Text of Mr Ramalinga Raju’s Statement

Text of Mr Ramalinga Raju’s Statement!
http://www.zeenews.com/business/ice-economy/2009-01-07/496774news.html

To the Board of Directors Satyam Computer Services Ltd. From B. Ramalinga Raju Chairman, Satyam Computer Services Ltd. January 7, 2009 Dear Board Members, It is with deep regret, and tremendous burden that I am carrying on my conscience, that I would like to bring the following facts to your notice: 1. The balance sheet carries of September 30, 2008 a. Inflated (non-existent) cash and bank balances of Rs 5,040 crore (as against Rs 5,361 crore reflected in the books) b. An accrued interest of Rs 376 crore which is non-existent c. An understated liability of Rs 1,230 crore on account of funds arranged by me. d. An overstated debtors position of Rs 490 crore (as against Rs 2,651 reflected in the books) 2. For the September quarter (Q2) we reported a revenue of Rs 2,700 crore and an operating margin of Rs 649 crore (24 per cent of revenues) as against the actual revenues of Rs 2,112 crore and an actual operating margin of Rs 61 crore (3 per cent of reve nues). This has resulted in artificial cash and bank balances going up by Rs 588 crore in Q2 alone. The gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits over a period of last several years (limited only to Satyam standalone, books of subsidiaries reflecting true performance). What started as a marginal gap between actual opera ting profit and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years.

It has attained unmanageable proportions as the size of company operations grew significantly (annualised revenue run rate of Rs 11,276 crore in the September q uarter, 2008 and official reserves of Rs 8,392 crore). The differential in the real profits and the one reflected in the books was further accentuated by the fact that the company had to carry additional resources and assets to justify higher level of operations - thereby significantly increasing the costs. Every attempt made to eliminate the gap failed. As the promoters held a small percentage of equity, the concern was that poor performance would result in take-over, thereby exposing the gap. It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off withou t being eaten. The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones. Maytas' investors were convinced that this is a good divestment opportunity and strategic fit. Once Satyam's problem was solved, it was hoped that Ma ytas' payments can be delayed. But that was not to be. What followed in the last several days is common knowledge.

I would like the Board to know:
1. That neither myself, nor the Managing Director (including our spouses) sold any shares in the last eight years - excepting for a small proportion declared and sold for philanthropic purposes.

2. That in the last two years a net amount of Rs 1,230 crore was arranged to Satyam (not reflected in the books of Satyam) to keep the operations going by resorting to pledging all the promoter shares and raising funds from known sources by giving all ki nds of assurances (statement enclosed, only to the members of the board), Significant dividend payments, acquisitions, capital expenditure to provide for growth did not help matters. Every attempt was made to keep the wheel moving and to ensure prompt pa yment of salaries to the associates. The last straw was the selling of most of the pledged share by the lenders on account of margin triggers.

3. That neither me, nor the Managing Director took even one rupee/dollar from the company and have not benefited in financial terms on account of the inflated results. 4. None of the board members, past or present, had any knowledge of the situation in which the company is placed. Even business leaders and senior executives in the company, such as, Ram Mynampati, Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Panda, Virender Agarwal, A.S. Murthy, Hari T, S V Krishnan, Vijay Prasad, Manish Mehta, Murli V, Sriram Papani, Kiran Kavale, Joe Lagioia, Ravindra Penumetsa, Jayaraman and Prabhakar Gupta are unaware of the real situation as against the books of accounts. None of my or Managing Director's immediate or extended family members has any idea about these issues.

Having put these facts before you, I leave it to the wisdom of the board to take the matters forward. However, I am also taking the liberty to recommend the following steps: 1. A task force has been formed in the last few days to address the situation arising out of the failed Maytas acquisition attempt. This consists of some of the most accomplished leaders of Satyam: Subu D, T.R. Anand, Keshab Pandaand Virender Agarwal, r epresenting business functions, and A.S. Murthy, Hari T and Murali V representing support functions. I suggest that Ram Mynampati be made the Chairman of this task force to immediately address some of the operational matters on hand. Ram can also act a s an interim CEO reporting to the board. 2. Merrill Lynch can be entrusted with the task of quickly exploring some merger opportunities. 3. You may have a ‘restatement of accounts' prepared by the auditors in light of the facts that I have placed before you. I have promoted and have been associated with Satyam for well over twenty years now. I have seen it grow from few people to 53,000 people, with 185 Fortune 500 companies as customers and operations in 66 countries. Satyam has established an excellent leadership and competency base at all levels. I sincerely apologise to all Satyamites and stakeholders, who have made Satyam a specia l organisation, for the current situation. I am confident they will stand by the company in this hour of crisis. In light of the above, I fervently appeal to the board to hold together to take some important steps. Mr. T.R. Prasad is well placed to mobilise support form the government at this cru cial time. With the hope that members of the task force and the financial advisor, Merrill Lynch (now Bank of America) will stand by the company at this crucial hour, I am marking copies of this statement to them as well. Under the circumstances, I am tendering my resignation as the chairman of Satyam and shall continue in this position only till such time the current board is expanded. My continuance is just to ensure enhancement of the board over the next several days or as early as possible. I am now prepared to subject myself to the laws of the land and face consequences thereof. (B. Ramalinga Raju)

Copies marked to: 1. Chairman SEBI 2. Stock Exchanges

Year End Special

2008 was a shocker of a year for all equity markets across the globe. The total world stock market cap halved from USD 60 trillion to USD 30 trillion. Auto, Pharma and Consumer stocks outperformed in 2008. Realty stocks were the worst performing stocks in 2008.
List of world indices perfromance in the year 2008.

List of world indices perfromance in the year 2008.
Index
YTD
Shanghai Composite
-65%
Vietnam
-66%
Sensex
-52%
Jakarta Composite
-51%
Hang Seng
-48%
Taiwan
-46%
Nikkei
-42%
Kospi
-41%
Brazil
-41%
CAC
-42%
FTSE 100
-32%
Dow Jones
-35%
S&P 500
-39%

Indian markets: It was the worst yearly performance by Indian markets on record. The Sensex, Nifty ended down nearly 50% while BSE Dollex was down 60%. CNX Midcap was down 60%, BSE small-cap was down 73% and the Nifty Junior was down 64%.
2008 Winners: HUL was the biggets winner with 18% gains, Hero Honda up 16%, GSK Pharma was up 12%, Godrej Cons up 6% and 48 out of 50 Nifty-50 stocks posted negative returns. The best asset class of 2008 was Gold, which is up 30%.
Sector Specific Action: The Worst performing sectors were Realty, Metals and Capital Goods. While the best performing one was the FMCG Index. BSE Realty Index was down 80%. Unitech was down a whopping 90% while DLF was down 72%.
BSE Metal Index was down 74%. Tata Steel was down 77% while Sterlite & Hindalco were down 74% each. SAIL was down 72% as well.
BSE Capital Goods Index was down 65%. ABB was down 70%. Big boys like L&T & BHEL were down 63% & 47% respectively.
BSE Oil & Gas Index was down 55%; Reliance Inds was down 57%. ONGC was down 46% while Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Petroleum was down 60%. BSE Healthcare Index was down 33%; Sun Pharma was down 12% while Cipla was down 13%.
BSE FMCG Index was down 14%. HUL was up 18% while ITC was down 18%. Index losers include Suzlon down 84%, Tata Motors down 78% & Reliance Infra down 73%.
Midcap and Small-cap space: In the Midcap space nearly 50% of NSE listed stocks lost 70% or more in the year 2008. Realty Losers in the Midcap space were Orbit Corp, Jai Corp down 92% each while IVR Prime, Parsvnath and Sobha all were down 90%. Adlabs, Aban, Indiabulls Finance, India Infoline were down 87%.
In the Small-cap, Asian Elec & Prime Securities were down 95% while Pyramid Saimira was down 92%.
Fund Flows: The biggest outflows was seen by FIIs on record. FIIs net outflow at USD 13 billion, which is nearly 20% of inflows seen ever in India. DIIs net inflow was at Rs 72,500 crore, out of which MFs had put in Rs 13,000 crore.
Commodities: CRB Index ends down nearly 40%. It ends down 55% from Year’s high. In Base Metals, Nickel & Lead were down 63% each while Copper and Zinc were down 55% each. Aluminium & Tin were down 37% each.
Currencies: The Japanese Yen gained 24% against the US dollar. Euro depreciated 4.5% against the US dollar. South Korean Won depreciated 30% against the dollar. Indian Rupee depreciated 19% against the US dollar. Thai Baht depreciated 15% against the US dollar. Malaysian ringgit depreciated 5% against the US dollar. New Zealand dollar depreciated 25% against the US dollar. UK pound sterling depreciated 25% against the US dollar.
IPO's in 2008: Only 4 IPOs out of 43 have managed to post positive returns. The best performing IPOs were Vishal Info, Anus Lab, Alkali Metals & Gokul Refoils. However, the worst performing IPOs were Niraj Cement, Porwal Auto, First Winner, Chemcel Biotech, Tulsi.
Mutual Funds Performance: Equity Diversified Funds were down 55%. Over 50% of equity diversified funds were down over 55% YTD. ICICI Pru Dynamic, HDFC 200 are the best performing funds amid top 20 funds via Asset Under Management (AUM). DSPBR Tiger & Tata Infra are the worst performing funds amid top 20 funds via AUM.
Top 3 Worst performing funds are all JM Funds. JM Emerging Leaders down 80%; JM Small and Midcap down 78% & JM Basic down 75%.

------------------------------------
http://www.moneycontrol.com/yearend
See all experts
06:47 - 2008 scorecard of asset classes and what to expect in 2009
2008: Shocking year Biggest FII sell-off Best asset class
2009: Road ahead Global mkts in '08 Year-end special

Indians rush to sell jewellery as prices soar
31 Dec 2008, 1431 hrs IST, REUTERS
Gold futures on MCX rose to their highest in almost three months at Rs 13,790 per 10 grams. Gainers: BSE ( A, B ) NSE Losers: BSE ( A, B ) NSE 52 Week: High, Low
Sensex ends in red; HDFC, ICICI Bank, RIL slip
LIC Housing cuts interest rates on home loans by 75 bps
2008: The Year that Was

Source:ET,MC etc

LIC to invest Rs 1.6 lakh cr in FY 09 in different portfolios

LIC to invest Rs 1.6 lakh cr in FY 09 in different portfolios

LIC to invest Rs 1.6 lakh cr in FY 09 in different portfolios
MUMBAI: Despite seeing a 17-18 per cent decline in its policy sales in FY 09, Life Insurance Corporation of India hopes to enhance its investments across different portfolios to Rs 1.6 lakh-crore by March as compared to Rs 97,000-crore in FY 08.

The insurer has invested Rs 1.02-lakh crore in various segments so far in FY 09 which includes around Rs 29,000-crore investments in equities. “We may invest an additional Rs 40,000-crore in equities by end-fiscal,” LIC's Executive Director, Investment Operations, Mr N Mohan Raj told reporters here on Monday.

LIC has seen a rise in the number of corporates approaching it for debt this year on account of the credit crunch in financial markets, the official said. The corporation has invested Rs 23,190-crore in non-convertible debentures (NCD) so far in this fis cal,” Mr Mohan Raj said, adding,” the corporation is likely to invest another Rs 20,000-crore in NCDs by March.” Similarly, investments in Government securities and project loans as at end-September stood at Rs 36,311-crore and Rs 1,342-crore respectivel y and the company is likely to put in another Rs 18,000-crore in its G-Sec portfolio by end-fiscal, the official said.

Despite adverse market conditions, LIC has not seen any rise in its defaults which presently stands at around 0.5 per cent. The insurance giant's market share in terms of new business premium stands at 55 per cent as at October, while the market share in terms of total premium is close to 78 per cent, the official said.

The insurer has relaxed the claim settlement norms for Mumbai terror attack victims, the official said. - PTI

----------------------------------------------

Other Articles:

Sensex ends 197 points higher

Banking stocks surge after repo rate cut

Source:BL

Investors Guide from ET

Investor's Guide

Support and resistance: Way to profits?
It’s common knowledge that successful trading is all about buying at a support and selling at a resistance, with appropriate stoplosses. And more often than not, the real challenge is to identify what is a support and what is a resistance. But does identifying the support and the resistance always ensure profits?

TRENDING VS RANGING: Last week, we had given two calls for the Nifty — to go long above 2830 and to go short below 2550. This obviously meant that we expected a stiff resistance at 2830 and a strong support at 2550. So, when the Nifty rallied strongly last Monday, only to find a stonewall at 2830 (the top on Monday was 2832.85) and then collapsed to find the rock of Gibraltar at 2550 (the low on Tuesday was 2570.70), both our calls were vindicated. But what it also meant was that someone going purely by our call missed out on two 200+ point moves on the Nifty. Although it would have ensured that he/she did not make any loses, that’s hardly a consolation. This makes it imperative for us to find out the reasons why we missed out on these moves? And the most logical reason I can think of is that we expected a trending market, while we currently find ourselves in a ranging market. A trending market is one which has a clear trend, while a ranging market gyrates within a range, going nowhere. So, while one should go long above resistances (when the trend is up) and go short below supports (when the trend is down) in a trending market, all one should do in a ranging market is to go long at supports and go short at resistances. For, in a ranging market, more often than not, neither does the support break, nor does the resistance get taken out. And all we can hope for is to skim something out in between the support and the resistance.

THE TRADER’S MATRIX: While it’s very difficult to objectively explain the above logic and differentiate between a trending and ranging market, the adjoining matrix (let’s call it The Trader’s Matrix) tries to simplify matters, irrespective of whether we are in a trend or a range. As is evident, once you know you are in a bear market, you should first sell at a resistance, instead of waiting for the resistance to give way so that you can go long above it.

If one were to draw parallels between this and our last week’s call, once we knew that 2830 is a resistance, we should have first gone for the short trade, with a stop-loss above it and tried to ride it till the support. Had the resistance been taken out, we should have booked losses in the short trade and then thought about going long above it. For, now 2830 would have become a support and as our matrix tells us, in a bear market, one should selectively go long at supports. How should one be selective? Well, that’s what differentiates a great trader from a notso-great one.

THE RANGED WEEK: As is evident in the chart, the Nifty is now stuck in a range of 200-300 points, with a very strong resistance around 2840-2850. Even last week, the Nifty gyrated vigorously within this range, only to end the week with marginal losses. If any one needs further proof of this tough ranging market, all one needs to do is to take a look at the Nifty’s 20 day moving average (DMA). In about a month’s time, the Nifty has had three false breakouts above its 20 DMA (on November 4, November 10 and December 4). The fact that on each of these three occasions, the very next day has seen the Nifty plunge below it — the simplest of its trend indicators — reflects just one thing: that in the absolute near term, the Nifty has NO TREND. However, even within this tight range, bears are proving to be much smarter than bulls. So, while Monday’s losses saw a massive short build-up , reflected by Nifty December futures adding over 13 lakh shares on Monday, Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s marginal losses saw them covering their positions. This is clearly evident by the fact that on Tuesday and Wednesday, Nifty December futures cumulatively shed close to 11 lakh shares in open interest. So, most bears who had jumped in on Monday, actually got out with marginal profits. However, a majority of the bulls, who jumped in during Thursday’s 5% gains (Nifty December futures added over 20 lakh shares on Thursday), chickened out following Friday’s losses (they shed over 11 lakh shares on Friday). That a majority of these would have gotten out with substantial losses is not too difficult to imagine. FRESH TRADE: Having concluded that we are stuck in a range, the trading calls for this week are typically that of a ranging market. Short around the upper end around 2830-2850 and go long at dips around 2550-2600 , with about a 30-point stop loss in each case. In case 2850 or 2550 are taken out, assume we are back in a trend and just follow it, i.e. go long in case of a break-out and go short in case of a break-down .

-------------------------------------------
Other Articles on Investment:
Market unfazed
Corporate round-up
Jhunjhunwala Vanaspati: Attractive investment bet
R Sridhar: Going full throttle

L&T & BHEL attractive bets for investors
Consider stocks within metal pipe sector
Are Nifty stocks interesting bets?
How to cash in on intra-day volatility
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/volume-expansions-needed-for-breakout/07/00/50754/on

Source:ET,BS

Govt announces package to boost economy & Highlights

Govt unveils package to boost economy
Govt announces stimulus package to boost economy

The government today announced major tax cuts across the board to boost demand and allocated additional funds and incentives for exports, housing, textile and infrastructure to stimulate the economy, hit by the global financial crisis. "The government has been concerned about the impact of global financial crisis on the Indian economy and a number of steps have been taken to deal with this problem," an official statement said. The package, coming on the back of fresh monetary measures announced by the RBI yesterday, includes a four per cent cut in ad-valoram duty across the board, to boost additional spending, besides enhanced credit for exporters, along with a Rs 10,000 crore mop up for India Infrastructure Finance Company. Import duty on Naptha for use in power sector as well as export duty on iron ore to be eliminated. "In order to provide a contra-cyclical stimulus via plan expenditure, the government has decided to seek authorisation for additional plan expenditure of up to Rs 20,000 crore in the current year," the statement said, adding the total spending programme in the four months ending March was expected to be Rs 300,000 crore. As part of efforts to boost the housing sector, the public sector banks would shortly announce a package for home loan borrowers in two categories -- up to Rs five lakh and between Rs 5-20 lakh, the statement said, adding that additional measures would be taken, as necessary, to promote an accelerated growth trajectory.

As a special gesture for the automobile sector, government departments would be allowed to take up replacement of vehicles within the allowed budget. Attaching special significance to infrastructure development, the government authorised India Infrastructure Finance Co Ltd (IIFCL) to raise Rs 10,000 crore through tax- free bonds by March 2009 and said it would be permitted to raise further resources. "In particular, these initiatives would support a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) programme of Rs 100,000 crore in the highways sector," it said. Paying special attention to exports, the government decided to provide an interest subvention of two per cent up to March 2009 for pre and post-shipment export credit for labour-intensive exports like textiles, leather, marine products and SME sector. The concession is subject to a minimum rate of interest. Besides, it would provide an additional Rs Rs 1,100 crore for full refund of terminal excise duty/CST and another Rs 350 crore for export incentive schemes and a back-up guarantee of Rs 350 crore to ECGC (Export Credit Guarantee Corporation) for providing guarantee for exports to difficult markets and products. To boost collateral free lending to Micro and Small enterprises that are facing a credit crunch, the government doubled the current guarantee cover for loans to up to Rs one crore from the existing limit of Rs 50 lakh. Besides, the lock in period for loans covered under the existing credit guarantee scheme will be reduced from 24 to 18 months, to encourage banks to cover more loans under the guarantee scheme. These announcements for the MSE sector comes a day after RBI announced a refinance facility of Rs 7,000 crore for Small Industries Development Bank of India to facilitate the flow of credit to such industries. As part of the stimulus package, textile sector, the largest provider of employment, would get an additional Rs 1,400 crore towards the entire backlog of Technology Upgradation Fund. The statement also said that all items of handicrafts will be included under Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana. Among other initiatives, the government has decided to completely lift import duty on Naphtha for use in the power sector while export duty on iron ore fines will be eliminated.

--------------------------------------------------
Highlights of package

The following are the highlights of the fiscal stimulus package unveiled by the government Sunday to contain the impact of global financial crisis on the Indian economy:

Plan, non-plan expenditure of Rs.300,000 crore (Rs.3,000 billion/$60 billion) in four months - Parliament nod to be sought for Rs.20,000 crore more toward plan expenditure - Across-the-board cut of four percent in the ad valorem central value-added tax - Interest subvention of two percent on export credit for labour intensive sectors - Additional allocations for export incentive schemes - Full refund of service tax paid by exporters to foreign agents - Incentives for loans on housing for up to Rs.500,000, and up to Rs.2 million - Limits under the credit guarantee scheme for small enterprises doubled - Lock-in period for loans to small firms under credit guarantee scheme reduced - India Infrastructure Finance Co allowed to raise Rs.100 billion through tax-free bonds - Norms for government departments to replace vehicles relaxed - Import duty on naphtha for use by the power sector is being reduced to zero - Export duty on iron ore fines eliminated - Export duty on lumps for steel industry reduced to five percent

------------------------------------------------
India Inc cheers stimulus package
Special package for home loan borrowers up to Rs 20 lakh: Govt
Car prices to go down; cos give thumbs up to stimulus package
Govt cuts taxes to bring down prices
Stimulus package good, not enough: realtors

Stimulus prescribes new cars for bureaucrats
India Inc cheers stimulus package; wants more
Car prices to go down; cos give thumbs up to stimulus
Govt cuts export duty on iron ore

Special package for home loan borrowers
Govt announces package to boost economy


Source:BL,ET,BS etc

8 Indian supercomps in worlds top 500 list

8 Indian supercomps in world's top 500 list

Hewlett Packard (HP), the world’s biggest maker of personal computers, on Friday said that a total of eight entries in the list of top


IT service megavendors I Putting IT to work500 supercomputers are from India and six out of the eight entries are from HP. Among vendors, HP leads the list with a 41.8 % share of the systems, followed by IBM (37%), Dell (4%) and Cray (4%). Supercomputer Eka, a HP-based system with a performance of 132.8 teraflops (floating point operations per second) has been ranked at number 13. Eka belongs to the Tata Group’s Computational Research Laboratories. The rankings are released twice a year by researchers at the Universities of Tennessee and Mannheim, Germany, and at NERSC Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The HP-based Param cluster of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing has been ranked 68th.

The other supercomputers by HP from India are for an industrial research company (334), a research agency (428), IIT-Madras (436) and Paprikaas Interactive Services (478). The two other supercomputers from India out of the eight in the list include IBM’s eServer Blue Gene Solution for Indian Institute Science ranked at 213 and a supercomputer for Digital Media Company (G) ranked at 481. IBM’s Roadrunner has been ranked as number one in the list. The system, only the second to break the petaflop barrier, posted a top performance of 1.059 petaflops. One petaflop represents one quadrillion floating point operations per second.
----------------------------------------------------------

Features

Quickies
Quickies made here
World's 10 best secret dining clubs

Travel Picks: World's 10 best secret dining clubs

Gift guide: Tech gifts for the budget-conscious
"I can has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun" ($8)
Sansa Slotmusic player ($20, cards are $15)
Flexible mini-tripod ($22 to $55)
Music video games ($50 and up)
Roku Netflix Player ($100)


Better rechargeable batteries ($12 and up)
Flickr Pro account ($25 for one year)
Tao Electronics photo key chain ($30 to $50)
SwissFlash 1 GB ($50 and up)
Tech gifts for the budget-conscious

-----------------------------------------------
Best supercars and superbikes in India


Lamborghini Gallardo
Porsche 911 Turbo
Bentley Continental GT
Supercars and superbikes

Ducati 1098R
Suzuki Hayabusa
Yamaha MT-01

---------------------------------------------------
The Top 10 Women in Entertainment


Nina Tassler
Mary Parent
Bonnie Hammer
Nancy Tellem
Anne Sweeney

Dana Walden
Judy McGrath
Stacey Snider
Amy Pascal
Oprah Winfrey
----------------------------------------------
Tech gifts for the budget-conscious

'I can has Cheezburger?: A LOLcat Colleckshun'
Sansa Slotmusic player
Flexible mini-tripod
Music video games
Tech gifts for the budget-conscious

Better rechargeable batteries
Flickr Pro account
Tao Electronics photo key chain
SwissFlash 1 GB
-----------------------------------------------

Technology Pioneers 2009
TraceTracker Innovation ASA
Tideway Systems
Slide, Inc.
Nivio
Mojix, Inc.
JiGrahak Mobility Solution Pvt. Ltd.
Etsy Inc.
Advanced Track & Trace

Ubiquisys Ltd
SpinVox Ltd
Qifang Inc
MPedigree
Mint.com
GameForge
Brightcove Inc.
--------------------------------------------------
Bollywood and Terrorism

Moonam Mura
Keerthi Chakra
Jalsa
TELUGU: Manoharam
Theeviravaathi
Roja
Naseem
Maachis
Pukar
Black Friday
Bollywood and Terrorism

Daivanamthil
MALAYALAM: Baba Kalyani
Khadgam
Kannathil Muthamittal
TAMIL: Kuruthipunal
Drohkaal
Bombay
Dil Se
Mumbai Meri Jaan
HINDI: A Wednesday
-----------------------------------------------

World Movies And Terrorism
Paradise Now
Four Days in September
Germany in Autumn
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie(1972)/The Phantom of Liberty (1974)/That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
The Battle of Algiers

Good Morning, Night
First Name, Carmen
Nada France
La Chinoise

--------------------------------------------------
SOurce:ET

RBI cuts repo, reverse repo rates by 100 bps

RBI cuts repo, reverse repo rates by 100 bps
Markets may get a boost from RBI measures: Analysts

The Reserve Bank
of India on Saturday cut the repo rate - the rate at which RBI lends to banks - by 100 basis points to 6.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent and reverse repo - the rate at which banks park excess funds with RBI - by 100 basis points to 5 per cent from 6 per cent, effective from December 8.

However it has kept cash reserve ration (CRR) - the proportion of deposits banks must keep with the central bank - unchanged at 5.5 per cent. The 6.5 per cent repo rate is the lowest rate in 2-1/2 years, while the 5 per cent reverse repo rate is its lowest in more than three years.

The RBI has taken the steps to boost growth and shore up investor confidence amid signs of economic slowdown and in the wake of deadly attacks in Mumbai. "Industrial activity, particularly in the manufacturing and infrastructure sectors, is decelerating," RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao told a news conference. Subbarao said the central bank would closely monitor developments in global and domestic financial markets and would take swift and effective action as appropriate.

"The Reserve Bank's policy endeavour will be to minimise the negative impact of the crisis and to ensure an orderly adjustment," he said. The main lending rate has now been cut by 250 basis points since October 20, when the central bank made its first rate reduction in more than four years to shield the economy from the global financial crisis. Saturday's decision was the first change in the reverse repo rate since July 2006.

The cash reserve ratio, the proportion of deposits banks must keep with the central bank, was left unchanged at 5.5 per cent. Expectations of rate reductions have mounted ever since last week's attacks in Mumbai in which gunmen brought the business district to a standstill as they holed up in two luxury hotels and a Jewish centre, killing 171 people. The benchmark 10-year bond yield fell 8 basis points to 6.76 per cent on Friday ahead of the central bank's decision, which had been well flagged by government officials, and the rupee gained against the dollar. The government is also expected to announce fiscal measures to give impetus to the economy, which data show may be decelerating more rapidly than anticipated from an annual rate of 9 per cent in the fiscal year which ended last March. The exact timing of the government's expected steps is not known.

RBI cuts key rates by 100 basis points
RBI measures - Highlights
ICICI home loans of Rs 20-lakh and below cheaper by 1.5%


Source:ET,BL etc

Ratan Tata can be Indias Obama, says Forbes

Tata can be India's Obama, says Forbes

Who could be India's Obama who could unite the country and march the nation forward at a traumatic time?
US business magazine Forbes feels it is industry captain Ratan Tata.

"While it (India) has the sympathy of the world (after the recent attacks), India could have an Obama moment -- one in which a leader, whose personal history epitomises the country's principles, marches forward to unite the country during its very moment of trauma. India has a chance now to get it right, but it needs a strong, credible leader to step up," Forbes said in a report.

"As an American, I don't get a vote in India, but if I did, mine would go to Ratan Tata," added the report written by Forbes magazine' Senior Editor (Asia) Robyn Meredith.

"He is not a politician, but he is the country's most respected business leader. His Tata Group owns the Taj hotel that was just attacked, but his family is just as connected to India's proud history as its shell-shocked present," Meredith wrote in a weekly column published online.

Posing the question whether should there be not a way to involve Tata at the highest level in the government, the report noted that "a fractured India" would immensely benefit from his acumen and constructive patriotism.

Meredith pointed out, "Should there not be a way to involve him in government at the highest level? A fractured India would benefit immeasurably from his acumen, his managerial skills, and his very obvious--but always constructive--patriotism."

Wondering what if the nation leapfrogged America's approach, the magazine pointed out that the political leap could be as successful as the country's technology jump.

"In a few short years, technology allowed India to go from a land with a 10-year-wait for a telephone to one where even farmers carry cell phones. India could make a political leap that is as successful as its technology jump," Forbes said.

Taj Hotel, the prime target of Mumbai terror attacks was the dream realised by Jamsetji Tata. It came up on the city's water front, after a British-owned hotel denied Jamsetji Tata entry, just because "he was not white".

Writing on the hotel, which was built much before the 'Gateway of India' came into existence, the report said, "It opened just over a century ago and was the first Indian-owned luxury hotel. That is why the attack on that hotel resonates so strongly: The Taj hotel was a symbol of all that post-colonial India could become -- successful, honourable, dignified, strong and admired the world over."

Noting that India is at the crossroads, the magazine said that the nation can "turn to past enemies, to yesterday's memories, or it can look to the future and new hopes that could unite the nation's Hindus and Muslims."

Source:Rediff

The Great Indian bailout...

The Great Indian bailout!

Prime minister Manmohan Singh's diagnosis of, and remedy for, the economic slowdown isn't too off-the-mark. I think we are in a typical Keynesian situation where there is a lack of demand private sector demand is very weak but, strong government demand, both for social services and for physical infrastructure, will provide the essential stabilisers that our country needs at a time like this, he had declared on October 25. Yet, the antidote has few buyers.

It's easy to see why. Even as Singh spoke, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram was preparing to beseech Parliament for funds over and above budgetary allocations to pay salaries and bills. He wanted and got additional sums that add up to a third of the total Budget he had piloted through Parliament only in May this year. Government spending has overshot Chidambaram's estimates mainly on subsidies and rural wage programmes (see Budget Busters). Such largesse to the aam aadmi has dominated the UPA government's spending agenda since it took office in May 2004. So far this year, the Centre has pumped in more than Rs 1,340,000 crore into rural development (about half of resident Indians' bank deposits), inflating its fiscal deficit by 26 per cent over its last year's level. It can be taken for granted that the fiscal deficit this year will miss the target, says Suresh Tendulkar, Chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.

The global economic crisis is the Government's excuse for overshooting the deficit target. So what if our deficit settles at 3.2 per cent instead of 3 per cent? If the target is breached by a few decimal points, so be it, because there is a global financial crisis and we are suffering the ripple effects of this crisis, Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha on October 29. He employed this year's Nobel winner for economics, Paul Krugman's tip, this is no time to talk about the deficit , in the Government's defence, following a scathing attack from former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha on the demand for supplementary funds.
The Finance Minister's defence will be credible if he can turn the deficit into an antidote for the current economic downturn. Investment, the key driver of economic growth, is slowing down after an average rate of growth of 18 per cent in the past five years due to which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has forecast GDP growth at 7.5-8 per cent this year. The volatile cost and non-availability of credit is further slowing down projects. In such a scenario, public expenditure the one that boosts productive spending will pump prime the economy.

Injecting moneySix major heads of government spending and their likely impact.
Rs 25,000 crore on Farm Loans Waiver Has offset the dampening effect on rural consumption by cushioning agricultural incomes with waivers amounting to Rs 72,000 crore
Rs 38,863 crore on Fertiliser Subsidies Has protected farm incomes; the huge fuel subsidies, which the government doesn't pay in cash, are protecting urban, rural and middle class incomes and consumption
Rs 1,274,474 crore on the NREGS Has boosted rural incomes and consumption and is creating demand for construction materials. Total funds available with states as on October 31 were: Rs 1,976,9890 crore; of which states have spent 65% or Rs 1,274,473 crore
Including: 70% on wages: Rs 898,216 crore for 7.8 million households or 12.5 million people 4% on semi-skilled and skilled wages: Rs 45,359 crore 23% on materials: Rs 287,615 crore 3% on administration: Rs 43,283 crore
Rs 29,579 crore on Rural Development Has boosted village incomes and fuelled demand for construction materials
Rs 3,862 crore on Road Infrastructure Is generating demand for construction materials.

Government spending can help or hurt private investment. The best kind of government spending is one that aids both asset creation and income generation. Such spending, even if financed by higher than targeted deficit, encourages (crowds in) private investment. However, a deficit, especially that does not lead to asset creation, can also hamper (crowd out) private investment and therefore stoke inflation. Only government expenditures designed to boost productive investments to offset the slowdown will pump prime the economy and exonerate finance ministers around the globe for rising fiscal deficits.
It's not that there are no large dollops of public expenditure taking place. The Rs 1,275,000-crore National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Rs 25,000 crore on the farm loan waiver scheme and the Rs 25,000-crore largesse announced by the Sixth Pay Commission (SPC) for central government employees will all put significant sums of money into rural and urban consumer wallets. But all these spending programmes were well underway before the global financial crisis hit hard. The spending, ranging from the farm loan waiver to the SPC, and its growth effects were factored in by the government in February, when it presented the Budget... just that the government had not included any of it in its accounting at that time and they were all referred to as 'below the line', says Rohini Malkani, Economist, Citigroup India.
Much of the pump priming impact of these programmes has already been absorbed by the economy. And given the rising deficit, the government has little additional money to fund a New Deal -kind of project. Of course, government can simply borrow more to fund new programmes, but given the shortage of funds in the financial system, a stepped-up government borrowing will dry up funds (or raise the cost) for private sector a situation government is trying to avert. It's not that government spending hasn't helped create demand. The question is whether the demand creation is adequate and more importantly, if the demand and asset creation is proportional to the money spent on these programmes. The sporadic effects of government-led demand creation are evident.

More @The Great Indian bailout!
------------------------------------------
Inflation rate declines to 8.40%
Petrol price may be cut by Rs 10
Sensex
Mumbai still an investor hot-spot


Source:Sify,Rediff