The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, December 08, 2002

Telecom cables: The optical illusion
FOR the producers of optical fibre (OF) and optical fibre cables (OFCs), the past two years have been a vicious coil of huge excess capacities, built both by manufacturers and telecom players who put up cable networks; demand for ... More

Coiled in low demand
THE last 18 months were turbulent for the optical fibre/optical fibre cable manufacturers world over. Not surprising, as a sudden slump in demand coincided with a sharp jump in capacities despite the presence of a small number of players of ... More

What's OFC
AN optical fibre is made of pure glass which is the transmission medium over which light travels. OFCs are made from the fibre and used on long-haul, under-sea and metro networks. OFCs are of two types: Single- and multi-mode. Single-mode, in ... More

Jelly-filled telecom cables: Getting buried?
DRIVE around any city or town today, coils of multi-coloured optical fibre cables would catch your eye. Seldom does one see the black sheathed jelly-filled telecom cables (JFTC) rolled around big drums — a common sight even as late as two ... More

Market disconnect
Sterlite Optical: Hold
Finolex Cables: Hold
Aksh Optifibre: Sell on rise
More

INSIGHT

Related party transactions: Companies tread a thin line
INDIA boasts of a legal framework that actively discourages a company's top management from entering into transactions with the company they manage. But the related party disclosures by major Indian companies in the maiden year after such ... More

Reading between the lines
ASK a fund manager what he looks for in a company before investing in its stock and one of the first parameters he would pick is "management quality." Yet, this is a rather ephemeral concept. How does one really judge whether a company's ... More

Prohibited dealings
IN THE Indian context, instances of companies directly entering into contracts with their CEOs or directors have been rare. This is because the Companies Act, 1956 (through sections 295 to 301) severely restricts such transactions. A company ... More

Dressing up the November effect
ANALYSTS who exhorted investors to put money in stocks in October this year have been vindicated. Stocks are up and do not appear set to look back in the near term. The analysts' recommendation this time around was based on two factors — ... More

Big is beautiful
IT is always perceived that growing from a larger base is more difficult than from a smaller base. As the sentence suggests, it only appears to be a perception. If nothing, the financials results of 2,382 companies, in the just concluded quarter, ... More

Grasim's open offer: Will the L&T board stand up now?
IN ALL the hectic activity surrounding Grasim's open offer for Larsen and Toubro, what stands out is the rather timid approach of the L&T's board of directors. The open offer at Rs 190 per share by Grasim was put on hold by the Securities ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

UTI Master Index Fund: Switch
INVESTORS in UTI Master Index Fund, the passive index fund tracking the BSE Sensex, may use the recent surge in the index to book profits and switch to a diversified equity fund with a good track record. For one, in the Indian context, quite a ... More

Templeton India Money Market Account: Invest
TEMPLETON India Money Market Account offers good returns for those with short-term investment horizon. As of November 30, the fund had 91 per cent of its assets in short-term corporate instruments, and 9 per cent in call money. Investors can ... More

MF flows in October: Hectic activity in short-term funds
INFLOWS and outflows into mutual funds put together crossed the Rs 50,000-crore mark in October, indicating the dominance of short-term flows. In October 2001, the two-way flows amounted to around Rs 22,000 crore. Though this has been a dominant ... More

IDBI Principal Balanced Fund: Hold
GIVEN the encouraging performance of IDBI Principal Balanced Fund in the last 12 months, investors can stay with the fund. However, fresh investments may be contemplated after a fresh evaluation of performance. Further evaluation is necessary ... More

Sundaram Growth: Hold
UNITHOLDERS can hold their current investments in Sundaram Growth Fund. The fund has, since launch, significantly out-performed the BSE 200 index. Going forward, it holds potential to outperform the index in the event of a market rally. ... More

Towards more flexible options
CHEQUE-writing money market funds may usher in a significant change in the mutual fund industry in India. These funds will attract a greater number of investors to the mutual fund fold. The players can sell their other products to the new ... More

UTI Bill 2002 gets Parliament nod

STOCKS

Apollo Hospitals: Hold
EXPENSES associated with infrastructure addition led to Apollo Hospitals recording a modest growth in profit for the first half (April-September) of 2002-03 despite a healthy growth in income. For the first half, Apollo Hospitals registered an ... More

Sundaram Brake Linings: Buy
THERE are no signs of slowdown in the automobile production, which has been improving steadily since the third quarter of the previous fiscal. This has helped quite a few auto-ancillary companies, including Sundaram Brake Linings, to record a ... More

NIIT: Over-priced
EXISTING investors in NIIT can reduce their exposures in the stock. After the recent rally, the stock appears over-priced relative to the potential for appreciation in future. The bad news at NIIT almost seems to be over with the cleaning up ... More

Siemens: Buy
THE fortunes of Siemens India, one of the prominent players in the electrical and electronic engineering segment, appear to be improving in sync with the general economy. The company has maintained steady growth during the recessionary period by ... More

Balaji Telefilms: Hold/Buy on declines
FRESH investments in the stock of Balaji Telefilms need not be considered now. However, this is also not the time to sell. The stock can be considered for acquisition in the event of a decline in valuations. The stock's woes are mainly due to ... More

Pidilite Industries: Buy
INVESTORS with a long-term perspective can contemplate taking an equity exposure to the stock of the sealant and adhesive major Pidilite Industries, at the current price of Rs 226. Pidilite is the market leader in the premium adhesives and ... More

CONSUMER FINANCE

Personal loans: Quick and easy
WONDERING how to fund a wedding in the family, or renovate your old house or get your daughter admitted in college? Think no more! Head straight for a personal loan. Personal loans are one of the most preferred options for financing ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

Riders in insurance policies
RIDERS are add-ons to the basic insurance policy to supplement the cover provided. One can also combine a set of riders and append it to the main policy. The premiums will, obviously, undergo an upward revision, depending on the rider or a ... More

Choosing a term assurance policy
ONCE one has decided on a term assurance policy, a few other factors need to be considered. Most of the companies covered in this article offer riders. The most popular riders are ones that pay a higher sum assured in the event a policyholder ... More

Home insurance from SBI Life
SBI Life Insurance has introduced a home loan insurance scheme for the customers of Sundaram Home Finance. With this scheme, customers of Sundaram Home Finance now have the choice of getting a life insurance cover along with their housing ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Titan Industries: Buy on declines
EXCEPT for a weak trend on Tuesday and Wednesday, the stock market sentiment remained buoyant during the just concluded week. Much of the buoyancy was underpinned by the firm trend in public sector and old-economy stocks such as Hindustan Lever, ... More

Positive outlook for Infosys
Nifty (1069.8): As anticipated last week, the index declined to seek support at the target zone of 1025-1035. The near-term outlook for Nifty continues to remain positive. A move past 1075 would confirm the bullish view while a drop below ... More

Oil PSUs perk up on positive divestment climate
HPCL (Rs 275): The stock price of the state-owned oil refinery major, Hindustan Petroleum, went up this week by 24.9 per cent. This follows the favourable decision taken on the disinvestment issue, at an informal meeting of the Cabinet ... More

US leads the bull run
LED by the US market, major bourses across the globe continued their bull run in November. A slew of positive news that included increased durable goods orders and declines in jobless claims in the US seemed to have given confidence to investors. ... More

Nasdaq: Downward in force
EXCEPT for a nominal gain on Friday, the stock market sentiment at the American bourses remained weak in the remaining four trading days. The flow of disappointing data pertaining to manufacturing sector and reports of a lower car production in ... More

DEBT MARKET

Bonds carry limited upside bias
THE yield curve shifted marginally week-on-week. The benchmark 10-year yield stood at 6.38 per cent, 5 bps lower than the previous week. Going forward, bonds are likely to trade in range, but could remain bid. Consider the factors: First, the ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Firm trend in equities
UPBEAT sentiments that stemmed from positive developments in the Government exercise to divest its stake in state-owned companies pushed up equities towards the end of the preceding week. Following a marked surge in the last trading session, the ... More

Physical settlement for derivatives
THE advisory committee on derivatives recommends that derivatives on individual stocks should shift to physical settlement. The committee also recommends that physical settlement be implemented for all stock-based derivative products ... More

Of call options for shareholders
ALL of us are aware of equity options. These are derivative contracts with equity as the underlying instrument. An option on Satyam, for instance, is a derivative contract with Satyam stock as the underlying instrument. But did you know that a ... More

Options guide

Future guide

GOVT BONDS

RBI to adjust capital bonds for inflation
The repayment of 6 per cent capital index bonds 2002 issued in December 1999 and due on December 29, 2002 will be adjusted for inflation. The repayment amount per Rs 100 of nominal value of the bonds, after taking into account conversion ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS

SBI launches `Cash Plus' Maestro debit card
State Bank of India has launched SBI Cash Plus, its Maestro debit card that allows its customers to access their deposit accounts from ATM's and merchant establishments. The bank has tied up with Mastercard International for participation in ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

Cholamandalam Investment & Finance: A safe `nest'
CONSIDERING the current decline in the interest levels, the fixed deposit programme of Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company is a good option for investors. Cholamandalam is among the better-managed NBFCs operating now and its credit ... More

Birla Home's loan deposit scheme
Birla Home Finance has launched a new housing loan product — Easy Home Loan Deposit Scheme, a loan product linked to fixed deposit. The scheme requires a member to save on a monthly or quarterly basis for a period of three-five years, ... More

INTERVIEW

`Offshore outsourcing becoming mainstream activity' — Mr Kiran Karnik, Nasscom Chairman
Nasscom has been a highly visible face for the Indian software industry. Over the years, it has worked to get a better policy framework for the industry from the government. It has also come up with surveys that point to latent IT potential in ... More

INCOME TAX

Perquisites/rebates: Taxation of employer benefits
IF a festival advance of Rs 50,000 is given to an employee, to be recovered from his salary, will the same be treated as a perquisite?

If the employer enters into an agreement with a landlord for taking on lease a house property which is ... More

Tax effects of education, books
I WANT to take a loan for the education of my children who are studying in school. Can I claim any deduction in respect of the repayment? Please note that I am the Karta of a HUF. P. Devikumar Reply No ... More

Kelkar to go soft on senior citizens
The Kelkar panel on direct taxes is likely to recommend a higher exemption limit of Rs 1,20,000 per annum for senior citizens instead of Rs 1,00,000 per annum proposed in the consultation paper for all individuals and HUF's. Also, those senior ... More

CARTOON