The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, January 23, 2005

Value inflow sans cash outflow
SHAREHOLDERS of Gujarat Ambuja Cement have reason to cheer as the deal with global major Holcim of Switzerland is loaded with positives, though from a long-term perspective. For Gujarat Ambuja Cement, this deal ... More

Indian firms continue to destroy value
Increasing gross margins in every sector is easier said than done. With only the capital structure to tinker with, managers may have no choice but to increase the gearing levels and reduce interest costs. Loading the firm with more equity may only pe rpetuate their dismal record as destroyers of capital. More

Ambuja Cement India: A cash cow
1999: Gujarat Ambuja acquires the 14.4 per cent stake held by the Tatas in ACC at Rs 370 per share in two tranches, at a cost of about Rs 900 crore. This is bankrolled by debt. The deal is positioned as a `strategic alliance' between ACC ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

HDFC Growth: Hold
INVESTORS in HDFC Growth Fund may remain invested, as the performance of the fund has perked up over the nine months when it has earned a few percentage points more than in-house peer funds such as HDFC Equity and HDFC ... More

SBI Magnum Equity: Switch
INVESTORS in SBI Magnum Equity can consider switching a portion of their exposures to SBI Magnum Multiplier Plus and SBI Magnum Contra. SBI Magnum Equity has done better than its benchmark BSE-100 over the years. The ... More

In line with time profile
A NEWS report states that fixed maturity plans (FMPs) are popular among NRIs. What are FMPs? An FMP invests in bonds that match the maturity of the fund. An FMP with, say, a 10-year horizon will invest in only 10-year ... More

HSBC to launch Dynamic Midcap fund

STOCKS

Mastek: Keep it on hold
INVESTORS can consider retaining their exposure in the Mastek stock. At the current price levels of Rs 359, the stock trades at a price-earnings multiple (PEM) of 9.9 times its annualised 2004-05 earnings. The ... More

Gujarat Ambuja Cement: Buy
An investment can be considered in the stock of Gujarat Ambuja Cement, especially for any weakness linked to trends in the broad market. Its strategic partnership with Holcim of Switzerland is likely to be of a value-enhancing nature (refer to ... More

Hero Honda: Sell and re-enter at lower levels
THE motorcycle major, Hero Honda, has reported subdued trends in performance for the quarter ended December 2004. The 27 per cent jump in turnover, helped by a 24 per cent rise in sales volume, did not, however, ... More

Ranbaxy Labs: Hold
SHAREHOLDERS of Ranbaxy can retain their holdings in the stock. . There has been some choppiness in the trading of the stock, which has shed about 20 per cent over the past month. Though a correction of such magnitude ... More

Taj GVK: Buy
FRESH exposure can be considered in the Taj GVK stock. Hotel stock, which was on an upswing because of a boom in tourism, has been under pressure, postearthquake/tsunami. There is now an uncertainty over the impact the ... More

TAXATION

My returns land up with wife's land cost
I PURCHASED a vacant plot in 1992. The plot was registered in the name of my wife. My wife and I are income-tax assessees. By mistake the cost of acquisition of the plot was accounted in my books as an asset and this ... More

When the additional surcharge
WHILE deducting tax at source it is now required that the education cess (additional surcharge) is also to be considered. Kindly clarify the date from which the requirement to increase the tax deduction by the ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Focus of the week
IDBI (Rs 118.4): The announcement of the swap ratio for the merger with IDBI Bank is likely to act as a positive trigger. The chart patterns suggest that the stock is likely to seek higher levels. Hold with a stop loss at Rs 99. A drop ... More

Positive outlook for ITC
ITC (Rs 1,378.45): The court ruling quashing the levy of luxury tax by State governments on sale of cigarette and tobacco products imparted a positive trend on Thursday. There was a sharp upward move on the back of a rise in trading ... More

Nifty could test key resistance level
Preferred view: The market sentiment was distinctly lacklustre during the past week. The Nifty was stuck in a narrow trading zone. A move above 1967 would be a short-term positive trigger, which would help the index move to the ... More

Query corner

CARS

Assembly lines rev up for 2005
YEAR 2005 promises to be an exciting 12 months of action for the passenger vehicles industry. A year that could see quite a few blockbuster launches and, perhaps, even the introduction of a few `segment-redefining' cars ... More

Ford Ikon(petrol) - a fair choice
I WANT to buy the new generation CRDi (common rail direct injected) diesel cars for my companies. When can I expect popular cars such as the Tata Indigo, Tata Indica and Hyundai Santro to switch to this type of ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

ING Vysya's Freedom
WITH the surging popularity of unit-linked insurance plans, it should not come as a surprise that companies are putting out new products in this category. One such recent launch is Freedom, by ING Vysya. This week, ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Trading may be range-bound in Nifty
AMID a volatile market condition, rollover of open interest positions in both index and individual stock futures was quite modest on the NSE last week; trading activity too picked up ahead of settlement week as the average daily turnover stood at ... More

Margin collection
Initial Margin - is adjusted from the available Liquid Networth of the Clearing Member on an online real time basis. Futures contracts: The open positions (gross against clients and net of proprietary / self trading) in the futures ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

CORPORATE BONDS

IDBI Flexibonds 22: Finely priced
Tax Saving Bond: Avoid
Growing Interest Bond: Subscribe
Retirement Bond: Avoid
Regular Income Bond: Subscribe More

FIXED DEPOSITS

FD options
SAW Pipes: An investment in the fixed deposit programme of SAW Pipes can be considered. However, depositors can choose the one-year lock-in option and avoid longer tenures due to the inherent risks involved in dealing with a company ... More

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

A primer on Holcim
This strategic alliance is a landmark in the Indian cement industry as it will bring significant advantages to the shareholders of both the partners and their commitments to the growth of cement markets in India. — Paul ... More

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Good corporate governance: Chasing a mirage
The regulators are doing a good job in laying down the form of good corporate governance. At the same time, mere legislation may not suffice to tame rogue companies. For good corporate governance to take root, shareholders must know that their own activism and alertness is crucial. More

PUBLIC OFFERS

Dena Bank: Unattractive
Dena Bank has had a chequered history having to set-off large accumulated losses against its reserves twice in the past decade. It has, however, returned to profitability in the past two years. More

BOOKS

Knowhow to counsel customers on wealth creation
GAMBLING or satta is what happens during sustained rallies, with small investors entering the fray, on decisions "not backed by any understanding of the company". This is one of the first inputs you gather from ... More

Comments & Letters to the Editor to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
Subscribe to: Business Line

Mid-term Credit Policy Review for 2004-05

Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09

Pick a Winner Stock Market Contest

Top Stories
Value inflow sans cash outflow

Mastek: Keep it on hold

Trading may be range-bound in Nifty

Indian firms continue to destroy value

Assembly lines rev up for 2005

In Focus

Killer Tsunami

Multimedia Messaging Scandal

Press Note 18

Reliance: Is the 'Big Fight' in offing?