The Hindu Business Line : Investment quiz

Wipro and Infosys did so at the height of the bull market in information technology stocks in 1999-2000. Now there are only a couple of stocks that trade in excess of Rs 10,000. One is Lakshmi Machine Works, which has figured in the radar of retail as well as institutional investors.

The other stock does not command comparable interest. But, on the back of small volumes, it has, over the past few months, gained almost on a daily basis and now trades at about Rs 35,000.

This company owns property in Mumbai on which several prominent retail networks have their shopping malls. Which company are we referring to?

2. eBay recently completed 10 years. It was founded by a programmer, Mr Pierre Omidyar, on a web site called AuctionWeb. From a modest beginning, eBay now has become one of the more profitable Internet companies and is considered by experts as The Perfect Marketplace. Last week, it strengthened its business by acquiring for $2.6 billion a fledgling, yet hugely successful, company that has been making waves in Internet telephony. It has over 50-million registered users of the telephone service. The objective of the acquisition is to create `an unparalleled e-commerce and communications engine' as `Communications is at the heart of e-commerce and community,' according to Ms Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay. Name the company that has been acquired by eBay.

3. RAZR is a mobile handset model that revved Motorola with its distinctive features. It has recently launched ROKR. What is this `rocker'?

4. What is QQQ?

5. Which finance company was acquired by ICICI Bank for Re 1 in the late 1990s?

6. Mukta Arts has been in the limelight recently for producing Iqbal, a movie that successfully rides the theme of cricket. Its IPO in 2000 barely managed to garner investor support, as it was floated after the meltdown in IT/media/telecom stocks.

Underwriting arrangements came in handy. Which well-known producer/director is the promoter of this company?

7. Which global major uses the tagline `Materials for building our world'? It also has a modest presence in the Indian market, but has aspirations to expand its footprint.

8. What is LMEX?

9. The CAC-40 is the benchmark stock index of which European country?

10. Name the person in the accompanying photograph. He was the Chief Executive of the first private sector mutual fund in India. As head of Kothari Pioneer, he steered a small group of fund managers towards top-of-the-charts performance. This was after a difficult period when the first couple of funds — Prima and Bluechip — barely managed to raise the minimum targeted amount. These funds have now grown in size to own assets in excess of Rs 1,500.

When the Franklin Templeton group acquired this fund house, he was not a part of the new management team. This top-notch professional with an impressive academic background has now moved out of the limelight and pursues personal interests.

Answers

1. Phoenix Mills

2. Skype

3. ROKR is an iPhone that combines the features of Apple's popular iPod and a mobile phone.

4. QQQ is the largest exchange traded fund in the world. QQQ tracks one hundred of the fastest growing technology and non-financial services companies listed on the NASDAQ. Average daily trading volumes in QQQ is about 90 million shares.

5. ITC Classic Finance

6. Mr Subash Ghai

7. Lafarge, the largest producer of cement in the world.

8. It is an index contract offered by the London Metal Exchange. LMEX tracks the six primary metals traded on the LME - copper, primary aluminium, lead, zinc, nickel and tin. It provides the basis for futures and options contracts.

9. France

10. Mr Vivek Reddy

Compiled by S. Vaidya Nathan

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page