market price of Rs 58. The recent developments indicate that the company might report better performance in the remaining three quarters of ... More

Prism Cements: Buy
EXPOSURE can be considered in the Prism Cements stock with a one-two year perspective. There could be potential for gains linked to an improvement in fundamentals as well as from the possibility of Prism Cements ... More

TAXATION

A load of questions from a code developer
I AM a self-employed software developer. I operate out of my home. I sell the software that I develop through the Internet and the product is digitally delivered. The purchasers download the software from my Web site ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Pivotals on slippery terrain
ONGC (Rs 738.6): As anticipated, the stock ruled firm last week. It also moved to the target zone of Rs 765-770. After touching a high of Rs 765.8, the stock turned weak on Wednesday. The near-term outlook does not appear promising. A drop ... More

Weakness to persist in near term
Preferred View: The market movement was in line with expectations. The index moved up to touch the target zone of 1750-1770 and turned weak subsequently. The market action last week is a pointer to the W.D.Gann view that a change in trend ... More

Focus of the week

Query Corner

CARS

Suzuki-Maruti deal: The question of stakes
THE imbroglio between the Government and Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC) of Japan, joint promoters of Maruti Udyog (MUL), over the latter's investment plans in India may have been sorted out. For the MUL shareholder, ... More

Blazing a new trail
AMONG the NRIs in the Silicon Valley, the Nissan Sunny and the Maxima are a rage. And with nearly every other Indian middle-class household having a son, daughter, brother or sister in California, the Nissan should ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Breakers in bourses
MANY stocks have hit the circuit breaker during the recent market rally. What is a circuit breaker? The electrical circuit breaker is meant to regulate the flow of electricity — the device trips when the flow ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Nifty to trade in narrow band
TRADING volumes picked up ahead of the settlement week for September contracts in the derivative segment on the NSE. However, one has to wait and see whether the pick up in the activity will sustain or not, as securities transaction tax (STT) ... More

Margining system
A portfolio based margining model (SPAN), would be adopted which will take an integrated view of the risk involved in the portfolio of each individual client comprising of his positions in all the derivatives contract traded on the ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

Using Futures/Options

FIXED DEPOSITS

SRF Polymers: Weak links in the chain
INVESTORS seeking higher returns from their fixed deposit investments, and willing to assume a significant degree of risk to meet this objective, can consider the fixed deposit programme of SRF Polymers. Considering the ... More

INTERVIEW

`Mid-caps will correct, then resume'
With its acquisition of Sun F&C and then PNB's fund assets, Principal PNB Mutual Fund now manages assets of about Rs.4700 crore, making it a failry big player in the industry. Business Line caught up with Mr Shyam Bhat, the fund ... More

Big business comes in small packs — Mr Suresh Gupta, MD, Paper Products
We are trying to expand our customer base to include smaller customers, who also demand innovation and good quality, though a significant part of our business still comes from large companies. More

INCOME TAX

Retiring to consult

BOOKS

Once sour milk hits the morning coffee, it cannot be strained out
THIS is a world that looks for quick returns because few have the patience to wait. It is rare, therefore, to find people who have the courage to trust in enterprises that are not yet off the ground. Thus, if you are ... More

CARTOON