The Market Mirror

RIL set to re-launch Vimal around Diwali .......












Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is set to re-launch its fabrics brand ‘Vimal’ with a new look, new logo and new offerings around Diwali, with some of the famous names likely to endorse the brand under the ‘Icons of India’ theme. Reliance is also going to launch a range of ready-to-wear apparel for men, for which it has tied up with some well-known readymade garment-making companies.

The company has been in talks with music maestro A.R. Rehman, chess champion Vishwanathan Anand and Bollywood star Aamir Khan, among others, to endorse Vimal.

Vimal is being re-launched nearly three decades after its debut.

The exclusive 20-odd stores have been renovated and new ones would be integrated under the Reliance Mart format of Reliance Retail vertical, under which 500 stores are proposed to be opened across the country in the next few years.

The new-look Vimal, already available in men’s fabrics apart from home furnishings, will also become available in ready-to-wear-apparel format shortly, the company sources said here. These apparel would be available under three sub-brands, namely Vimal Red (with popular pricing for a wide range of the menswear market), Vimal White (a premium and trendy range) and Vimal Black (the top-end sub-brand that would retail only exclusive finely-crafted apparel, designed by Italy’s well-known fashion designer and President of the ‘Made in Italy’ committee, Mr Maurizio Bonas).

Red and White would be available in the exclusive Vimal stores and in all the other stores stocking Vimal. However, Vimal Black would be available only at exclusive Vimal stores.

The Vimal exclusive outlets are being transformed in line with the new identity of the brand.

They claim they will offer top-of-the-line customer shopping experiences and facilities, such as custom tailoring and styling..............

U S BENIFTS FROM us?????


Applying this yardstick to India’s plans of installing 40,000 MWs of nuclear power in the next 20-30 years, it is clear that the nuclear deal will mean a business of $80 billion for the lucky ones who win the contract. Allowing for the price escalation in later years, the figure may even exceed $100 billion, enough to inject adrenalin into the economy of the countries in which the supplier firms are located.

Remember, this does not take account of the requirements of components and spares, financing of service and maintenance and royalties on technologies — all of which may assure a steady flow of $10-20 billion more for the supplier firms during the life-time of the reactors. Certainly not a prospect to be sneezed at. As regards the intangible benefits to the US, an article “America’s Strategic Opportunity with India” by Mr R. Nicholas Burns, US Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the point man for all that concerns the nuclear deal, published in the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs, gives an authentic exposition.

First and foremost, the deal is calculated to serve the national security interests of the US by bringing India into the international nuclear non-proliferation mainstream; second, it “will not assist the country’s nuclear weapons program in any way”; third, it gives the US control over the newly-to-be-built facility to reprocess spent fuel as it can operate only as per the specific arrangements and procedures laid down by the US; fourth, “should India decide to conduct a nuclear test in the future, then the US would have the right under US law to seek the return of all nuclear fuel and technology shipped by US firms”; and, finally, “an increasingly powerful India represents a singularly positive opportunity to advance (the US) global interests”.

Why would the US not pitch for it?

RUPEE GAINS ????
While the rising rupee continues to pinch exporters and sections of the domestic manufacturing sector, a host of other firms are taking advantage of the strengthening domestic currency and raking in the moolah.

Transmission major Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd’s net profit for the first quarter of the current fiscal was boosted nearly 44 per cent on account of a reduction in interest and finance charges on foreign currency loans, a company official said. As on June 30, the favourable exchange rate of the rupee vis-À-vis the dollar, Swiss franc and other currencies translated into a reduction of Rs 198.34 crore in interest and finance charges. As on June 30, PGCIL had Rs 6,059.69 crore equivalent of foreign currency borrowings outstanding.

Tata Steel, for the second quarter of the current fiscal, reported forex gains of Rs 90.31 crore from unrealised exchange difference on foreign currency borrowings, partly offsetting its rising interest costs.

Software services firm iGATE Global Solutions incurred a lower interest expense of Rs 65 lakh during the first quarter of the current fiscal, compared to Rs 68 lakh in the corresponding period last year, on an unsecured foreign currency loan of $11 million from holding company iGATE Corporation.

Chemicals firm Jubilant Organosys Ltd reported a doubling of consolidated second quarterly net profit this fiscal, with the company’s foreign currency loans acting as a hedge against the appreciating rupee in the quarter, resulting in a gain of Rs 28.9 crore.

According to analysts, gas distributors such as Gujarat Gas will derive currency gains from dollar-denominated gas procurement prices.

For the $15-billion gems and jewellery sector, which is a key export segment, raw materials are cheaper with the strong rupee. The sector eyes 8-10 per cent growth this year.

Oil market is truly on the boil. Evidence of a further tightening of the crude oil market continues to mount with fall in the US crude inventories and deteriorating stock position in Europe. The market is clearly facing a deficit. Moving further into the last quarter, the deficit threatens to expand. Experts assert the current high prices are justified by fundamentals and the door to further increases remains open.

Last week, Front month WTI settled above $90 a barrel for the first time in trading history; and later pushed above $ 92/barrel. Front month Brent also closed at an al time high. The combination of worsening fundamentals and mounting geopolitical tensions has created a platform for a sharp push up in prices.

Winter demand is nearing. OPECs decision to raise output by 500,000 barrels a day from November 1 is seen inadequate; and in any case insufficient to cool the current market sentiment.

free for free????
Consider this. You are a senior-level executive working for a mid-sized firm. You earn approximately Rs 3 lakh per month or Rs 10,000 per day. Saturdays and Sundays are holidays. So, you get paid on those days too, even if you do not work. The CEO now wants you to work on Saturdays. You are offered free lunch on that day. You accept the offer and eagerly look forward for the free lunch. What if the CEO offers to pay you Rs 2,500 instead of providing free lunch? Would you be willing to work on Saturdays? If you behave like a typical human being, you may refuse the offer. Why?

Rationale behind free lunches


The reason is that our mind is not geared to make rational economic decisions all the time. In the above case, a free lunch has more value to you than Rs 2,500. You feel insulted with the Rs 2,500-offer, as you already earn Rs 10,000 per day. Yet, you are economically better off with Rs 2,500 on Saturdays than a free lunch that may cost no more than Rs 500.

But we do not decide on alternatives so rationally. Besides, we like things that are free. We hardly evaluate the cost incurred to get the freebie. It is the same behaviour that we see in the stock market. Stock prices move up when companies announce stock-dividends (bonus shares). Why?

People like to receive free shares. In the process, they bid-up the stock price. Assume that the stock is now trading at Rs 50. A one-for-one bonus announcement will push the stock towards Rs 100. Why? People who sell are foregoing the right to get the free share. So, if you are buying, you need to compensate the seller for the loss. But why do we buy a share at twice the original price and then get a free share from the company? The reason is that we are lured by free lunches, just as the senior-level executive we saw at the beginning of this article!

Mukesh Ambani is world's richest man .......WOW !!!!!!





Billionaire Mukesh Ambani today became the richest person in the world, surpassing American software czar Bill Gates, Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim Helu and famous investment guru Warren Buffett, courtesy the bull run in the stock market.

Following a strong share price rally on in his three group companies, India's most valued firm Reliance Industries, Reliance Petroleum and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure, the net worth of Mukesh Ambani rose to $63.2 billion (Rs 2,49,108 crore).

In comparison, the net worth of both Gates and Slim is estimated to be slightly lower at around $62.29 billion each, with Slim leading among the two by a narrow margin.

The five richest people in the world with their net worth

1. Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)

2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)

3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)

4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)

5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)

Warren Buffett, earlier the third richest in the world, also dropped one position with a net worth of about $56 billion.

Ambani's wealth of about Rs 2,49,000 crore includes about Rs 2,10,000 crore from RIL (50.98% stake), Rs 37,500 crore from RPL (37.5%) and Rs 2,100 crore from RIIL (46.23%).

Slim's wealth has been calculated on the basis of his stake in companies like America Movil (30%), Carso Global (82%), Grupo Carso (75%), Inbursa (67%), IDEAL (30%) and Saks Inc (10%).

According to information available with the US and Mexican stock exchanges where these companies are listed, Slim currently holds shares worth a total of $62.2993 billion, with more than half coming from Latin American mobile major America Movil. Slim is closely followed by Gates with a net worth of $62.29 billion currently.

Earlier last month, US business magazine Forbes had named Gates as the richest American with a net worth of $59 billion, calculated as on August 30. The magazine had said that a movement of $2 in the share price for Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, could "add or subtract $1 billion" from his wealth.

Since August-end, Microsoft's share price has risen by $6.58 (based on yesterday's closing on Nasdaq at $35.03), which results into a gain of $3.29 billion in Gates' wealth based on Forbes assumption.

Besides a stake in Microsoft, Gates' wealth also includes the commission and license fees earned by him and gains through his shares in an investment holding company that invests across the market.

Gates is followed by Buffett at the fourth place in the league of the world's richest with a net worth of $55.9 billion through his holding in his investment vehicle Berkshire Hathaway and in other companies. At the end of August, Buffett's wealth stood at $52 billion, as per the Forbes magazine. Berkshire Hathaway's share price has gained by about 7.5% since then.

Earlier on September 26, Ambani had overtaken steel czar Lakshmi Mittal to become the richest Indian in the world.

Mittal currently ranks as the fifth richest in the world with a net worth of $50.9 billion through his 44.79% stake in world's biggest steel maker ArcelorMittal.

While most of Mittal's wealth comes from his steel empire, though he has also spread his wings into businesses like oil and real estate, those of Ambani and Gates are mostly through petrochemicals and software respectively. However, Buffett and Slim are making money from investments across a host of sectors.

What i'd want to know is what is the annual profit of bill gates co.s & compare it with ambani group...

SENSEX AT 20K BUT WHAT ABOUT YOUR STOCKS....

Congratulating yourself for entering the markets when the Sensex was hovering at 10,000? As the Sensex soars to an intoxicating high of 20,000, here is a sobering thought. There is a 7 in 10 chance that you picked a laggard! While the Sensex may have doubled in value, it is very likely that your portfolio has not matched this stellar performance.

An analysis of 1015 actively traded stocks (listed on the NSE) between June 19, 2006 and October 29, 2007 shows that 50 per cent of the stocks have not managed even half the returns of the Sensex. About a fourth of the stocks have actually declined during this period. While the BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap indices have broadly kept pace with the Sensex, the rally appears to have been narrow in mid-cap and small-cap universe as well. Ninety per cent of the underperformers were stocks with a market capitalisation of less than Rs 5,000 crore. Not surprisingly, several underperformers belong to the sugar, textiles and plantation sectors. Some stocks from these sectors have tanked more than 50 per cent in the 10K-20K journey.

Among the large-caps, pharmaceutical majors such as Cipla, Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy’s and FMCG companies such as Hindustan Unilever and ITC also feature in the laggards list.

There has, however, been a sharp polarisation in performance within the listed space. Had you picked the likes of Jai Corporation, India Infoline, B.A.G. Films and IFCI, your investment would have multiplied 20 times.

Overall, the portfolio of these 1015 stocks would have delivered a median return of about 40 per cent. In other words, adjusting for the extremes, the average portfolio would have managed this return, though the Sensex has doubled in value.

when you will learn not to ask such discomforting questions, czar?

pankaj