The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, January 29, 2006

Siemens: BUY
A BURGEONING order book and buoyancy in the engineering and power equipment sectors that impart high visibility to the earnings growth, and an increasingly important role in the parent's global operations, make Siemens an attractive candidate for ... More

Aegis Logistics: Buy
EXPOSURE can be considered, especially on price declines, in the stock of Aegis Logistics, as its growth prospects appear bright over a two/three-year period. Logistics as a sector is also likely to figure prominently ... More

Valecha Engineering: Buy
VALECHA Engineering (Rs 333) is one of the prime beneficiaries of the infrastructure boom in the country. A good track record of executing infrastructure projects, healthy order-book and imminent order flows from the ... More

Biocon: Sell
INVESTORS can consider reducing exposure to the Biocon stock. Our latest call represents a continuation of the stance we held on the stock since May last year. Though the stock has appreciated by about 15 per cent since ... More

Dalmia Cement: Buy
INVESTORS can consider exposure in Dalmia Cement (Rs 209), as a restructuring of its business is likely. The company's fundamentals are also in good shape. This represents a shift in our stance on the stock. We had ... More

Federal Bank: Buy
AN INVESTMENT can be considered in the stock of Federal Bank. Attractive valuations, healthy business growth, improvement in asset quality, augur well for its growth in the medium term. At its current price of about ... More

FINANCIAL SERVICES

SEBI GUIDE
Know more about portfolio managers
The portfolio manager is required to pay Rs 2,50,000 as renewal fees to SEBI. Whether any contract should be made between the portfolio manager and its client? Yes. The portfolio manager, before taking up an assignment of ... More

AIRLINES

IA offers special fareson select sectors
INDIAN Airlines is offering a special return fare of Rs 8,950 (excluding tax Rs 2,021) on the Chennai-Bangkok sector. On the Chennai-Singapore sector, the fare is Rs 10,475 (plus tax Rs 3,321). The same fare is applicable on the ... More

Jetstar Asia offers Bangalore-S'pore one-way for Rs 6,000
Jetstar Asia has announced a one-way ticket fare on the Bangalore-Singapore route for Rs 6,000. Tickets can be booked on the website, and passengers will have to pay for food and beverages. The airline will fly five days a week to Bangalore, ... More

INSIGHT

Software mid-caps: Target for acquisitions
STRAP on your seat belts. The strong turbulence generated by the Jet Airways-Air Sahara acquisition has been buffeting other sectors of the economy too. And one of the sectors primed for consolidation is mid-cap ... More

Keeping `mom-and-pop' in business
AFTER much debate and eager anticipation, the Centre has finally allowed foreign investment of up to 51 per cent in "single-brand" retailing. Foreign retailers can now also open cash-and-carry wholesale outlets in India ... More

Conflict of interests and investor responsibility
THE following are some of the resolutions that the CFA Institute of the US suggested for the investment community for 2003: Sunlight is the best disinfectant. When you disclose your conflicts, you give others the ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

PruICICI Tax Plan: Invest
INVESTORS who want to add to their portfolio of tax-saving funds can consider an investment in PruICICI Tax Plan. As the deduction under the Income Tax Act for tax-saving funds is available up to Rs 1 lakh for the current fiscal, exposures to the ... More

Birla Sun Life Equity: Invest
EXPOSURES may be considered in Birla Sun Life Equity Fund, as its performance continues to be good; it also has a portfolio, whose stance is likely to stand it in good stead over the next six-to-twelve months. This fund was earlier known as ... More

FUND TALK
High NAV not a concern
Switching to another fund because it has a lower NAV would be a wrong move. More

T.I.G.E.R. Fund
THEME-based funds carry a higher risk profile than diversified funds due to their concentrated approach. However, early identification and investment into sectors that carry more potential than others may yield returns commensurate to the risks ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Rally likely ahead of imminent correction
Preferred view: A bullish trend prevailed as anticipated last week. The index ruled firm and also moved to the target zone of 2975-3000 that has been mentioned in recent weeks. We continue to favour a short-term positive outlook for ... More

SBI, Reliance may chart an uptrend
SBI (Rs 914): After ruling weak for the best part of the week, the trend turned bullish on Friday. The stock staged a sharp reversal on Friday and recorded a gain of about Rs 28. As observed in the earlier weeks, the outlook is positive ... More

Focus of the week
Orchid Chemicals (Rs 263): The share price has been on an upward trend since April 2003. This does not appear complete. The stock is likely to move to Rs 295-300 in the near-term. For investors willing to wait for at least a couple ... More

Query corner
Andhra Bank (Rs 96): Remain invested with a stop-loss at Rs 88 as the near-term outlook is positive. A move to Rs 112-115 appears likely. A close below Rs 88 would negate the positive outlook and push the stock to Rs 75-78. ... More

CARS

Increasingly colour conscious
COLOUR imparts a special appeal to the automobile. The right colour can make a good car look great or even make a bad car seem like an acceptable compromise. Our car's colour is a reflection of our personality, maybe even our age, one way or the ... More

TWO/THREE WHEELERS

Suzuki bikes to hit road by March
I AM planning to buy a new 125cc bike and have short-listed the Bajaj Discover 125cc and the proposed new Suzuki 125cc. I am waiting for Suzuki to launch the bike. Why is Suzuki delaying the launch? Thenew bike was supposed to have been ... More

Hero Honda's Pleasure
WHILE other two-wheeler majors are moving to the bikes segment, Hero Honda has adopted a contrarian approach. With the launch of Pleasure, the company has made a foray into the scooters segment. And with this new roll-out, which targets the ... More

HOUSING FINANCE

SBI launches new home loan product
SBI has introduced a new home loan — SBI Freedom — targeted at high net worth individuals, NRIs and software professionals. According to the scheme, the bank will finance 100 per cent of the project cost without requiring any ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Social conformity
ONE of my friends is part of a small informal investment club that meets once a fortnight. After the last meeting, he bought shares of Titan Industries. He had earlier expressed his opinion that this stock was over valued! So, why did he ... More

F&O POINTERS
Nifty may move either way
The outlook for the Nifty is mixed with put/call ratio and implied volatility pointing to divergent trends. If the spot Nifty sustains at the current levels, it might go up to touch 3010-3015 on the positive side. More

INTERVIEW

`We expect earnings to grow at twice the GDP rate'
Mr A. K. Sridhar, Chief Investment Officer, UTI Mutual Fund
Fund management is in some respects, like a cricket game. Individuals do matter, but they need to be good team players. An individual may have great talent in batting or bowling. But he cannot function without the team. More

`Good time for a contrarian strategy'
Mr Sashi Krishnan, CEO, Chola Contra Fund
In a momentum-driven market, the time is ripe for contrarian investing, says Mr Sashi Krishnan, CEO of Chola Mutual Fund, who was in Chennai recently for the launch of Chola Contra Fund. In a chat with Business Line, Mr Krishnan ... More

INCOME TAX

Market-savvy housewife
This investment in shares was made out of money given to me by my husband out of his sources and by my son who is non-resident. All the shares have been purchased with me as the first holder of shares and my husband as the second. I have so ... More

The challenged are eligible for concession
IS THERE any tax concession available for an employee who is physically disabled? P. Lakshminarayana Reply Deduction can be claimed by a resident individual suffering from permanent disability, including blindness or mental ... More

IPOS

GVK Power & Infrastructure: Avoid
INVESTORS can give this IPO from GVK Power & Infrastructure (GVK Power) the go-by. The proceeds of the offer will not be used to create any productive assets directly. The money will be used to invest in subsidiaries that are setting up thermal . More

Sunil Hitech Engineering: Invest
A track record of timely execution of contracts is a positive when bidding for contracts. More

Inox Leisure: Invest at cut-off
AN INVESTMENT can be considered in the initial public offering of Inox Leisure. A multiplex operator which has gained scale in a short span of time, Inox appears well set to capitalise on the demand for better outdoor entertainment options. The ... More

BOOKS

Are your closets more organised than your finances?
"I have seen both sides of money, the evil and the sublime. Simply put, wealth without morality is like sex without virtue." Thus writes Robert C. Gay, partner of Bain Capital ("one of the world's leading private investment firms, with over ... More

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Pick a Winner Stock Market Contest

Software mid-caps: Target for acquisitions

`We expect earnings to grow at twice the GDP rate'
Mr A. K. Sridhar, Chief Investment Officer, UTI Mutual Fund

Rally likely ahead of imminent correction

Keeping `mom-and-pop' in business

In Focus