Though it was a curtailed week of trading, there was enough action to keep the studio busy. Global uncertainties apart, the week was dotted with plenty of home-bias too. Here's a pick from what was being discussed.

Vedika : What a week… Am I glad it is over!

Gautam : You bet. The two days off during the week just did not give any respite.

Vedika : Exactly. One would have thought just a three-day week in the markets would keep the casualties limited. But Mr Market seems to have had different plans. What do you make of the corporate results this week?

Gautam : Oh, nothing great to talk about. While SBI managed to a post a better-than-expected net profit, it was marred by a high level of stressed assets and provisioning. Even Ranbaxy, DLF, and Cummins India had unimpressive quarters, to name a few.

Vedika : Now that you've mentioned it, banks have had a forgettable week. First SBI's mounting provisioning and then Moody's sector downgrade from stable to negative! It couldn't have gotten any worse.

Gautam : Week full of Moody's swings hmmm… Thankfully, S&P came to the banks' rescue. A day after Moody's downgrade, S&P has upgraded the sector! Seriously, is the sector so difficult to dissect or are the agencies out to prove their points? How can they have such divergent views?

Vedika : Ha ha… just like how Italy and Spain rank better than India on S&P's assessment! Anyways, there's no denying that we are in the middle of a slowdown. IIP grew at its slowest pace in two years in September. This is sure to raise the odds of a pause in the Reserve Bank of India's 20-month-old policy tightening cycle.

Gautam : Ah! Talk of the much-awaited respite for the borrower… That reminds me… The king of ‘good times' seems to be having a bad time. Kingfisher Airlines appears to have flown itself into an air pocket of sorts. Unable to raise funds from the equity or debt markets and fast running out of cash to pay for fuel supplies, the airlines has cancelled several flights daily since Sunday.

Vedika : All this to cut capacity and minimise costs. But I guess it's already cost the company a lot – a series of downgrades and loss of goodwill. Wonder if the Government would step in to rescue it?

Gautam : Speaking of bailouts, Satyam Computers sprung a pleasant surprise in the second quarter with a ten-fold jump in profits. Quite commendable, but the real challenge will be sustaining its growth momentum.

Vedika : That's true. Consistency is the name of the game. But for the sake of greater good, let's hope next week is a bit inconsistent with the week gone by. Don't we need a week with a splurge of blue on our trading screens!

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