14.07.2008

• Latest jargon from the global stock markets.
• Ever heard of things like ‘dark pools’ ‘algorithmic trading’ ‘smart routers’ etc.? Look at this piece in Discover It. It explains them.
• Speaking of stock market jargon, can we ignore George Soros? He goes contrarian on Indian stock markets
• My stock market friends, will surely ponder over this. Some of them are left with a feeling that they are licking their wounds now in these troubled times. But here is George Soros giving them soothing words… err …action.
• His hedge fund Quantum, which was reported to have posted earnings of over 30% last year, went on a buying-spree at a time, when most funds were dumping stocks in a sliding market.
• George Soros is famed for betting against the British pound in 1992 and making over $1 billion in the process, bruising the Bank of England (BoE) which fought a losing battle, ending up drawing down its reserves. Much later, he was attacked by former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad for speculating in currencies of South-East Asia. Indeed, Mr Soros had also lent money to Russia during troubled times.
• Want an example of aggressiveness in business?
• I bet you can’t get a better one than this one from Anil Ambani. Look at his audacity? Coming from a non-filmi family and having virtually no experience in production or content making, he goes on to create the country’s largest content making company with the biggest names of Indian and foreign cinema that any one can dream of. That’s how business should be done my friends. Wish him all the best.
• Why are existing DTH operators like Dish TV and Tata Sky objecting to the introduction of MPEG-4 technology in TV broadcasing?
• They are of the view that MPEG-4 does not guarantee better quality reception or picture for the consumer, but will only help the operator provide a larger number of channels with minimum satellite transponders.
• That is why they say the technology can’t be introduced unless the existing regulations are amended or re-notified.
• But TRAI has not bought these arguments. We will be witnessing a round of fight like the one we have seen between GSM and CDMA operators some time back.
• What are Tier IV data centers?
• There are less than 50 Tier IV data centres in the world.
• Look at this to get an idea of the various tiers that are there for data centers.
• Hike in FDI limits for defence sector on the anvil?
• The government is reportedly planning to raise FDI ceiling in defence production through the automatic route to 49% from the current limit of 26%. This will enable global defence majors to set up ventures in India without having to wait for government clearances in cases where the foreign investment component goes beyond 26%. The move could attract top international defence suppliers like Lockheed Martin and Bombardier to set up joint ventures here.
• The increase in FDI would be subject to guidelines for licensing production of arms & ammunitions under Press Note 2 of 2002. There would be a three-year lock-in period for transfer of equity from one foreign investor to another foreign investor (including NRIs & OCBs with 60% or more NRI stake) and such transfer would be subject to prior approval of the FIPB.
• Will the Left allow it?
• Services sector registers slower growth
• All is not well with the country’s services sector, the largest contributor to economic growth of our economy. Since the third quarter of fiscal ‘07, one of the significant segments of this sector that comprises banking, insurance, real estate and business services, has seen growth dip from a peak of 14.7% to 10.5% in Q4’08.
• Speaking of services, let’s take a look at the country’s educational services potential.
• Look at it here.
• Slowdown’s for real, confirms net sales data
• While the jury is still out on the extent of economic slowdown in India, sectoral data is unambiguous about the growth engine’s downward journey. The trend in net sales growth of companies in leading (intermediate) sectors such as cement, hospitality, chemicals, logistics, metals and capital goods illustrates the situation.
• On an aggregate basis, the net sales of companies in these sectors grew by just 19% during March 2008 quarter from a high of 40% recorded in December 2006 quarter. This was the fifth consecutive quarter of decelerating trends in the net sales growth of companies in this sector. The worst affected are companies in cement, hotels, logistics and chemical sectors.
• Benefits to India from attending the G8 meetings
• The benefit for India is that other policy makers note its concerns. Since the G8 is a regular meeting, such concerns would become part of the record of each country and there is a greater chance of this being reflected in the policies. Too often the concerns might be noted at a summit meeting between two leaders, but not become a part of the country’s institutional memory. G8 meetings are an important method of exchanging ideas and concerns and with India becoming a regular member of such meetings, even if only on the sidelines, it is more likely that policies of major countries will take account of India’s concerns.
• If you are asked to define neo-liberalism, would that look like this?
• That grab-bag of ideas based on the fundamentalist notion that markets are self-correcting, allocate resources efficiently, and serve the public interest well. It was this market fundamentalism that underlay Thatcherism, Reaganomics, and the so-called ‘Washington Consensus’ in favour of privatisation, liberalisation, and independent central banks focusing single-mindedly on inflation.
• The above definition was given by Joseph Stiglitz in today's ET.
• A good debate about ECB limits vs. FII limits.
• You can see it here.