The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, December 21, 2003

Yahoo! offers online money transfer
YAHOO! has launched an online payment service, Yahoo PayDirect International, which allows users to send money to family and friends across 182 countries. The new service will allow users to obtain cash through eight ... More

INVESTMENTS

Platinum: The new style statement
IT LOOKS like steel yet is three times as expensive as gold. It may not have the sentimentality of gold or the aura of diamonds but it shines in the fashion sweepstakes. Its rarity confers on it an air of ... More

ICICI's Tax Saving Bond: Subscribe
INVESTORS can subscribe to the Tax Saving Bond of ICICI Bank. The yield on the bond is lower than what is offered by IDBI by half a percentage point. The yield is also lower by about 0.10 percentage point than what is ... More

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AirTel expense tracker service

Region-specific slabs in roaming rates

INSIGHT

To deliver returns.... Stocks need higher economic growth
"WE have just started one of the longest bull market runs in market history," said Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, a Dalal Street investor known for spotting stocks of value, only a month ago. He also hastened to ... More

Large-caps, greater expectations
The superior valuation of large-caps is more indicative of stable and lower returns than expectation of superior growth. In this context, a continuing rise in the price of many large-cap stocks needs to be viewed as an opportunity to sell. More

Asset management companies — No sign of any fee reduction
Though asset management companies are beginning to enjoy economies of scale as fund sizes keep rising, there has been no reduction in costs charged to income schemes. This can invite the regulator's wrath. It would be better if the funds themselves s et things right than let the regulator step on to their turf. More

Software acquisitions — Discretion to dictate deals
"Going global" through overseas acquisitions is the flavour for India Inc. over the past few months. This week, it was the turn of the software sector to jump on to the bandwagon, breaking the spell of ... More

The stock-splitting issue
COMPANIES should continue to have freedom to use capital restructuring devices such as stock splits. A company and its shareholders are best placed to decide if a stock-split would be beneficial or not. There would ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Tata Tax Saving Fund: Book profits partially
INVESTORS can consider booking profits on part of their holdings in Tata Tax Saving Fund, to capitalise on its impressive performance over the past one year. With returns of around 114 per cent over the past year, the ... More

Sundaram Select Mid-Cap: Hold
INVESTORS in this fund can retain their holdings despite a sharp run-up in its NAV. With the bullish phase still showing strength, mid-cap stocks appear to hold potential upside. The NAVs of Sundaram Select Mid-Cap Fund ... More

PruICICI Tax Plan: Hold
UNITHOLDERS in the Prudential ICICI Tax Plan can retain their holdings despite the sharp spurt in the NAV. The fund's performance has been impressive and the portfolio appears to hold room for gains. It has turned in ... More

Franklin Templeton Bluechip: Invest
INVESTMENTS can be considered in Franklin Templeton's Bluechip (Dividend Option) in a phased manner, using the systematic investment plan. This would enable investors to take advantage of any broad market weakness, ... More

Equity funds face outflows

There has been a steady increase in the scale of inflows into equity funds this year. This continued in November with inflows rising to Rs 1,904 crore. But investors continue to take profits with outflows at about Rs 2,000 crore. This has ... More

STOCKS

Orient Abrasives: Buy
THE pick up in the core sectors of the economy has started seeping into industries at the lower end of the manufacturing cycle. Orient Abrasives is one such company that has bright business prospects on the back of the ... More

Thomas Cook: Hold/Buy on declines
PIGGYBACKING on improved tourist arrivals over the past four months, travel services major Thomas Cook reported a strong showing for the quarter ending October 2003. Tourist arrivals, that gained momentum from ... More

Igarashi Motors: Buy
INVESTORS with a long-term perspective can contemplate equity exposure in Igarashi Motors at the current price of Rs 100. Though the performance in the near term is unlikely to improve significantly, the company is ... More

Tata Telecom: Pare exposures
SHAREHOLDERS of Tata Telecom may consider cutting exposures in the stock on every uptrend linked with the broad markets. Fresh exposures may also be avoided at the current price levels. The stock has run-up sharply ... More

Dabur India: Hold
The spin-off of Dabur's pharma business into a separate company appears well-structured to deliver value to shareholders. But investing in the stock now, in the hope of a bumper profit on the listing, may be risky. The stock already appears to have priced in much of the valuation gains from the demerger, says Aarati Krishnan. More

Thermax: Buy
AT Rs 400, exposures can be considered in the stock of Thermax. The stock trades at 14 times its trailing 12-month sustainable per share earnings. A strong order book, consistent improvement in operating margins, widening export base (exports ... More

IDBI Bank: Buy
FRESH investments in IDBI Bank stock can be considered. At Rs 43, the stock is attractively valued considering the growth notched in recent quarters. Between March 2003 and September 2003, the bank's advances have grown at a rate higher than ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Uptrend to continue
Preferred view: The index ruled firm in line with last week's expectations. The improved market sentiment helped the index move comfortably past the target zone of 1725-1730 that was mentioned in the previous week. The overall outlook ... More

Focus of the week
Birla Corp (Rs 71.5): The near-term outlook appears positive. The stock could move to the immediate target zone of Rs 88-90. A drop below Rs 60 would negate the positive outlook. Remain invested with a stop loss at Rs 64. A close above Rs ... More

Further upside in HLL
Wipro (Rs 1,705.8): The price movement was in sync with last week's expectations. The stock ruled firm and moved towards the target zone of Rs 1,725-1,750. The near- term outlook remains positive. A move to the Rs 1,825-1,850 range appears ... More

Query Corner
I am holding Torrent Pharma at Rs 403 and India Cements at Rs 41. Kindly tell me the future prospects of the shares. Torrent Pharma (Rs 427.3): The outlook for the stock is positive. A move to the Rs 460-470 range appears ... More

CARS

More power to the SUVs
IN today's world, where customer is the king, even the automobile industry, it seems, cannot afford not to offer price-offs and freebies. And anyways it is that time of the year when sellers fall over one another to ... More

QUESTION `N' AUTO
Choices among automatic transmission variants
I am a non-resident Indian, planning to settle down in Kerala after a fairly long service. I have been driving cars with automatic transmission abroad. I am looking for information on Indian cars, vans and sports utility vehicles which ... More

GENERAL INSURANCE

INSURANCE CORNER

Tata AIG's HealthFirst
"ALL hospital allowances paid, no questions asked," that's the punch line of Tata AIG's HealthFirst. It is a comprehensive health policy that pays out a flat sum, rather than reimbursing, your medical ... More

ECONOMICS

Ants and positive feedback
YOU may have noticed a street full of shops selling only, say, paper and related products, or a road with just cinema theatres. Have you ever wondered what drives such behaviour? Economists have studied such ... More

STOCK MARKETS

Auto components stocks make merry
IF you had invested in most auto component stocks even just a week ago, you would have reaped attractive returns. For instance, Igarashi Motors, a star performer, rose by over 50 per cent. Upbeat automobile numbers have kept the momentum ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Bullish days ahead
PUTTING up a strong showing for the second week in a row, the Nifty gained 4.7 per cent week-on-week despite a lacklustre performance on Wednesday. There was a surge in trading volumes due the rollover of positions to the January 2004 contract. ... More

Using futures/options
If you are an investor who wants to earn more but do not want to be exposed to too much downside risk in the covered call strategy, then choosing an in-the-money call would help. An in-the-money covered call reduces your downside risk as compared ... More

Options guide

FIXED DEPOSITS

Fenner India — Belt on for one year
THE fixed deposit programme of Fenner India is open for renewal and fresh investment. The one-year interest rate is quite attractive. The company's fundamentals have also remained strong. An investment up to one ... More

INCOME TAX

Capital gains: Where senior citizens stand
WILL the tax on long-term capital gains (LTCG) qualify for Section 88B rebate if an assessee is a senior citizen? Can the brought-forward long-term capital loss be set off against the LTCG of the current year and tax ... More

Set-off and indexation
I HAVE both long-term capital gain (LTCG) and long-term capital loss from the transfer of listed securities. Is it possible for me to compute the LTCG without the benefit of indexation, the loss with the benefit of ... More

IPOS

Surya Pharmaceutical: Avoid
THE initial public offering of Surya Pharmaceutical can be avoided. However, given the current market fancy for pharma stocks, there is the real possibility of the stock opening higher than the offer price of Rs 45. ... More

T.V. Today Network: Invest
BIDS for the initial public offering of TV Today Network (TV Today) can be placed in the Rs 90-95 price band. The company, which is owned by the India Today group, operates two news channels: the well-established Aaj ... More

BOOKS

Dare to be different in the futures market
TRADING in the markets is risky. Riskier still is what many perceive futures to be. But Jake Bernstein lays bare fishing tricks in the futures pool in his book Profit in the Futures Markets! — a publication ... More

CARTOON