18 April 2010

News RoundUp

Tata, RIL among world's 50 most innovative cos

EW YORK: Two Indian corporate giants, Tata Group and Reliance Industries, have made to a new list of world's 50 most innovative companies, but it is US-based Apple Computer sitting on the top.

Between them, Tata Group is better placed as the world's 17th most innovative compared to Mukesh Ambani-led RIL's 33rd position globally in this league.

Having brought Mac computers, iPod music players and the new sleek touch-screen laptop iPad to this world, Apple has retained its top slot, while compatriot internet giant Google remains the "silver medallist" in the latest edition of annual rankings prepared by BusinessWeek magazine in collaboration with global research firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

But, the US supremacy on these rankings is under threat due to Asia's fast rise. There are as many as 15 companies from Asia on the list, as against five in 2006.

Besides, for the first time since the inaugural list in 2005, the number of companies from the US has fallen below that of the non-US entities among the top-25.

India, however, has limited role in Asia's growing clout. There are five companies from Japan, another five from China and Taiwan, three from South Korea and just two from India.

Besides, both Indian entities on the list have moved down from their previous year rankings. In 2009, Tata group was ranked at 13th place, while Reliance Industries at 15th.

This is despite innovative being seen as a key for the country's economic growth, as per the survey conducted by BCG and BusinessWeek for compilation of the rankings.

About 89 per cent of executives in India said innovation was key to economic growth, while in the US only 72 per cent said innovation was important, the report said.

At the top of the list, Apple and Google are followed by software giant Microsoft, technology giant IBM and Japanese auto major Toyota in the top five.

Others in the top-ten included Amazon.com, LG Electronics, BYD, General Electric and Sony.

While Asia is growing fast, North America leads the tally with 24 companies on the list. There are 11 companies from Europe and one from South America (Brazil's Petrobras).

More @ Tata, RIL among world's 50 most innovative cos

Power List of Top 100 CEOs

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Q4 Earnings

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INVESTMENT WORLD

INSIGHT: Stock market rebound — Driven by valuations
Much has been written about the Sensex doubling in value from its March 2009 lows, but have you noticed how it has reshuffled the PE (price-earnings) multiples of different sectors? Some, like commodity and automobile stocks, are today much ...

INSIGHT: Metals, auto lead the bull charge
Every rising phase in the stock market usually has new sectors leading the bull charge. The rally of the past one year too has thrown up its share of new sector leaders. Even as the Sensex itself more than doubled from its March 2009 low of ...

INVESTMENTS: What to do with your ULIPs
The dispute between regulators over unit linked insurance plans (ULIPs) marketed by insurance companies has left many investors confused. Here's an FAQ to address some of the doubts that investors ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Sensex on a slippery slope
Altercation between the stock market and insurance regulators on the ULIP issue made Sensex commence trading on the back-foot last week. High WPI inflation numbers further stoked the fear of an imminent policy rate hike sending the ...

STOCKS: Rolta India: Buy
STOCKS: Hindustan Zinc: Buy
Thanks to stimuli rolled out by the Government in 2008-09, industrial output statistics are improving every month. This augurs well for the steel and, in turn, zinc manufacturers. The growth in vehicles sales witnessed last year has helped ...

STOCKS: HEG: Buy
Investments can be considered in the stock of graphite electrode producer HEG. With a clear sign of bounce back in steel production, besides expansion plans in the sector, increased demand from the steel industry for graphite electrodes can ...

STOCKS: Jubilant Organosys: Buy
Investors with a long-term perspective can consider investing in the stock of Jubilant Organosys, among thelargest custom research and manufacturing services company in the country. Besides improving trends in global pharma ...

STOCKS: JMC Projects: Buy
Investors with a penchant for risk can consider buying the stock of JMC Projects, a diversified construction contractor. At Rs 186, the stock trades at 11 times its trailing 12-month per share earnings, on a par with peers in the ...

INTERVIEW: ‘Mid-cap stocks will play catch-up'
Funds that invest in mid-cap stocks have always been a rather volatile lot; but Birla Midcap Fund has managed both a high and a fairly consistent return

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Consider shorting DLF, Neyveli Lignite
STOCK STRATEGY. DLF (Rs 329.7): Despite the recent uptrend, the stock seems to have lost its momentum a bit, turning weak on Friday. We expect the stock to move in a narrow range with a negative bias. As long as it stays below Rs 405, the ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Initiate bear put spread on Nifty
INDEX STRATEGY. We suggest traders to set a bear put spread for the week, as there is a strong resistance for Nifty beyond 5,345. Setting a put spread therefore may help traders benefit from any weakness in the index. You can set it by buying ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Pivotals
RIL followed our script closely last week, reversing below the short-term resistance at Rs 1,143 to move to the first target at Rs 1,090. Sell signal in the daily moving average convergence divergence oscillator and reversals in the 10-day ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Sizzling stocks
This stock darted higher on Thursday as robust first quarter earnings pushed made it close 20 per cent higher. There was no let-up in the bullish momentum in the next session either and the company went on to record the high of Rs 1,045 on ...

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS: Marico in a structural uptrend
I purchased PSL at Rs 173. Please advise how long I should hold the stock and what is the short- or long-term outlook for it? ...


Wkly Tech Analysis: Nifty may slip to 5,100 level">Wkly Tech Analysis: Nifty may slip to 5,100 level


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Src: ET and Businessline



16 April 2010

ET special: India Inc's most powerful CEOs

ET special: India Inc's most powerful CEOs

Ratan Tata retains Most Powerful CEO crown

16 Apr 2010, 0517 hrs IST,Dibeyendu Ganguly,ET Bureau


MUMBAI: THE wait is over. The definitive list of India Inc’s Most Powerful CEOs is here, and Ratan Tata retains his position as India Inc’s top dog. The past year has seen the 72-year-old head of India’s biggest conglomerate re-open The Pierre Hotel in New York, launch the GSM version of his cellular service as DoCoMo and grapple with serious engineering problems in the Nano.

In the eyes of the respondents in the survey, he’s obviously handled the challenges with panache. The 500 respondents interviewed by IMRB for The Economic Times Corporate Dossier magazine not only voted Mr Tata as India Inc’s Most Powerful CEO for 2009, second year running, but also India Inc’s CEO of the Decade.

In a year of uncertainty, starting with the economy in the shadows of the recession but ending on a cheery note of recovery, the vote is apparently one of stability. The next three rankings after Mr Tata — Mukesh Ambani, NR Narayana Murthy and Anil Ambani — also remain the same as last year and most of the names that follow are familiar as well.

Riding on his bold acquisition of Satyam and his selection as the Businessman of the Year at the ET Awards for Corporate Excellence, Anand Mahindra breaks into the top 10, climbing five places to the ninth rank. Representing the comfort of the old order, Rahul Bajaj returns to the top 10, climbing 11 places to the eighth spot. Azim Premji and Sunil Mittal both climb four places this year, possibly in line with the improved market capitalisation of their companies.



Promoter-CEOs dominate list

Not surprisingly, India Inc’s Most Powerful CEOs list has always tended to be dominated by promoter-CEOs. Professional-CEOs, public-sector CEOs, MNC-CEOs do feature on the list, but only a few make it to the top 20.

This year, the three exceptional professional CEOs in the top 20 are OP Bhatt, chairman of SBI, the country’s largest lender; Chanda Kochhar, CEO of ICICI, the country’s largest private sector bank and Vinita Bali, CEO of Britannia and Business Woman of the Year at the recent ET Awards.

To put things in a better perspective, this year’s survey has created two spin-offs. The first is a listing of India Inc’s most powerful women CEOs and the top troika here consists of Chanda Kochhar, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon and Naina Lal Kidwai of HSBC. The second is a listing of India Inc’s most powerful MNC-CEOs, where Ms Kidwai again finds a place, but at number four. The top three are D Shivakumar of Nokia, Nitin Paranjpe of Hindustan Unilever and Ravi Venkatesan of Microsoft.


The Power List of Top 100 CEOs | Full coverage

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Top 5 picks of the day | Mid-term picks


Pre- Market: Stocks seen ranged; global cues mixed



Src: ET

13 April 2010

Infosys Q4 profit at Rs 1617 crore; FY10 net up 5%

Infosys Q4 profit at Rs 1,617 crore; FY'10 net up 5%


Infosys to hire 30K this fiscal; hike wages by upto 17%


MUMBAI: IT major Infosys Technologies today reported a marginal rise of 0.25 per cent in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,617 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010. ( Watch )

The company had a net profit of Rs 1,613 crore in the March quarter of the previous fiscal (2008-09), Infosys said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Income from software services, products and business process management rose to Rs 5,944 crore for the fourth quarter from Rs 5635 crore in the year-ago period.

The company's cash and cash equivalents stood at $3.5 billion at the end of March 31, 2010.

"We maintained our margins in one of the toughest years for the industry. The currency volatility continues to be a concern for the industry. We have an active hedging programme to minimise its impact on our margins," Infosys CFO V Balakrishnan said.

For the year ended March 31, the IT bellwether posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 6,266 crore, up 4.64 per cent over the year-ago period.


The board has declared a final dividend of Rs 15 per share for the fiscal on every share of Rs 5 held.

Shares of Infosys were trading at Rs 2,668.45, down 0.55 per cent over the previous close on BSE.

During the fiscal, income from software services, products and business process management rose to Rs 22,742 crore from Rs 21,693 crore in the previous fiscal (2008-09).

"We have been able to take advantage of the opportunities in the market and grow faster due to our investments in capacity and capability building even during the economic downturn," Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan said.

Infosys, which has Goldman Sachs, BT Group and BP Plc among its clients, added 47 clients during the quarter.

At the end of March 31, the company had 1,13,796 employees, which includes a net addition of 3,914 staff during the fourth quarter.

"Though the economic environment continues to be challenging, businesses are investing in growth for building a better future," Gopalakrishnan added.

On a standalone basis, the company has posted a net profit at Rs 1,430 crore for the March quarter, a decline of 8.85 per cent over the same period last fiscal.


Nifty ends flat; IT index jumps 3% on Infy nos



Src:ET and Moneycontrol


Morning calls

Top 5 picks I Mid-term picks


Eight of the 10 best-performing currencies are from emerging markets


Nifty faces strong resistance at 5400


Jagran Prakashan hits bull's eye

Royal Orchid good for long term investors

Stocks in news: HCC, DCB, PVR, Rolta, Geojit BNP, Bharti



Television Eighteen


Reliance Industries, Banking, Telecom


Valuations


Hindustan Zinc


IVRCL


ICICI Bank


Reliance Industries Limited


Pantaloon Retail


Results Calendar



Src: ET and DP blog etc

09 April 2010

RIL to invest $1.7 bn for Marcellus JV with Atlas Energy

RIL to invest $1.7 bn for Marcellus JV with Atlas Energy

NEW DELHI: Making a breakthrough in the US, Reliance Industries today said it will invest $1.7 billion in a joint venture with Atlas Energy Inc to produce gas from shale, sedimentary rocks, in Marcellus region. ( Watch )

The investment would be scaled up to $3.5 billion over the next 10 years, RIL CFO Alok Agarwal said.

Reliance will take 40 per cent stake in the about 300,000 acres Marcellus shale gas project, which spans parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York and could hold enough natural gas to satisfy US demand for a decade.

Nasdaq-listed Atlas will hold the remaining 60 per cent and also the operatorship. RIL had earlier unsuccessfully bid for acquiring controlling stake in bankrupt chemical maker LyondellBassel.

It bid $14.5 billion for Lyondell but the offer was vetoed by creditors who filed a rival revival plan.

Flush with revenues from its eastern offshore KG-D6 gas field back home, the Mukesh Ambani-run firm has been on the lookout of acquisitions in the United States. Separately, its twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat are looking at directly selling fuel into the US.

"Reliance Marcellus LLC (a subsidiary of RIL) has executed definitive agreements to enter into a joint venture with US based Atlas Energy Inc... under which Reliance will acquire a 40 per cent interest in Atlas' core Marcellus Shale acreage position," the company said in a statement.

The Indian firm will pay $339 million in cash to close the deal and foot Atlas' drilling cost of up to $1.36 billion.

"The (300,000 acres) acreage will support the drilling of over 3,000 wells with a net resource potential of about 13.3 trillion cubic feet gas equivalent," the RIL statement said, adding that the deal is expected to be closed by the month end.

Shale gas is natural gas stored in organic-rich sedimentary rocks. It is considered an unconventional source as the gas may be attached to or "adsorbed" onto organic matter. The gas is contained in difficult-to-produce reservoirs that require special completion, stimulation and/or production techniques to achieve economic production.



In addition to funding its own 40 per cent of drilling obligations, Reliance has agreed to fund 75 per cent of Atlas' respective portion of drilling and completion costs until the $1.36 billion drilling carry is fully utilized, Atlas said in a separate statement.

"Under the framework of the joint venture, Atlas will continue acquiring leasehold in the Marcellus region and Reliance will have the option to acquire 40 per cent share in all new acreages," Reliance said. "Reliance also obtains the right of first offer with respect to potential future sales by Atlas of around 280,000 additional Appalachian acres currently controlled by Atlas (not included in the present joint venture)."


Reliance finds more gas in KG basin: Report

RIL makes 4 new gas discoveries at KG D6: Sources

Atlas Energy inks $1.7 bn Marcellus Shale JV with RIL



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Src:ET and Moneycontrol

Morning calls

Mid term picks of the day | Top five picks of the day


Pre market: Stocks seen lower on jittery Asia


SAIL plummets over 7% on divestment move

Revival to help Mahindra Lifespaces

Infosys mulls special dividend, say brokerages

Essar Oil jumps 3pc on parent's LSE listing plan

Stocks in news: DB Corp, RPG Cables, Tata Motors, Mid-Day

Greece plunges deeper into crisis, banks, euro hit



India Retail


Greek fears resurface to head Asia lower


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07 April 2010

Morning calls

Heard on Street: Insurance cos lap up NMDC


Insurance companies lap up NMDC stock



Shares of NMDC, a state-owned iron ore producer, have rebounded from recent lows. There is talk that insurance companies, both private and public sector, have lapped up the stock in recent sessions amid speculation that the company could move to quarterly pricing in line with the recently-introduced global practice. Grapevine has it that an insurance major has bought the stock, when it fell to around Rs 283 last week. On Tuesday, the stock rose 1.6% to Rs 303.20.

Bears seen sniffing around SBI counter

With the market on an uptrend, bears are looking for some stocks they can safely short sell, without losing much sleep. After a quick reading, this group appears to have arrived at the consensus that State Bank of India best fits the bill. The recent RBI rule that banks should pay interest on savings deposits on a daily basis, is expected to pinch SBI the most, as the bank has the most number of savings accounts, so feel the bears. Grapevine is that the Old Fox, and the owner of the Big ‘Bang’ brokerage are said to be among those building short positions in the stock.

Religare’s banking unit on a poaching spree

The investment banking and institutional broking arm of Religare Enterprises continues to aggressively ramp up its senior level, even as rivals are amazed at the salaries being offered by the Delhi-head quartered financial services firm. The company, which has in the recent past poached key personnel from foreign brokerages to beef up its talent pool, is once again looking in that direction for its new strategist. The buzz on the Street is that the new hire is the second in command of the research team at a leading investment bank which claims to have trouble getting sleep.

Networth’s Satish Pasari moves to rival firm

Satish Pasari, who heads the institutional business at BSE-listed Networth Stock Broking, is said to have put in his papers, and will shortly be joining a rival firm. The low-profile Mr Pasari is said to have been instrumental in setting up the retail, wealth management and institutional businesses of the brokerage. When contacted, Mr Pasari declined to comment. Networth had recently hired around two dozen professionals in sales, dealing and research to spruce up its presence in the derivative and quant-trading segments.

(Contributed by Nishanth Vasudevan, Santosh Nair, Deeptha Rajkumar & Apurv Gupta)

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Top 5 picks | Mid-term picks


'I'll give India 2 more brands bigger than Ranbaxy'


Top 10 Equity Funds in 2009-10


Nifty to trade in 5200-5400 range

Godrej Consumers should make a new 52-week high: Devangvisaria.com

Mahindra & Mahindra, Escorts look very promising: Angel Broking

This year is going to be exceptional for TVS Motor: Angel Broking

Expect modest correction: CLSA

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New teen CEOs | Gen Y CEOs | World's top 10 billionaires

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Bull's Eye: Stocks to buy today

Everyday, on this special segment, Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18 brings you trading/investing calls from investment analysts. Today, we bring you calls
from:

Mitesh Thacker, Technical Analyst, miteshthacker.com.
Investment Advisor, SP Tulsian.

Mitesh Thacker, Technical Analyst, miteshthacker.com.


Buy Bombay Dyeing with a target of Rs 630

Buy MTNL with a target of Rs 83
Buy IFGL Refractories with a target of Rs 67
Buy Rel Comm with a target of Rs 186


Investment Advisor, SP Tulsian.

Buy Lloyd Electric with target of Rs 80
Buy ITD Cementation with target of Rs 255
Buy KNR Constructions with target of Rs 182
Buy Essar Shipping with target of Rs 100


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Daily News Roundup - Apr 7 2010


Not in the best of health!


Aditya Birla Chemicals



Src: ET and DP blog etc