INVESTMENTS
COMMODITY CONCEPTS
Farm realities
India is an agrarian economy. Agriculture is the country’s largest private sector activity. Close to 60 per cent of the population (nearly 60 crore people) depend on agriculture and related activities for their livelihood. The ... More

SMART MESSAGE
Debt: Your portfolio’s shock absorber
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INSIGHT
Making sense of Sensex moves
Sensational headlines such as “Sensex in free fall”, “Bloodbath on D-Street” and “Market faces mayhem” would have surely stirred up a storm in your teacup as you read the morning newspaper in recent weeks. ... More

Taking stock after the correction
In the sweeping correction that has caused global stock markets to tumble like nine-pins, the BSE Sensex has shed 9-10 per cent off its peak value. Stocks in sectors such as telecom, steel and construction have plummeted 15-30 per cent the past ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS
DSPML Top 100 Fund: Invest
For investors looking to invest in blue chip, large-cap stocks at attractive levels, a fund such as DSPML Top 100 may be a good option. As the name suggests, the fund invests in stocks that figure in the top 100 companies when ranked by ... More

SPOTLIGHT
Buying opportunities in funds with large-cap focus
With recent global events triggering a 10 per cent decline in Sensex levels, several large cap stocks have retreated significantly from their earlier highs. For investors with a 3-5 year investment horizon looking to make equity investments, ... More

Birla Advantage Fund: Strong on capital goods
Birla Advantage Fund is an open-ended growth fund with the objective of achieving long-term growth of capital at relatively moderate levels of risk through a diversified investment strategy. Over past five years, the performance of the fund ... More

Fund Talk
If an open-ended fund’s size remains very small over the years, it indicates the inability of the fund to prove reasonable performance and add to its assets. More

Update
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has come out with a proposal to waive entry load for direct applications made in mutual fund schemes. The proposal states that entry load is normally used by fund houses for meeting the ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Volatility to be order of the day
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Query corner
I have purchased Gujarat Industrial Power Corporation at the rate of Rs 93. What are the prospects of this company? Shall I hold on to the share? Varghese John Gujarat Industrial Power Corporation (Rs 60.6): GIPCL continues ... More

Index Outlook
Global markets partied last week as the spectre of a financial crisis started dissolving in to the background. The Sensex was, however, held back from joining in the celebrations thanks to the pandemonium on the political front. The Sensex ... More

Reliance
Reliance has turned in a steady performance, moving in a 100-point between Rs 1,700 and Rs 1,800. The short-term trend has turned down from the peak of Rs 1,948. A cautious approach is warranted at this stage as this sideways move can be the ... More

SBI
SBI followed our script very closely last week, reversing below the resistance at Rs 1,600 and falling to an intra-week low of Rs 1,400. The stock has retraced 38.2 per cent of the intermediate term up-move that began at the March lows. ... More

Tata Steel
Tata Steel moved sideways between Rs 540 and Rs 600 in line with our expectations. The stock is holding above the long-term moving average at Rs 530. Short-term investors can hold the stock as long as it trades above this support. The ... More

Infosys
Infosys took a decisive step lower last week though the weekly loss was just two per cent. The 10-week ROC oscillator failing to move above the zero line implies that there could be further fall in the medium term. The tentative recovery ... More

Bharti Airtel
Bharti was the star performer last week with a nine per cent gain. The stock moved past our outer target of Rs 858 to record an intra-week high of Rs 872. The next resistance band for the stock lies between Rs 880 and Rs 900. Once this band is ... More

ONGC
ONGC moved in a tight range last week emulating the other pivotals such as Reliance Industries and Tata Steel. The medium term outlook stays negative for the stock. However, the support at Rs 743 needs to be firmly breached before the stock ... More

Trader's corner
Anyone who has dabbled with charts would agree that one of the easiest tools available in technical analysis is the moving average. It gives buy and sell signals at the apt juncture that can be used by traders and investors alike to take or ... More

CARS
Air filters: Making cars breathe easy
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Question & Auto
I am staying in Navi Mumbai and own a Hyundai Santro XP, which I bought in June 2004. It has run 16,000 km. Currently I drive the car only on Sundays and holidays. However, with my office shifting shortly, the daily commute will go up to around ... More

ECONOMICS
Power of context

If you like behavioral science, observe the auto drivers, especially the ones in Chennai. Ask a driver at any auto stand to take you to your destination and he will quote almost twice the “normal rate”. The exorbitant ... More

STOCK MARKETS
Prominent bulk deals on NSE and BSE
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Baskets of X
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Bull's Eye
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INTERVIEW
Time to get into secular high-growth stocks’
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‘16,000 looks difficult for Sensex this year’
With political troubles within the country and global uncertainties, investors are naturally reluctant to buy. But better value may emerge in the next couple of months. More

INCOME TAX
Counsel for faculty on royalty
I am a faculty working in a Central University. I receive salary and also am in receipt of royalty since I have authored some text books. Until the financial year ended March 31, 2006, no tax was deducted at source on the ... More

PEOPLE
Investment Nuggets
Benjamin Graham, also known as the “Father of Value Investing” and the “Dean of Wall Street”, was a pioneer in driving home to investors the importance of crunching numbers. He popularised the examination of ... More

BOOKS
No ‘get rich quick’
Is all price volatility due to speculation? How do the regulators control price volatility? Do circuit breakers have a flip side? What is the structural arrangement of a mutual fund (MF)? How is NAV (net asset value) calculated? If an index fund ... More