The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, November 23, 2003

Unit-linked insurance plans — The honey and the sting
THE equity market, when it is all abuzz, has the magical quality of morphing into a honeycomb. Investors swarm it, lured by the prospect of high returns. It is no different now. Investors — those that ... More

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

Cellular schemes galore
The offer is open to all existing and new subscribers. In another rental plan — BUZZ99 — outgoing calls are charged at Rs 2.49 per minute. Hutch has introduced a post-paid scheme at Rs 150 a month. The outgoing calls are Rs 1.99 a ... More

INSIGHT

Building bonanza: Attractive rates on offer
THE allure of home loans has never been stronger. Housing finance companies are building much excitement in the market, with HDFC, ICICI Bank, LIC Housing Finance, IDBI Bank, ABN Amro and CitiBank vying with one ... More

Refinancing is lucrative now
Refinancing, or repricing, of a home loan is beneficial even if the rate decline is only 1 percentage point. And for those who are now with floating-rate loans, the time is perhaps ripe to switch to a fixed-rate loan and lock into low rates. More

Home loans: Less sensitive to inflation now
For many Indians, buying a home is an emotional decision. However, with both interest rates and inflation ruling low compared to historic levels, buying a house by taking a loan now makes financial sense too. More

How much gas does Reliance have?
WHAT is the extent of Reliance's gas? The news of a downward revision in the reserve estimate by technical agency, D&M, has opened up the issue of how much gas is really there in the KG basin block. Is it 14 trillion ... More

Quarterly reports — Still short on some critical information
THERE has been an improvement in the quality of disclosures made by companies on a quarterly basis. The initiatives taken by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) over the past three years have paid off. ... More

Jindal Iron-Jindal Vijayanagar Steel merger: Moulding another steel giant
Jindal Iron: Sell
JVSL: Hold More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Master Value Unit Plan: Pare exposures
UNITHOLDERS in the Master Value Unit Plan of UTI Mutual Fund can pare exposures to lock into gains following the NAV spurt over the past six months. The fund focusses on mid-cap and small-cap stocks. There are a few ... More

Kotak MF launches new income scheme
THE Kotak Gilt Investment PF & Trusts Plan has been launched by Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund. The following are the salient features of the proposed fund: It is targeted at provident funds and trusts; It would ... More

HDFC Growth Fund: Sell
INVESTORS in HDFC Growth Fund can sell their holdings, especially on strength in the broad market, and switch to options with a superior performance across different time periods. HDFC Growth Fund has done well to ... More

Tata Young Citizen's Fund: Hold
INVESTORS in the Tata Young Citizen's Fund (TYCF) can hold on to their investments, given its satisfactory five-year track record. The fund has generated returns of about 49 per cent over the past year. After ... More

Prima Plus: Book profits partially
INVESTORS in Franklin India Prima Plus, especially those who have opted for the Growth Plan, can book profits by selling a part of their holdings (50-60 per cent), especially on strength in the broad market. This ... More

Not out of the woods
THE breathtaking rise in equity values over the past six months and the sweeping nature of this rally have done a lot to diminish the unsavoury experience that Indian investors have had with equity mutual funds. In ... More

STOCKS

Thirumalai Chemicals: Buy
INVESTORS with a medium-term perspective can contemplate buying into the Thirumalai Chemicals (TCH) stock. The company's strong presence in the phthalic anhydride (PAN) segment, broadening of the product portfolio and ... More

Shasun Chemicals: Hold/buy on declines
INVESTORS can retain their holdings of Shasun Chemicals. The stock has run up considerably over the past four months, in sync with other stocks from the mid-cap pharma brigade. Any decline in price levels linked to ... More

BASF India: Hold
AS A diversified conglomerate with interests in agrochemicals, specialty chemicals and plastics, BASF India appears well-poised to benefit from a simultaneous revival in prospects for both its agricultural and ... More

Balaji Telefilms: Sell
SHAREHOLDERS in Balaji Telefilms can cut exposures in the stock, as the slippage in its key performance parameters such as revenues and earnings remains a cause for concern. The recommendation to sell represents a ... More

UTI Bank: Relative value Buy
INVESTORS can buy the stock of UTI Bank. On key parameters, UTI Bank's performance in first half of 2003-04 does not compare favourably with those of HDFC Bank, which is the leading private sector banking player. In terms of growth in retail ... More

Nicholas: Healthy pill Long-term buy
FRESH investments can be considered in the stock, especially on any declines related to any weakness in broad markets. At the current price of Rs 543, the stock trades at 15 times its trailing four-quarter earnings per share. Restructuring ... More

TAXATION

Stamp duty slashed in TN
Tamil Nadu has drastically reduced the stamp and transfer duty (surcharge) on registration, and also made it uniform for urban and rural areas.

The stamp duty has been slashed from the 8 per cent in urban areas and 7 per cent in rural ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Hind Lever likely to move upward
SBI (Rs 448.7): Though the overall outlook for the stock appears positive, the near-term outlook appears weak. On the downside, a drop to Rs 395-400 is not ruled out. A close below Rs 435 would confirm the short-term bearish outlook. On ... More

Focus of the week
Bharat Earth Movers (Rs 219.2): The stock has already been covered on two earlier occasions. It has managed to move to the target price that was mentioned earlier. After a brief correction, the stock now appears to be headed towards the ... More

Query corner
What is the outlook for Wipro and Balaji Telefilms? — Rahul Gupta & Abhishek Porwal Wipro (Rs 1451.1): The near-term outlook appears positive. A close above Rs 1510 would confirm the positive outlook and could push the ... More

Bullish trend may resume
Preferred view: Contrary to expectations, the market sentiment remained weak. After a firm trend on Monday, a bearish trend prevailed on the next three days. The index staged a sharp reversal on Friday and bounced off a crucial support ... More

TWO/THREE WHEELERS

QUESTION `N' AUTO

Choices among scooterette segment
I am 55 years old and have been riding a scooter for more than two decades. I started with the Vijay, which I drove for more than a decade, and then bought the Bajaj Classic. I have been diagnosed with mild spondilytis. Since there was a risk ... More

PRECIOUS METALS

BANKING PRODUCTS
Corp Mahila Gold
ARE you a woman who wants to invest in gold? Corp Mahila Gold, a new scheme from Corporation Bank, now offers loans up to Rs 2.5 lakh to buy this "currency without borders". Under this scheme, both employed and ... More

HOUSING FINANCE

Hudco cuts housing loan rates
HOUSING and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) has reduced interest rates for its retail housing lending scheme, Hudco Niwas, by 1.25 per cent. The loans under the floating rate category will be available at 8.25 per ... More

Special offer from CanFin Homes
CanFin Homes has launched a new package for housing loans. The rate offered is 7.75 per cent for home loan seekers. The potential borrowers will not have to pay any processing fee but only an administration charge of 0.25 per cent of the loan ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

INSURANCE CORNER
LIC's Jeevan Shree I
THIS is a variant of the regular endowment plan in the sense that premiums need to be paid only over a limited term, though the policyholder is covered throughout the plan. People whose income streams are compressed ... More

STOCK MARKETS

On the move
Jyoti Structures (Rs 101) - The stock surged 29 per cent after it bagged a contract worth Rs 42 crore from the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. Bombay Burmah Trading (Rs 72) - The stock rose 24 per cent on the news that it ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Action shifts to Dec contracts
The week witnessed subdued activity with an exception on Friday when trading activity picked up in the December contracts. The overall turnover crossed the 10,000-crore mark after a gap of 10 trading sessions. After the lull in the F&O segment ... More

Using futures/options
If my expectations are bearish on an underlying stock, what should be my positions in the futures and options market - Bhanu When you have a bearish outlook on an underlying stock, some of the simple strategies that you can use ... More

Options guide

GOVT BONDS

What is interest rate risk?
IN THE latest Report on Trends and Progress of Banking in India, the Reserve Bank of India has cautioned commercial banks of interest rate risk. What is this risk? Suppose the market demands a 5.5 per cent ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

Ashok Leyland Finance: Pick it up
THE fixed deposit programme of Ashok Leyland Finance (ALF) is a good option. The interest rates are higher than that offered by other auto-finance companies such as the Bajaj Auto Finance and Lakshmi General Finance. ... More

Karnataka Bank trims interest rate
The interest rate for term deposits from seven-90 days, however, is unchanged. Under the deposit scheme for senior citizens, an additional 1 per cent (0.75 per cent) over and above the normal rate will be paid for deposits with maturities of one ... More

INTERVIEW

`We have not lost out because of size' — Mr Rusi Brij, CEO, Hexaware Technologies
`In the last six months, the large deals have gone to the mid-cap companies' More

INCOME TAX

Nominee is no inheritor by default
MY MOTHER died in August 2002. During her time she had invested in NSS and NSC. She named me as the nominee while making these investments. I have, therefore, received the proceeds after her death. Should I ... More

When it rains you harvest no rebate
WILL expenditure incurred on rainwater harvesting be eligible for rebate or deduction in computing income from house property? - Madhavan Reply In respect of expenditure incurred on rainwater harvesting, ... More

RIGHTS ISSUES

The Dhampur Sugar Mills: Avoid
SHAREHOLDERS, especially those with a low risk appetite, may be better off staying away from the rights offer being made by the Dhampur Sugar Mills (DSM). The company has been reporting net losses for the past five ... More

BOOKS

BOOK VALUE

Can't drive markets or racecars in straight line
YOU normally don't expect saints at a discotheque, nor mathematicians in the market, but that was what happened when John Allen Paulos fell `disastrously in love' with the market. He was good in statistics, probability ... More

CARTOON