The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, December 25, 2005

Micro Inks: Reject
SHAREHOLDERS of Micro Inks can reject the open offer by MHM Holding of Germany. The latter is offering to acquire 49.7 lakh shares, constituting 20 per cent of the equity stake. At Rs 655, Micro Inks trades at 17 times its trailing 12-month ... More

Quintegra Solutions: Reject
SHAREHOLDERS of Quintegra Solutions (formerly Soffia Software) can reject the open offer being made by the acquirers — Mr V. Shankarraman and Mr R. Venkataramani — at Rs 27.90 per share. The current market price of Rs 38 and the book ... More

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Airtel pre-paid with lifetime validity
AIRTEL has launched a plan that allows users to take a pre-paid connection with lifetime validity for a one-time payment of Rs 999. Subscribers availing themselves of this scheme will get full talk time for the recharge coupon they purchase. ... More

AIRLINES

Special fares from Kingfisher
KINGFISHER Airlines has announced special fares for all personnel serving in the Indian Armed Forces, the Union Government, State governments, and employees of all public sector units in the country. The parents, spouse and dependent children ... More

INSIGHT

Overseas offerings: The capital Nirvana
RAISING FUNDS in the overseas market is quite the in thing. Almost every other day, there is news of a company raising a few million dollars abroad. Mid/small-cap companies have been at the vanguard of this fund ... More

Bond with caution
DOMESTIC investors should take a cautious view of overseas offerings, as there are several aspects to them that could hurt their interests. Aggressive pricing of an offer just to make the most of the ongoing bull market and not linked to business ... More

Leveraging India Inc's investments
There may be value for patient investors from exposures in select companies with sizeable investments. The ones that make the cut are Tata Investment Corporation, Parry Agro, Ramco Industries, Maharasthra Scooters, Zuari Industries, Rane Holdings, At ul, Indian Oil, Eicher and SRF Polymers. More

Lessons from Yes Bank IPO scam
NO SYSTEM is foolproof from someone determined to undermine it. That is perhaps what the manipulation of the allotment process in Yes Bank's Initial Public Offering proves. A combination of factors appear to have led to the scam. It was a ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

PruICICI Income Multiplier: Hold
EXISTING investors in PruICICI Income Multiplier can retain their exposures. PruICICI Income Multiplier is predominantly a debt-oriented fund that can invest up to 30 per cent of its assets in equities. Tax impact: There is a trade-off ... More

Sundaram Select Midcap Fund: Invest
INVESTORS who have exposures to top-notch funds in the large and mid-cap space can contemplate allocating a part of their funds to Sundaram Select Midcap Fund. The fund has an impressive track record over the past four years and its portfolio ... More

Kotak Contra: Hold
KOTAK Contra has not delivered the quick gains that investors have now come to expect from new fund offers. In fact, with a sedate 15 per cent return since its debut, the fund's returns pale in comparison to other new funds unveiled at the same ... More

FUND TALK
On tax benefit aspects of ELS funds
QUITE a few readers have written to us asking about the current status of Equity Linked Savings Schemes (called ELS or tax saving funds) managed by fund houses and whether investments made this year are eligible for the tax benefit under Section ... More

SBI Mutual launches Blue Chip Fund
SBI Mutual Fund has launched an open-ended growth fund, SBI Blue Chip Fund. The new fund offer has opened on December 22 and will close on January 20. The minimum amount of application is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs 1,000. The fund will ... More

PORTFOLIO MOVES
Franklin India Prima Fund
SMALL or mid-sized companies have less probability of being identified by the market. The stocks of such companies with strong fundamentals offer scope for higher growth potential when spotted early. Mid-cap funds aspire to identify and invest in ... More

Fundview
At last, the economic numbers are indicating what the market has been suspecting for long - that 8 per cent growth rate for India was eminently achievable and that India was moving towards a higher growth trajectory. Perhaps, the stock market, ... More

Fidelity to launch tax-saving fund

STOCKS

Tata Steel: Buy
TATA Steel's initiatives to move along the inorganic path for growth over the past few months have brightened the long-term prospects for the steel major. The biggest concern now is the steel prices, which have cooled off by about 25-30 per cent ... More

BHEL: Buy
WE REITERATE a buy recommendation on the BHEL stock at Rs 1,400. The stock appears to be on a long bull run backed by substantial opportunity to scale up revenues and earnings. At 28 times the trailing 12-month per share earnings, the stock ... More

Bajaj Hindusthan: Hold
AMBITIOUS capacity expansion has made Bajaj Hindusthan the leading Indian sugar producer within a short time span of two years. The company's business is focussed on sugar and ethanol, setting it apart from other frontline players which diversify ... More

Thomas Cook: Hold
INVESTORS can retain their holdings in the stock of the travel services major, Thomas Cook, which trades at about Rs 615. At this price, the stock trades at a multiple of 30 times its per share earnings for the year-ended October 2005. Though the ... More

Tamil Nadu Newsprint: Buy
EXPOSURE can be considered in Tamil Nadu Newsprint and Papers Ltd (TNPL), as it appears well placed to post robust growth in revenues and earnings over the next year or two on the back of price stability at higher levels and volume growth. There ... More

VisualSoft Technologies: Buy
INVESTORS with a penchant for risk can consider an exposure in the VisualSoft Technologies stock with a medium-term perspective. With the announcement of the stock swap ratio by the VisualSoft board, the stage is set for the merger of AppLabs ... More

Vijaya Bank: Buy
INVESTMENTS in Vijaya Bank can be considered at about Rs 60. The stock's valuation is at a discount to those of several public sector bank stocks. Vijaya Bank is trading at a price to book ratio of about 1.6 times while most other public ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Query corner
What is the outlook for Titan Industries bought at Rs 796 and Reliance Industries at Rs 850? — Kanchan Garg Titan Industries (Rs 777): The share price has seen a sharp run-up in recent months. This has pushed the stock to an ... More

SBI to correct ahead of uptrend
SBI (Rs 893): Except for an upward move on Monday, a bearish trend prevailed in the remaining four days. The short-term trend appears weak and a drop to Rs 875-880 appears likely. The long-term uptrend is likely to resume on the ... More

Critical levels beckon Nifty
Preferred view: The market action was devoid of any trend during the week gone by. Contrary to the expectation of an uptrend, the index was stuck to a trading zone. The inability of the index to move past the crucial resistance ... More

Focus of the week
SRF (Rs 279): After a sharp uptrend, the stock went into a corrective phase since September 2005. This corrective phase appears to have been completed at the recent low of Rs 228. The subsequent rally can be categorised as the start of ... More

CARS

Keyless entry is better than central locking system
I UNDERSTAND that there are new cars that now come factory fitted with the keyless entry feature. But I am considering retrofitting an after-market keyless entry kit for my Honda City (1999 model). I am trying to avoid going to the dealer ... More

The new City goes to town
HONDA'S entry into India will always be remembered for the astute choice and timing of its product. The City may have been debuted a bit early for a market which was then in the early stages of maturity, but with ... More

VTEC at work
THE latest version of the original Honda Variable Valve Timing and Lift Electronic Control (VTEC) engine technology employs compact combustion chambers and a new-design intake port with narrow valve angles for rapid ... More

Price hikes galore

Citing higher costs, Hyundai has raised the prices of the Santro. The compact car would be costlier by Rs 7,000-12,000. The December price hike is its second in 2005. The upper-end automatic version will cost Rs 4.36 lakh (ex-showroom, ... More

More satisfied customers
According to a J.D. Power Asia Pacific study of the Indian automobile industry, car owners' delight with new vehicles has increased. The Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) study states that the industry has improved its score by ... More

TWO/THREE WHEELERS

TVS unveils Apache
TVS Motor has unveiled Apache, a 150-cc bike. The company seeks to woo the youth with this powerful and sporty looking bike. The Apache is TVS's second bike in the 150-cc category after the Fiero. A 13.5-bhp engine ... More

112-cc Discover launched
Bajaj has launched a new version of the Discover. A lower capacity 112-cc engine powers this stripped-down version, which will continue to feature alloy wheels, ExhausTEC technology, SNS suspension and the ride control switch. Priced at Rs ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

Tata AIG Nirbhay Life
A FEW days ago, Tata AIG unveiled its participating money-back offering, Nirbhay Life. Here is a dekko at some of the key features of this product. Plan details A money-back plan ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Santa Claus effect
Merry X'mas! And while you are celebrating, remember that Santa Claus has an effect on the market as well, if history is anything to go by. In fact, this effect is a consequence of another phenomenon called the January effect that was first ... More

SEBI GUIDE
How to trade in demat mode
How can one convert physical holding into electronic holding i.e how can one dematerialise securities? In order to dematerialise physical securities one has to fill in a demat request form (DRF), which is available with the depository ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

F&O POINTERS
Volatile trend likely in the Nifty
For the week ahead, we expect the Nifty to exhibit volatile trend as sentiment indicators present a mixed picture. 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

FIXED DEPOSITS

Limited period rate hike offer SBM
STATE Bank of Mysore has revised its interest rates for the term deposits with a maximum increase of 50 basis points and a minimum of 25 basis points. The limited period offer has opened on December 19 and would be in force till January 31. ... More

INTERVIEW

`We are in the first phase of modern retail'
As Pantaloon is an entrepreneur-driven company, we believe in taking our chances. We believed that the biggest chance was to take up all the land that was available. More

INCOME TAX

No exemption on LTA used for foreign tours
IF I go abroad on holiday and receive LTA will the allowance qualify for exemption under Section 10(5)? Giri Reply The exemption under Section 10(5) will be available only for travel within India. If ... More

Taxing capital gains
IN A case where the long-term capital gains has arisen from sale of shares before October 1, 2004 and where such capital gain is not exempt but is chargeable to tax at 10 per cent computed without the benefit of ... More

Tax refunds credit through ECS
EFFECTIVE June 2006, tax refunds will be sent directly to the taxpayers' bank account. The refunds would be sent through the electronic clearing system to the respective bank accounts of the assessees. The bank account number has to be ... More

BOOKS

The long and the short of it
FOR those who have always been afraid of "Options and Futures" here is some help: the third edition of a book on that very subject by D.C. Patwari and A. Bhargava from Jaico (www.jaicobooks.com). Derivative instruments are of two types, ... More

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