The Hindu Business Line : Sunday, November 14, 2004

Balaji Telefilms: Reject
SHAREHOLDERS of Balaji Telefilms may reject the open offer made by the STAR group, as the pricing appears unattractive. There appears scope for scaling up of earnings driven by revenue expansion, even if profit ... More

AUTOMOBILES

Manual on Honda CR-V
IT would seem that Indians simply cannot take to automatics. Surely, the higher price of an automatic transmission variant is a big deterrent. But, to certain degree, we would also like to believe that the average ... More

Question `n' Auto
I am 52 years old. I want to replace my 100cc Bajaj Scooter. Which one of the three — Honda Activa, TVS Scooty Pep and Kinetic Zing 80 — will be better considering parameters such as maintenance costs, ... More

INSIGHT

Software: The sizzling frontliners
THE latest quarter has proved an exceptional one for frontline companies in the software services sector. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies (Infosys) and Wipro Technologies — the three ... More

Why index funds may mean a bad start
AFTER sputtering and stalling for over two years, the new pension system may finally be up and running in a few months. This week, the Cabinet gave the go-ahead to a move to draft a new set of rules which the new ... More

Income funds: MFs allow cost issue to fester
Costs charged to income schemes show no sign of declining. Their high levels take away from the attractiveness of mutual fund income schemes. If the issue is allowed to fester, it could harm the growth of debt schemes. More

INSURANCE

Birla SunLife's Medicare
A PLAIN insurance policy protects your family in case of an untimely death. But what if you are afflicted by a major ailment, say, cancer. Are you prepared to meet the medical expenses? How will you run the family ... More

MUTUAL FUNDS

Reliance Growth: Invest in phases
INVESTMENTS in Reliance Growth can be considered as its performance since 2001 has been impressive. The substantial improvement has, however, coincided with a bull run in stock prices. The quality of outperformance ... More

HDFC Equity: Invest
INVESTORS can consider exposures to HDFC Equity Fund, one of the top-performing diversified equity funds, on a five-year basis. The fund has delivered a return of about 27 per cent over the past year, outperforming ... More

HDFC MF to launch fund of funds scheme

Fund Talk

STOCKS

Henkel SPIC India: Hold
HENKEL SPIC has proposed a swathe of restructuring measures, which will rejig its operations and wipe its books clean of accumulated expenses, which have been artificially depressing the profits from year to year. But ... More

Raymond: Buy
INVESTORS can consider fresh exposures to the stock of Raymond at Rs 286. The stock has gained smartly in the past couple of weeks and trades at price-earnings multiple of about 16 times its trailing earnings. The scope for appreciation in the ... More

Exide Industries: Buy
A HEALTHY growth in sales volume and the continued pressure on profitability are the energising features of Exide's performance. For the quarter-ended September 2004, the turnover rose 26 per cent to Rs 309.6 crore. ... More

Praj Industries: Buy
INVESTORS with a long-term view can consider fresh exposure in the stock of Praj Industries. The company makes machinery for ethanol plants. The possibility of crude prices settling at higher levels in the medium term ... More

Indraprastha Gas: Hold
There are demands to migrate other classes of vehicles such as mini-trucks and inter-city buses to CNG. That could give a boost to IGL's business and inject momentum into its revenues. More

Finolex Cables: Hold
SHAREHOLDERS of can remain invested in the stock of Finolex Cables, as the company's performance is likely to improve substantially over the next few quarters. Robust growth in the electrical cables business, a spurt ... More

IDBI: Bank on the Bank
Buy IDBI Bank shares More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS

Focus of the week
Gujarat Mineral Development (Rs 306): The outlook for the stock is bullish. The stock could move to Rs 325-Rs 330 range in the near-term. The positive view would be valid as long as the stock rules above Rs 288. Hold with a stop loss at ... More

Bullish outlook for HLL
Hindustan Lever (Rs 134.2): After a sharp upward move on Monday, the stock turned weak in the remaining four days. The outlook for the stock remains bullish. The share price appears on course to move to the target zone of Rs 142-Rs 145 ... More

Short-term correction likely
Preferred view: As anticipated, the market sentiment remained bullish last week. Except for a weak trend on Tuesday, the index closed on a positive note on the remaining four days of the week. There is a possibility of a short-term ... More

Query corner
What is the outlook for Divi's Lab bought at Rs 1,360? Is it advisable to buy Aztec Software at present levels? — Vallikasi & Amarnath A. Reddy. Divi's Labs (Rs 1,113.4): After moving past the Rs 2,000-mark in March, the ... More

HOUSING FINANCE

Loans could become expensive
If you were planning to borrow to own that dream house or that irresistible 29-inch TV, you might be a bit late. Banks, including State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Bank of Baroda, are exploring the possibility of raising lending rates after ... More

LIFE INSURANCE

New insurance product from Kotak
Kotak Mahindra Old Mutual Life Insurance has launched `Kotak Premium Return Plan', a product that offers life protection and return of premium on maturity if the insured person survives. It offers 10-year, 15-year and 20-year term options. The ... More

ECONOMICS

Beware of the black swan
AS INVESTORS, we typically lengthen our investment horizon when faced with losses. Suppose you buy, say, Arvind Mills at Rs 80 hoping to sell when the stock moves to Rs 100. You intend to hold the stock for one month. ... More

DERIVATIVES MARKETS

Nifty may see correction
THIS week marked the end of Samvat 2060 while the New Year (Samvat 2061) ushered in on firm note with the BSE Sensex breaching the 6000-mark on Friday. However, trading activity was low with daily average turnover last week clocking Rs 6,016 ... More

FII open interest
How would you interpret the recent trends in open interest positions of FIIs given the presence of large buyers in market? — Prasanna K. Barik Data on open interest do not offer any definitive clues. When open interest positions ... More

Options guide

Futures guide

CREDIT MARKET

Concessional educational loans for women
Educational loans just got cheaper for women. Bank of Baroda has announced a one per cent reduction in interest rates on educational loans for women from November 1. The concessional rate can also be availed of by parents for educating their girl ... More

CREDIT CARDS & DEBIT CARDS

Cash back offer on credit cards
SHOP with your credit card this festive season and get cash back. ICICI Bank and HSBC have a special festive season cash-back offer on usage of credit cards for buying certain items, such as apparel, jewellery, watches, ... More

FIXED DEPOSITS

JK Industries: Let it roll for a year
THE fixed deposit programme of JK Industries can be considered for a one-year tenure. The company offers 8 per cent for one year and 8.5 per cent for two and three years. The longer tenures can be avoided as the ... More

Deposit rates hiked
Fixed deposit investors finally have some cause to cheer. A number of banks have hiked their fixed deposit rates by 25-50 basis points over the past week. Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India and UCO bank ... More

INTERVIEW

Yards of opportunity in retail expansion — Mr Hemchandra Javeri, President, Madura Garments
Madura Garments, a leading player in the domestic readymade business, sees interesting times ahead. While opportunities open up on the export front, changes in the retail landscape have spurred demand for branded apparel on the domestic front. ... More

INCOME TAX

Kindergarten fees qualifies for rebate
WILL fees paid for education in KG classes qualify for rebate under Section 88? Schools charge fees by way of admission fee, monthly subscription, examination fee, tuition fee, annual charges, conveyance and transport ... More

Joint loans, proportional benefit
I PURCHASED a property last year jointly in my wife's and my names. For purchasing this property, we had taken a loan from HDFC. The loan is taken with my wife's name as the first name and me as the co-applicant. We ... More

BOOKS

Are you walking blindfolded in the financial maze?
MERE literacy is not enough to keep you out of the poorhouse unless you're also financially smart. This is the straight message of G. Cotter Cunningham in Your Financial Action Plan, from Wiley ... More

CARTOON