The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, January 19, 2003

Interest rate cuts, debt restructuring — The pay-off for companies
THE series of interest rate cuts over the past couple of years, it was widely hoped, would prompt the corporate sector to borrow and invest in projects that would otherwise have not seen the light of day. In turn, the spurt in investments was ... More

What retail trading in G-secs means
INVESTING in government securities (g-secs) has been made easy for the retail investor. For a taxpayer, there is a stronger case now for inclusion of g-secs in a portfolio. There may even be a case for investing surplus savings bank deposits in ... More

Debt market — Striking the right notes
THE most active market for fund mobilisation in the last five years has also been the most opaque one — that is, the private placement market for debt. But this opacity may soon be a thing of the past. The second desirable note in the debt ... More

OPEN OFFERS

Skol Breweries: Accept
INVESTORS in Skol Breweries (SKOL) can consider accepting the open offer made by Shaw Wallace Breweries Ltd (SWBL) at a price of Rs 38.07, for acquiring the remaining 10.03 per cent equity stake in SKOL. SWBL, which already holds 89.97 per cent ... More

Syngenta India: Accept
SYNGENTA India shareholders can tender their holdings to the open offer made by Syngenta South Asia on behalf of Syngenta India's Swiss parent, Syngenta AG. Not only is the open offer price attractive, the parent is likely to pursue the open ... More

INVESTMENTS

Toyota Corolla: Style, speed and safety
CLOSE on the heels of the launch of its premium, luxury sedan, Camry, Toyota has entered the high-end C-segment passenger car market with the launch of the much-awaited mid-size sedan, Toyota Corolla. The Corolla, an extremely popular sedan ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Exchange traded funds: Are they for you?
EXCHANGE traded funds (ETFs), which have grown rapidly to manage $110 billion in assets in the US, have just made a small beginning in the Indian markets, with two ETF products. How are ETFs different from open-end index funds and who are they ... More

Zurich India Equity: Invest
INVESTMENTS can be contemplated in Zurich India Equity Fund as it continues to perform impressively. But given the recent run-up in stock prices, and the possible war in Iraq that could carry some downside risk, investments can be made in a ... More

HDFC Tax Plan: Invest
FRESH investments can be considered in HDFC Tax Plan 2000 as the fund has had a fairly good track record since launch. It has performed well in more recent time periods as well. The fund has benefited from a sharp focus on mid-cap stocks, ... More

UTI G-Sec shuns State Govt securities
THE UTI has decided to leave State government securities out of the investment ambit of its UTI G-Sec Fund. The fund's investment objective has been altered to provide for investments in Central Government securities, treasury bills, call money ... More

Does success breed complacence?
IT IS now a year and a half since the Unit Trust of India embarked on a makeover, after its liquidity crisis of July 2001. It may be some time before the UTI rebuilds its reputation as an effective manager of equity mutual funds. But the fund ... More

What is tracking error risk?
YOU run tracking error risk when investing in index funds. What is this risk? Tracking error measures how the index fund has performed vis-à-vis its benchmark. Suppose the Nifty index returns 4 per cent in a month, while the index fund ... More

IL&FS Bond Fund Short-term Plan: Invest
IL&FS Bond Fund Short-term Plan (Growth) returned 8 per cent since January 2002. Investors with an appetite for risk can consider small exposures in the fund. The important factor that investors have to consider is the fund's 77 per cent ... More

Alliance MIP: Sell
INVESTORS in the Monthly Income Plan of Alliance can consider exiting the fund as its performance may be vulnerable to changes in taxation and the ownership of the asset management company. Other than the UTI schemes, Alliance MIP is one of ... More

STOCKS

Asahi India Safety Glass: Safe bet
THE sustained pick-up in automobile demand has had a positive impact on the financial performance of quite a few companies including Asahi India. The company enjoys a prominent position in the automotive glass industry and is also taking steps to ... More

PNB Gilts: Book Profits
government securities (gilts). Following the rally, the yields on gilts dipped to a historic low a few weeks ago. In early January, the rally in gilts lost a bit of steam, and the yields hardened a little. The equity share price of PNB Gilts ... More

Shree Cement: Hold/Buy (High Risk)
SHAREHOLDERS of Shree Cement can stay invested and consider paring exposures in the stock at higher levels — in the Rs 55-60 range. The stock now trades at a price-earnings multiple of around four times its likely 2002-03 earnings of around ... More

Asian Paints: Hold/Buy on declines
SHAREHOLDERS can continue to hold on to the stock of the decorative paint major, Asian Paints, and those wanting to add it to their portfolio can contemplate doing so at declines. The stock now trades at Rs 335. The company is the market leader ... More

Mastek: Sell
SHAREHOLDERS of Mastek can consider reducing their exposure. The stock now trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of around 13 times its per share earnings for the 12-month period ended December 2002. This is high, considering that the guidance ... More

Hero Honda: Book Profits
THE motorcycle major, Hero Honda's third quarter performance, has been rather lacklustre. For the three months ended December 2002, the company reported a 13 per cent rise in turnover to Rs 1,376.1 crore and a 15 per cent increase in post-tax ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

Birla Sun Life Endowment Plan: Flexi Save Plus
THIS week, we will look at Birla Sun Life's Flexi Save Plus Plan — an endowment plan. Like other endowment plans, it offers a combination of savings and security cover. How the policy works The plan is ... More

OM Kotak's new retirement policies
KOTAK Retirement Income Plan and Kotak Capital Multiplier Plan are the latest products from Om Kotak Life Insurance Company. Kotak Mahindra Capital Multiplier is an endowment plan, with the option to continue for an additional 15 years. The ... More

Nirvana from Tata AIG
Tata AIG has launched Nirvana, a pension plan for individuals. The policy cover is available for persons between 18 and 55 years with a minimum cover of Rs 5,000. Premiums have to be paid till retirement when 25 per cent of the sum accumulated ... More

Birla's waiver of premium
A `waiver of premium rider' has been introduced by Birla Sun Life Insurance to cover circumstances such as critical illnesses and total permanent disability. If a customer meets with an accident and is permanently disabled, the rider benefits ... More

Sukhjeevan in deep-freeze
SBI Life Insurance has withdrawn its single premium policy, Sukhjeevan. This policy offered guaranteed tax-free returns on investment and protection for the family. The policy was targeted at the 18-65 age group, and the sum assured ranged from ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Outlook remains bleak
NIFTY (1086.5): After a mid-week recovery, the upward momentum was stalled on Friday. The market reaction to the quarterly performance of Wipro and the overnight decline at the American bourses could be critical factors influencing the ... More

Further uptrend in Jindal Iron
AFTER some weakness on Monday, the market sentiment saw a dramatic turnaround with the indices staging a sharp turnaround in the next three days of the week. However, the weak trend in the technology stocks pulled imparted negative sentiment on ... More

Nasdaq at crucial juncture
THE sentiment at the American stock market was distinctly bearish during the week gone by. The flow of lacklustre quarterly performance from top companies stalled the two-week upward trend. The fall last week was spear headed by the technology ... More

Ranbaxy perks up on improved earnings
Ranbaxy Labs (Rs 636): The stock price of the Ranbaxy Labs moved up this week by 1.3 per cent. This has to be viewed in the context of the improved quarterly earnings registered by the company. For the quarter ending December 2002, the ... More

DEBT MARKET

Retail debt market
RETAIL trading in debt instruments has commenced on the NSE from January 16. This is the first part of edited extracts of the basics of the debt market. Government Security: Government Securities are issued by the Government and are ... More

Bonds likely to remain bid
THE yield curve shifted marginally down week-on-week. The 10-year yield closed below 6 per cent. The primary reason for the bonds closing firm last week was the statement from the RBI Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, that the RBI was not targeting ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Derivatives set to vary
THE universe of eligible stocks would vary from month to month as the impact cost and the quarter-sigma order size are calculated every month on a rolling basis considering the previous six months. It is therefore necessary to lay down the ... More

Dreary bout
THE spot market was lacklustre during last week, confining to a narrow range, following a couple of lower-than-expected financial performances from corporate majors such as ACC and Wipro. Despite suffering immediately at the stock exchanges after ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

CORPORATE BONDS

ICICI Bank: Higher yields than on term deposits
THE first offer of Safety Bonds after the ICICI-ICICI Bank merger is now open for subscription. Expectedly, the yields on the various investment options are higher than on ICICI Bank's term deposits. For term-deposit investors, that is an ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS

Debit card from Dena Bank
Dena Bank has launched "Dena International Debit Card" in partnership with Visa Electron. The card will be offered free to all deposit holders who maintain a minimum quarterly balance of Rs 5,000, or for a fee of Rs 100 per annum. The ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

Can Fin Homes: Well-sheltered
THE fixed deposit programme of Can Fin Homes is a good investment option. The interest rates are on a par with housing finance companies such as Sundaram Home and PNB Housing, but higher by 1-1.5 percentage points vis-a-vis banks. Deposits ... More

INTERVIEW

`The kidswear market is worth Rs 500 crore' — Mr Govind Mirchandani, CEO and MD, Personality Ltd.
GOVIND Mirchandani is quite a personality. The fact that he took over as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Personality Ltd, a part of Gokaldas Images — one of the country's largest garment exporters — is but a mere ... More

INCOME TAX

PPF maturity and refund claims
MY PPF account was set up in the year 1982 and 20 years have been completed now. Can I extend this account for a further five years? If not can I open a fresh PPF account? Will the amount drawn from the PPF account on maturity be ... More

House property: How to compute income
IF YOU want to know more about computing `income from house property' for income-tax purposes, read on: Broadly, a house property under the Income-Tax Act may be treated either as self-occupied or let out. It may be that even if a property is ... More

House property deductions
I HAVE let out a house for rent, and earn a rental income of Rs 28,000 per annum. This year I have incurred an expenditure of Rs 95,000 in carrying out certain essential structural repairs in the roof and walls required for building's safety. Can ... More

RIGHTS ISSUES

Television Eighteen: Subscribe
THE SHAREHOLDERS of Television Eighteen can subscribe to the rights offer of Zero Coupon Secured Partly Convertible Debentures (ZCSPCD). The rights offer presents investors an opportunity to reduce the cost of acquisition of their original ... More

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Birla Sun Life Endowment Plan: Flexi Save Plus

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What retail trading in G-secs means

House property: How to compute income

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