Technical Analysis with Stock Market

Has Chennai Express REALLY broken 3 Idiots' BO record?

2013-08-30T23:46:00.000-07:00

Is Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Chennai Express the biggest hit of all time? Has it really beaten Aamir Khan's 3 Idiots, which has been the record-holder till date?

All sorts of box office figures have been thrown about, so we decided to investigate the matter.

Some trade analysts claim the 3 Idiots record of Rs 202.46 crores has been broken, while others say Chennai Express touched the Rs 200 crore mark only on August 28.

“Chennai Express has managed to collect Rs 201.15 crores till August 28. That's just a crore short of the record held by 3 Idiots," says trade analyst Amul Mohan. “It’s just a matter of time before the film becomes the new benchmark.”

The Chennai Express team, meanwhile, claimed the film had broken the 3 Idiots record on August 24 itself.

Shah Rukh Khan, in a tweet, called Chennai Express the number one film in the history of Hindi movies, while trade analyst Taran Adarsh tweeted that Chennai Express headed the list of the biggest grossers in Hindi cinema.

According to Adarsh, Chennai Express raked in Rs 216.86 crores till August 28.

While discussing the box office figures of the two films, it's useful to keep in mind that while Chennai Express released in more than 3,500 screens in India and charged higher ticket prices, 3 Idiots released in approximately 1,800 screens, nearly half the number of the former.

Bhaag Milka Bhaag, Ashiqi 2,

2013-08-05T05:03:00.002-07:00

Joginder Tuteja in Mumbai

Though 2013 has seen quite a few films failing at the box office so far, there have also been films that took everybody by surprise by performing well at the box office even when the odds were stacked against them.

While some anticipated hits like Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Race 2, Special 26 and Shootout at Wadala met expectations, several underdogs did exceedingly well too.

Here's a look at the biggest surprises of the year so far!

Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Cast: Farhan Akhtar, Sonam Kapoor, Prakash Raj, Pawan Malhotra
Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra
Box office collections (approximately): Rs 100 crore-plus

The film didn't really create any buzz when it was announced. However, its teaser did the trick when it was released more than six months ago.

Catching up steadily at the box office, Bhaag Milkha Bhaag has proved the prediction that a Rakeysh Mehra-Farhan Akhtar film would open well.

Uniformly good reviews, positive word-of-mouth and lack of major competition ensured that the biopic continued to run for an eventual 100-crore dash, a figure that no one expected from it to begin with.

Image: Farhan Akhtar in Bhaag Milkha Bhaag

Cast: Aditya Roy Kapur, Shraddha Kapoor, Shaad Randhawa
Director: Mohit Suri
Box office collections (approximately): Rs 80 crore

Nobody saw this one coming.

All everybody expected from this romance drama starring two relative newcomers was that it would just about break even.

However, this Mohit Suri film went on to attain blockbuster success.

Image: Aditya Roy Kapur and Shraddha Kapoor in Aashiqui 2

Cast: Sonam Kapoor, Dhanush, Abhay Deol
Director: Aanand L Rai
Box office collections (approximately): Rs 60 crore-plus

Despite director Aanand L Rai's last hit Tanu Weds Manu, not many people were willing to give his new film a chance, mostly because of the unusual lead pair.

Tamil star Dhanush was a debutante in Bollywood while Sonam had some high profile flops behind her.

But Rai swung things in his favour. Excellent promotion strategy and marketing (by Eros) helped a great deal too.

The film made twice the amount of money it was expected to rake in.

2013-08-05T04:54:00.002-07:00

Thursday, 1 August 2013

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Mukesh Ambani sets up Reliance Industries Holding to park personal investments: Sources

2012-03-21T03:25:00.000-07:00

21st March 2012,Wednesday

India's richest man and Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani has embarked on a massive restructuring of his personal investments worth billions of dollars by setting up a holding company called Reliance Industries Holding Pvt Ltd. The idea is to reduce cross holdings and streamline the portfolio of Mr Ambani, a source close to the development said.

Mukesh Ambani has invested in a gas pipeline company Reliance Gas and Transportation Ltd, a Jamnagar-based power company Reliance Utilities and in Reliance Ports and Terminal Ltd which also handles handles crude import, petrochem exports needs of Reliance Industries Ltd.

All these companies, in turn, hold stake in various quoted and unquoted companies. As a first step, the investment division of Reliance Ports and Terminals Ltd will be hived off as a separate company. It will then be merged with Reliance Industries Holding Private Ltd. The source said a petition with the Gujarat high court has already been filed by Reliance Port and Terminals Ltd to demerge its investment division. The merger is effective from February 1 this year.

A similar exercise with Reliance Gas and Transportation Ltd and Reliance Utilities and Power Ltd is also expected in the coming months, the source said.

When contacted, a Reliance spokesperson declined to comment on the article saying all these companies are unlisted and private companies. Mukesh Ambani owns India's biggest private sector company Reliance Industries Ltd which is listed in the stock exchanges.

Apart from this, Mukesh Ambani has several companies which are owned 100 per cent by him. The source said the holding company will help synergise investments of all the companies and give tax breaks to the holding company on losses, if any.

What is interesting is that for the first time Reliance Port and Terminal Ltd has reported a Rs 12,300 crore impairment in its investment portfolio. The source said these losses are notional and before merging the investment division with the holding company, Ambani has decided to write the losses off. The losses have been made due to investments made in various listed and unlisted stocks, the source said. The RPTL's investment portfolio, worth Rs 10,200 crore after the write off, will be merged with the holding company, the source said.

ONGC to invest Rs 200 crore for exploration projects in Bihar

2012-03-21T03:22:00.000-07:00

21st March 2012,Wednesday

The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) will invest Rs 200 crore in two projects of oil and gas exploration in Bihar's Kishanganj district over the next three years.

This was announced by ONGC's Chief Engineer and Land Acquisition Officer D P Vishwas here today.

The company was finalizing an agreement to take six acres of land on lease in Gargaoin panchayat under Kochadhaman block and Korat Bangama panchayat under Bahadurganj block for the projects, he said.

The drilling for up to five km will be carried out from April to explore oil and natural gas resources in the identified areas, the ONGC official said, adding that the construction of roads upto drilling sites has commenced.

Tech Mahindra, Mahindra Satyam boards approve merger at swap ratio of 2:17

2012-03-21T03:18:00.000-07:00

21st March 2012,Wednesday

The boards of Satyam Computer Services Ltd andTech Mahindra Ltd, IT services providers of the Mahindra group, approved the merger of two companies, according to TV reports. The exchange ratio for the merger was pegged at 2:17 ratio i.e. 2 shares of Tech Mahindra will be given for 17 shares of Mahindra Satyam. After merger 204 million equities will be transferred to trust.

Shareholders will get one share of Tech Mahindra for 8.5 shares of Satyam, the companies said.

The merger will result in combined revenue of about $2.4 billion and more than 350 clients across different geographies and industrial sectors, Tech Mahindra said in a statement on Wednesday after a board meeting to approve the merger.

The move ends a tumultuous journey for Satyam, which had come on the brink of collapse after its former chairman and founder Ramalinga Raju said in January 2009 that profits had been overstated and assets falsified in the country's biggest accounting fraud.

The merger between technology outsourcing firmsMahindra Satyam and Tech Mahindra will lead to the constitution of a new management structure to guide the combined entity, two sources close to the development told ET.

CP Gurnani, who has been credited largely for Satyam's profitability post the takeover by Tech Mahindra will continue to lead the amalgamated firm as its chief executive officer. Vineet Nayyar, who mentored the top leadership through transition as Chairman, will assume a non-executive role once the company stabilizes, absolving himself of overlooking the day to day operations of the company. Sanjay Anand, a Tech Mahindra strong hand will be chief financial officer.

Employees will be permitted to shift across verticals and services after a minimum service period of 18 to 24 months.

Mahindra Satyam is likely to hire a firm to advise the combined entity on operational issues and matters pertaining to strategy and human resources.

Shares of Tech Mahindra surged over 3% on Wednesday. At 10:15 a.m., shares of Tech Mahindra Ltd were trading 3.5% higher at Rs 671.05. The stock has hit a high of Rs 680 and a low of Rs 649.40.

Commenting on the merger Anand G Mahindra, Chairman, Tech Mahindra said "This merger will help propel the combined entity into the top tier of Indian software and services companies, achieving the group's key objective of being in a leadership role in each of our focus business areas."

Kingfisher Airlines to stop all international flights by April 10

2012-03-20T03:37:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

Vijay Mallya led cash-starved Kingfisher Airlines will shut all international operations by April 10 2012. The last flight under its international operations' division, on April 10 will be a Delhi-Heathrow one.

Flights to Dubai, Colombo, Kathmandu, Bangkok will stop operating by Sunday, March 25, 2012. The ailing airline has already shut shop for its Hong Kong and Singapore divisions. A mail sent by ET Now to Kingfisher Airlines has not yet revealed any response. However, the Airline had in the past expressed the intention of curtailing its international operations.

On the other hand talks between the pilots and the management of Kingfisher Airlines are said to have been inconclusive. According to ET Now sources, the management seems to have indicated that employees would be given a one month salary once the Income Tax (I-T) department de-freezes its accounts. However, with employees demanding their three months pending salary, no solution seems to have been arrived at.

Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told reporters that the government may cancel Kingfisher Airlines' licence if safety norms and financial viability conditions are not met.

The carrier, which is now operating 18 planes, has failed to stick to its recovery plan, Singh said. Kingfisher Airlines, which has a debt of $1.3 billion, is facing collapse as banks have refused to lend more for day-to-day operations. Massive cutback in flights have reduced revenues, leaving the carrier with little cash to pay its employees, airports and tax authorities.

Shares of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd plunged to their 52-week low on Tuesday. Kingfisher shares dived over 11% percent to Rs 17.50 to its 52-week low in early trading on the National Stock Exchange. They had earlier recovered to Rs 18.9, down 5.9 per cent.

Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya will meet aviation regulator on Tuesday or Wednesday to discuss the recovery plans, Singh said.

More curbs if gold imports don't shrink

2012-03-20T02:15:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

If Indians continue to buy gold the way they have done, the government may think of more drastic measures than the taxes imposed in the budget, such as restrictions on imports.

India's import of gold rose 54% in April-December this year from a year ago to $45.5 billion, contributing to the record trade deficit in the current year, pegged at $160 billion in the first eleven months.

"If CAD (current account deficit) crosses 3.5% (of GDP) we will have to think of cutting down some imports," Finance Secretary RS Gujaral said in Delhi on Monday, hinting at gold. Increase in tax on gold in the budget is essentially aimed at narrowing the current account deficit, he said.

India was largest consumer of gold in 2011 with total demand of 933.4 tonnes, according to the World Gold Council, down only moderately from 1,000 tonnes in 2010 despite record high prices. The high inflation has also prompted many investors to switch to gold from financial savings.

The share of financial savings in the overall savings of households has dropped to 44% in 2010-11 from 52% in 2007-08. The budget has doubled the basic customs duty on gold bars, the second increase in the last two months, in an attempt to moderate the demand.

"One of the primary drivers of the current account deficit has been the growth of almost 50% in imports of gold and other precious metals in the first three quarters of this year," finance minister said in his budget speech justifying the levy.

The budget has also imposed a tax at source on purchase of jewellery in excess of Rs 2 lakh in cash. The C Rangarajan-headed prime minister's economic advisory council (PMEAC) has in its review of the economy also called for measures to discourage gold consumption and shift people to financial savings.

India is expected to end the year with a current account deficit of 3.6% of GDP, which has put pressure on the rupee and raised concern among foreign investors.

AMAZING CARS

2012-03-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

AMAZING CARS

Bentley EXP 9F Luxury SUV

Price: $250,000

Bentley Motors Limited is a British manufacturer of automobiles founded on January 18, 1919, by Walter Owen Bentley.

Purchased by Rolls-Royce in 1931, when production was moved from London to Derby and later to Crewe, this business has been owned by the Volkswagen Group of Germany since 1998.

Porsche Boxter S

Price: $70,000

The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first road vehicle to be originally designed as a roadster since the 550 Spyder.

Aston Martin V12 Zagato

Price: $519,400

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is an endurance racing concept car made by Aston Martin in collaboration with Zagato to celebrate a 50 year partnership since the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.

Sleeping for a living in five-star hotels

2012-03-19T22:40:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

A woman in China has been hired to stay in five-star hotels and rate the services offered by the staff.

She was selected out of 7,800 candidates and has stayed in more than 200 hotels until now.

Zhuang sleeps on the bed as she shows a part of her job as a Hotel Test Sleeper at a boutique hotel in central Beijing.

Zhuang was selected as one of three final winners out of 7,800 candidates and started working for Qunar as a Professional Hotel Test Sleeper in March 2010.

Zhuang checks a tea cup at a business chain hotel, in Beijing. At present, she has slept at more than 200 hotels.

"My job is to role-play travellers of different types, different ages and genders at different scenarios, and see how each hotel fits their particular needs." Zhuang says.

Zhuang checks the bed of a Beijing traditional hotel with courtyard houses, known as "Siheyuan" in Chinese, in central Beijing.

Her reviews help travellers make smart hotel picks and bring them a more pleasant experience on the road. Qunar, a Chinese online travel platform, started to recruit Professional Hotel Test Sleepers in 2010.

Zhuang checks the texture of the toilet paper at a business chain hotel, in Beijing. The requirement for this new profession is to sleep at selected hotels without disclosing their real job and write expert reviews about the facilities, location, dining, services and prices of the hotels, in order to provide an independent third-party evaluation and an authoritative guide to travellers, according to the company.

Zhuang looks back at an entrance of a Beijing traditional hotel with courtyard houses, known as "Siheyuan" in Chinese, in central Beijing.

Sri Lanka-Bangladesh match to determine India's fate

2012-03-19T22:34:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

Millions of Indian cricket fans will be praying for a Sri Lankan victory when the islanders take on hosts Bangladesh in Mirpur on Tuesday in their last league match, the result of which will determine India's fate in the Asia Cup.

The Indians recorded their highest run-chase ever to pull off an extra-ordinary victory over arch rivals Pakistan on Sunday, riding on Virat Kohli blistering 183 off 148 balls to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the final.

But the win alone is not enough for the defending champions to seal their place for Thursday's summit clash as India's fate now entirely depends on how Sri Lanka perform.

India, whose Asia Cup campaign was thrown into disarray after their upset five-wicket loss to minnows Bangladesh, will now have to wait for the result of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh match.

If Sri Lanka win, India will go into the final but a defeat for the islanders will ensure that Bangladesh take on Pakistan in the title clash on Thursday.

As per the rules of the tournament, if two teams are tied on points, head-to-head record will be considered, so Bangladesh will go into the final as they had beaten India in their league match.

Going by the form of both the teams, Bangladesh would back themselves to register another upset win in the tournament.

After giving Pakistan a scare in the tournament-opener, Bangladesh sprung a surprise by chasing down India's challenging 289-run target with five wickets in hand and four balls to spare.

The Bangladesh team has so far showed in the continental event that they are quite a handful in front of adoring home fans.

Tamim Iqbal, Jahurul Islam, Nasir Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and captain Mushfiqur Rahim all batted brilliantly against India the other day to set up the brilliant run chase.

In particular, Tamim has been solid upfront while Shakib and Mushfiqur have been providing the impetus towards the end. If batting is turning out to be their strength in this tournament, Bangladesh's bowling has been unimpressive.

To add to their woes, Shafiul Islam is uncertain for Tuesday's match after hurting his shoulder against India and in such a scenario the pressure would be high on experienced Mashrafe Mortaza to deliver the goods up front.

What has hurt Bangladesh most is the below-par performance of its spin quartet of Shakib, Abdur Razzak, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain.

But all said and done, it won't be easy for Bangladesh as in Sri Lanka, they will be up against a wounded team which is already out of the tournament after two consecutive defeats against Pakistan and India and would be desperately seeking a win before heading home.

Sri Lanka have looked a jaded side in this event following their long tri-series campaign in Australia. The absence of their two attacking all-rounders -- Angelo Mathews and Thisara Perera -- both of whom are out injured, has hurt Sri Lanka badly in this event.

Sri Lanka also have major issues to deal with in both their batting as well as bowling department.

While skipper Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara have been among runs, explosive opener Tillakaratne Dilshan's lean patch is hurting the team most.

Barring Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekera, the islanders' bowling attack looks ordinary and they also lack a quality spinner at their disposal on the placid Sher-e-Bangla pitch.

Teams:

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain; wk), Abdur Razzak, Anamul Haque, Elias Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jahurul Islam, Mahmudullah, Mashrafe Mortaza, Nasir Hossain, Nazimuddin, Nazmul Hossain, Shafiul Islam, Shahadat Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Thisara Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Upul Tharanga, Lahiru Thirimanne.

Kingfisher in Trouble

2012-03-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

The aviation regulator on Monday summoned Vijay Mallya, the billionaire owner of debt-laden Kingfisher airline, to seek an explanation on why his carrier can't stick to its revised schedule. Sources familiar with the regulator's thinking said there was a real possibility that Kingfisher's licence could be suspended if it was not able to get its act together.

The meeting could happen either on Tuesday or later this week. Sources said that the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had sent a show-cause notice to Kingfisher Airlines late February, asking why the airline should not be shut down.

"The DGCA had given the airline 15 days to respond, but now it is well over that time and the airline has not responded. To be able to take a final view of the situation, the regulator wants Mallya to explain the situation before deciding on a course of action," a government source said, requesting anonymity.

The civil aviation ministry and the DGCA are trying to come to a consensus on the issue as the regulator is of the opinion that harsh ssteps such as suspension of licence may become inevitable, said the government source.

"Delay in salary payment, lack of schedule integrity, passenger inconvenience and failure to stick to the recovery plan are some of the various grounds on which the licence could be suspended," the official said.

Morning Financial News

2012-03-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

20th March 2012,Tuesday

The dollar fell on Tuesday as easing fears about the threat posed to the euro zone by Greece diminished the U.S. currency's safe-haven appeal, while Asian shares crept higher following a rally on Wall Street.

The euro sat near its highest level in a week after an orderly auction of Greek default insurance prompted traders to scale back their bets against the single currency.

"There has been an unwinding of short euro positions because the reasons for holding those positions have not materialised," said Douglas Borthwick, managing director of FX broker Faros Trading in Stamford, Connecticut.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan inched 0.1 percent higher, led by a 0.4 percent gain for South Korean stocks as shares in Samsung Electronics touched an all-time high.

The Asian tech sector was boosted by Apple Inc's announcement of a $10 billion annual dividend and share buy-back, a move that lifted the S&P 500 to within 10 percent of its all-time closing high.

A steady stream of data pointing to a recovery in the U.S. economy and massive liquidity injections from major central banks have combined to drive a rally in share markets since late last year. The S&P 500 has risen nearly 12 percent so far in 2012 and the MSCI Asia ex-Japan is up more than 13 percent.

That, in turn, has stemmed the flow of money seeking safety in assets such as U.S. Treasuries and the dollar.

The U.S. currency was down 0.4 percent on Tuesday against a basket of major peers, while the euro held steady around $1.3235. Tokyo markets were closed for a holiday.

The detrended price oscillator (DPO)

2012-03-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

19th March 2012,Monday

The detrended price oscillator (DPO) is an indicator in technical analysis that attempts to eliminate the long-term trends in prices. Leaving short-term trends, the indicator allows immediate overbought and oversold levels to be found more effectively.

The detrended price oscillator is clearly a form of price oscillator, and is related to the "percentage price oscillator" (PPO) and the "absolute price oscillator" (APO). The APO is an essentially equivalent to the well-known MACD indicator. A PPO is an improved alternative to the APO or the MACD for use when a stock's price change has been large, or when comparing the oscillator behavior for different stocks which have significantly different prices.

Although these are not so commonly used with the DPO, for the other price oscillators, as for the MACD, a signal line is frequently generated for the price oscillators by taking an exponential moving average (EMA) of the price oscillator values and plotting the two lines together. A histogram can also be generated for the price oscillators, if desired, just as is done for the MACD indicator.

The DPO is calculated by subtracting the simple moving average over an "n" day period and shifted n/2+1 days back from the price.

To calculate the detrended price oscillator:

Decide on the time frame that you wish to analyze. Set "n" as half of that cycle period.

Calculate a simple moving average for n periods.

Calculate (n / 2 + 1)

Subtract the moving average, from (n / 2 + 1) days ago, from the closing price:

DPO = Close - Simple moving average [from (n / 2 + 1) days ago

POST BUDGET - STOCKS TO WATCH FOR

2012-03-19T02:27:00.000-07:00

19th March 2012,Monday

ADANI POWER

Adani Power will benefit from the move to allow ECBs to part finance rupee debt. As on 30th September 2011, it had debt of around Rs 25,000 crore. In the December 2011 quarter, the company paid 14% of net sales as interest. Its EBIDT was Rs 10 crore and the interest outgo was Rs 139 crore.

Access to foreign loans and a reduction in withholding tax from 20% to 5% will help the company save up to 3 percentage points in interest rates.

In addition, the nod for 20% depreciation in the first year will help Adani Power to accelerate commissioning of its projects.

On the fuel front too, the budget has brought gains for the company. By 2015, it will be sourcing 66% of its coal from Coal India and the remaining from the international market, mainly Indonesia.

The government has advised Coal India to sign fuel supply agreements. Full exemption from customs duty for imported coal and a concessional CVD of 1% will make imported coal cheaper by 7-8%.

JSWSTEEL

JSW Energy will be the biggest beneficiary of the budget among utilities. Full exemption from customs duty on imported coal and a concessional CVD of 1% will make the coal cheaper by up to 8%.

This reduction in fuel cost will have a significant impact on the company's profitability as JSW Energy is completely dependent on imported coal till 2015.

Total fuel cost is around 60-65% of sales. The company sells a majority of its power on a merchant basis and most of its operations are in South, where tariffs are higher as compared to other states. Besides, the company, which has significant debt on its balance sheet, will also benefit from access to foreign loans to part finance rupee debt.

CHAMBAL FERTILIZERS
The government's intent to finalise a urea policy rings positive for Chambal Fertilisers. Any positive outcome like a nutrientbased subsidy (NBS) scheme, confirmation of the new investment policy or hike in farm gate prices for urea is likely to benefit the player.

Besides, Chambal has chalked out plans to set up single super phosphate (SSP) plants in Dahej and Gadepan with an annual capacity of 5 lakh MT and 2 lakh MT, respectively. The government's plans to encourage use of SSP and customs duty exemption on import of equipment for fertiliser manufacturing plants augurs well for the company.

ITC
Traditionally, ITC has always been adversely impacted by the budget through levy of additional excise duty on cigarettes. However, since the last two years, it has not been so bad for the company.

While last year the finance minister did not tamper with the excise duties on cigarettes, this year the basic excise duty has been increased only on cigarettes of more than 65 mm length instead of all types of cigarettes.

Besides, excise duty on competing products like bidis, pan masala, gutkha, chewing tobacco, unmanufactured tobacco, zarda and scented tobacco in pouches has also been increased. The company's stock has appreciated by 28% in the last one year against the ET FMCG index gains of 25%. With the risk of budget adversely affecting ITC now behind it, the company's growth prospects appear bright.

OPTO CIRCUITS
After two quarters, the Bangalore-based medical devices company has posted a strong performance in the quarter ended December 2011. Its stock has appreciated 3.4% in the last one year against the 8.8% gain made by the ET Pharma index.

The company has been growing steadily in both the non-invasive and invasive product segments. The non-invasive medical devices segment contributes over three-fourths of the company's revenues and has been growing steadily, especially in North America.

The company will gain from the reduction in customs duty to 2.5% with concessional CVD of 6% on components used for the manufacture of blood pressure monitors and blood glucose monitoring systems. It will also benefit from the full exemption from basic customs duty and CVD that has been provided in case of components of coronary stents and artificial heart valves.

Tata Motors Increase Prices - Budget Effect

2012-03-19T02:21:00.000-07:00

19th March 2012,Monday

Auto major Tata Motors today said it has increased prices of its passenger vehicles, including the Nano, by up to Rs 35,000 with immediate effect due to hike in excise duty in the Budget for 2012-13.

"We have raised the prices as per the excise duty hike in the Budget. In passenger cars, the increase will vary between Rs 2,000 and Rs 8,000 depending upon various models," a Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI.

Under the passenger car division, the company sells small car Nano, hatchback Indica series and Indigofamily of sedans. The company, however, did not specified the model-wise break up of the price increase.

In case of utility vehicles like Safari, Aria and Sumo, the hike will be from Rs 8,000 to Rs 35,000, he said.

"Regarding the commercial vehicles, we have decided to pass on the additional burden of two per cent to consumers. We have a wide range of products in this category," the spokesperson said.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had proposed to raise excise duty to 12 per cent from 10 per cent.

The excise duties for petrol cars with engines under 1,200 cc and diesel cars with engine capacity under 1,500 cc, but the length exceeding four metres have been increased to 24 per cent from the previous 22 per cent with a fixed duty of Rs 15,000.

Petrol and diesel driven vehicles having length exceeding four metres and engine capacity of over 1,200 cc and 1,500 cc respectively will now be charged with an ad valorem duty of 27 per cent, instead of the earlier 22 per cent with a fixed duty of Rs 15,000.

Besides, basic customs duty was also hiked to 75 per cent from 60 per cent for fully imported vehicles priced over USD 40,000 and with engine capacity of over 3,000 cc and 2,500 cc for petrol and diesel driven vehicles respectively.

BUDGET 2012-13 -INCOME TAX SLABS

2012-03-16T02:22:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

In order to bring the provisions of the finance bill closer to those of the Direct Taxes Code ( DTC), the finance minister has in the budget 2012-13 done away with the distinction between Men and Women in so far the income exempt from tax is concerned.

Both men and women have now be brought under General category with income upto Rs 2,00,000 exempt from taxes.

The FM in the budget 2011-12, presented last year, had reduced the exemption gap between Men and Women when he had raised the limit for income exempt from taxes for Men from Rs 1,60,000 to Rs 1,80,000 keeping the income exempt from taxes for women untouched at Rs 1,90,000.

Incorporating these changes, the impact of taxes on the taxable income for three broad categories - General, Senior Citizens (60 to 80 years) and very Senior Citizens (80 years and above) is as illustrated in the table...

Budget - Inflation

2012-03-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

The Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in his Union Budget 2012-13 speech on Friday said that he expects the inflation and current account deficit to come down in the next financial year.

The Economic Survey 2011-12 had projected the inflation for the next year to come down as well. Inflation is expected to moderate to 6.5-7 per cent by March end but spiralling global crude oil prices pose a challenge in the coming months, said the Economic Survey 2011-12.

The Survey, tabled in Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today, also said that inflation would further moderate during the course of next fiscal on account of tightening of monetary policy by the Reserve Bank and other measures.

"By March 2012, headline inflation is expected to fall to 6.5 -7 per cent and further moderate in the months ahead, barring 'unexpected shocks'..." it said.

The survey said that recent geo-political uncertainties are once again putting pressure on crude oil prices globally which represent major risk and challenge ahead.

"The best course of action would be to persist with regular steps-adjustment of domestic energy prices which will help reduce inflationary pressure and fiscal consolidation efforts," it said.

Taking stock of the price scenario throughout the year, the survey observed that in the current financial year, the gap between wholesale price index (WPI) and consumer price index (CPI) inflation has significantly narrowed due to drastic fall in food inflation.

The headline inflation, after remaining in single digit from August 2010 to August 2011, briefly touched double digits at 10.1 per cent in September 2011 but came down to 6.5 per cent in December 2011.

"The major drivers of food inflation during the current financial year were milk, eggs/meat/fish, gram and edible oils. WPI food inflation (weight 24.3 per cent) has significantly dropped from 20.2 per cent in February 2010 to 1.6 per cent in January 2012," it said.

Budget Entertainment industry seeks relief from high tax rates

2012-03-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

With the government slated to announce the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Union Budget 2012, theentertainment industry is hoping for some relief from the high rates of taxation.

FICCI in its pre-budget memorandum has recommended that cinema exhibitors be exempted from levying service tax on Intellectual Property Rights to be transferred to exhibitors (Multiplex owners).

The chamber has also suggested that till the implementation of GST takes place, multiplex operators should be exempted from levy of service tax on property rentals, and entertainment tax is fully subsumed in GST, to result in seamless pass-through of such indirect taxes.

The chamber is of the opinion that government should not levy both VAT and Service tax on Copyright services to avoid multiple taxation on the same item.
The Economic Survey 2011-12, tabled in the Parliament on Thursday has stated that high rates of entertainment tax and lack of uniformity in levy structures across states are inhibiting growth of film industry in India but it could be addressed through adoption of GST.

"Adoption of the goods and services tax (GST), subsuming service tax and entertainment tax, could promote growth of the film industry," the survey has said.

Commenting on hurdles before the film industry that produces about over 1,000 films a year, it said, "High rates of entertainment tax and lack of uniformity in tax structure across states are major factors inhibiting growth of the film industry."

Tax payers may get some relief from budget

2012-03-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

Tax payers will be looking forward to some relief from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjeewho is expected to raise the income tax exemption limit to at least Rs 2 lakh in his budget proposals to be unveiled in the Lok Sabha tomorrow.

The Minister may also marginally raise the slabs in other tax brackets of 10 per cent, 20 per cent and 30 per cent. The Direct Taxes Code (DTC) Bill has also made a mention of it.

The DTC, which will replace the Income Tax 1961, however, will only come into force from 2013-14 and the Minister may make a formal announcement on it in his budget speech.

The Standing Committee of Parliament that has scrutinised the DTC Bill has already submitted its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker.

Although the Committee had suggested raising the tax exemption limit to Rs 3 lakh, it is unlikely that Mukherjee will agree to it in view of the need to contain fiscal deficit.

With limited space for give aways, the Budget is likely to balance populism with some tough measures to check tax evasion and generation of black money.

However, in view of reverses in the recently concluded state assembly elections, Mukherjee may go slow on economic reforms like FDI in multi-brand retail and further opening of the insurance sector to foreign investment.

There could be some bad news for prospective car buyers as government may hike duties on luxury items to raise resources.

The biggest challenge before Mukherjee would be to arrest decline in economic growth which is expected to touch a three year low of 6.9 per cent in the current fiscal, down from 8.4 per cent in the two previous years.

Further, the government is likely to set disinvestment target for the next fiscal at Rs 30,000 crore.

Pranab Mukherjee's budget to be the 81st proposal in India's history

2012-03-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

NEW DELHI: The government will present its 81st budget proposals in the history of independent India, when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tomorrow reads out his taxation and other economic policies before the Parliament.

Individually, Mukherjee will present the Union Budgetfor the seventh time, the second-highest by any Finance Minister.

The Parliament has so far hosted 80 budget speeches, including interim and special-situation budgetary proposals, ever since the first union budget of indepdendent India was presented by then Finance Minister R K Shanmukham Chetty on November 26, 1947.

The maximum number of 10 budgets have been presented by Morarji Desai, while Mukherjee will tomorrow join the league of P Chidambaram,Yashwant Sinha, Y B Chavan and C D Deshmukh, who have presented seven budgets each in the past.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the country's fourth Finance Minister T T Krishnamachari have presented six budgets each during their tenures in the Finance Ministry.

Mukherjee has so far presented six annual budgets, including the budgets for two consecutive financial years, 2010-11 and 2011-12, and an interim budget before that for the fiscal 2009-10. Way back in early 80s also, Mukherjee had presented three consecutive budgets.

Among others, R Venkatraman and H M Patel have presented three budgets each, while Jaswant Singh, V P Singh, C Subramaniam, John Mathai and R K Shanmukham Chetty have two budgets each to their credits.

Besides, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Charan Singh, N D Tiwari, Madhu Dandwate, S B Chavan and Sachindra Chaurdhuri have presented one budget each.

Nehru, Indira and Rajiv Gandhi had presented budget in their capacity as Prime Minister and Minister of Finance.

Charan Singh (once) and Morarji Desai (on four occasions) presented budget as Deputy PM and Minister of Finance.

So far, the country has seen 64 normal annual budgets, while there have been 12 interim budgets and four special- occasion budgetary proposals, also known as mini budgets.

The first such mini-budget was presented by T T Krishnamachari on November 30, 1956 in form of fresh taxation proposals through Finance Bills, demanded by the prevailing domestic and international economic situation.

The step was also required to tackle issues like rising inflation and dwindling forex reserves at that time.

The second mid-year budget taxation proposals were also presented by Krishnamachari in August 1965, while the third mini-budget was presented by Y B Chavan in December 1971 wherein he proposed additional measures for mobilisation of resources for defence requirements.

The last mini-budget proposals in the Parliament was also made by Chavan in July 1974, wherein he made fresh taxation proposals to tackle inflation-related issues after only five months of the regular annual budget.

Morning Budget 2012-13 overview

2012-03-15T21:30:00.000-07:00

16th March 2012,Friday

Brokers are expecting an eventful Budget as the FM is under pressure to boost revenues to reduce the fiscal deficit, while excessive increases in tax rates could hurt companies. These are some of the measures that could be brought in by the government and their implications:

Automobile

Hike in excise duty, diesel tax

Banking

Fiscal consolidation, capital infusion in PSUs, clarity on new bank licences, Interest subvention fund for power sector

Capital Goods

Import duty on power generation equipment, increased govt spending on infrastructure schemes, mandatory domestic power equipment procurement for future UMPPs using domestic coal

Cement

Hike in excise duty, hike in diesel prices, waiver of import duty on thermal coal, higher allocation for infra projects, VAT reduction

FMCG

Hike in excise duty, increase in personal tax slabs, measures to discourage gold import

Fertilisers

Cut in per unit subsidy on non-urea fertilisers, raising urea retail price, cutting custom duty on inputs like naphtha, LNG, etc

Infrastructure

Higher budgetary allocation, long- term funding for projects, new services in tax net

Infotech

Incremental allocation under schemes to digitize various departments

Media

Waiver of custom duty on set-top boxes, increase in FDI limit for cable TV multi-system operators

Metals & Mining

Increase in import duty on manganese ore and waiver of import duty on thermal coal, iron ore lumps

Oil & Gas

Increase in prices of petroleum products and waiver of custom duty on LNG, extension sun-set clause on tax incentives

Logistics

Concrete steps to expedite work on the Dedicated Freight corridors and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor

Pharmaceuticals

Higher budgetary allocation for healthcare and increase in tax sops on R&D, extension of Tax holiday on healthcare in Tier II and III towns, infrastructure status for healthcare

Retail
Roll-back (partial or full) of 10% excise duty on retail price of branded garments

Real Estate

Increase in limit of income-tax deduction for interest on housing loans to Rs 3 lakhs

Power

Import duty on power generation equipment, waiver of duty on imported coal, Incentives/measures for SEB reforms with pre-conditions

Telecom

Budget estimates likely to include inflows from 2G auctions, Imposition of import duty on mobile handsets & focus on promoting domestic manufacturing of electronics

Shahid Kapoor Dates Nargis Fakhri

2012-03-15T02:21:00.000-07:00

15th March 2012,Thursday

Just last month, Shahid Kapoor celebrated his birthday in great style over a four-day weekend at Goa's sun-kissed Morjim beach.

What's more, while most of his guests flew down for the big party much later, he left earlier, accompanied by a certain Nargis Fakhri. Ever since, there has been widespread speculation as to whether they are the newest love birds in Bollywood.

Rumours apart, Mumbai Mirror can now tell you that it's official - Shahid and Nargis are indeed a couple; the latest to hit tinsel town.

"Nargis is Shahid's latest love. Since the past few days, the two are spending a lot of quality time with each other. So far, they have avoided being seen together. Perhaps they wanted to keep the whole thing under wraps for some more time," revealed a source close to the twosome.

When did the 'good friends' become more than just that? Said the source, "Nargis spent a lot of time with Shahid in Goa. They were attracted to each other then and their friendship grew after returning to Mumbai. However, they started dating only recently."

How serious is their relationship, considering Shahid has been linked to a bevy of B-town beauties including Anushka Sharma and Bipasha Basu ever since his break up with Priyanka Chopra last year? "Well, he is quite serious about Nargis and likes her company," the source said.

Meanwhile, Nargis too has been earlier linked to the likes of Ranbir Kapoor and Shayan Munshi although according to the source, she is hardly in contact with either of them now.

We tried to get in touch with Shahid and Nargis but both remained unavailable for comment.

CREDIT POLICY RBI

2012-03-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

15th March 2012,Thursday

RBI left interest rates unchanged on Thursday, citing concern over resurgent inflation risks, even as economic growth remains sluggish.

The Reserve Bank of India kept its policy repo rate on hold at 8.50 percent, as had widely been expected. It also kept the cash reserve ratio unchanged at 4.75 percent after cutting it by 75 basis points on Friday in a surprise out-of-cycle move

"Upside risks to inflation have increased from the recent surge in oil prices, fiscal slippage and rupee depreciation," the RBI said in its mid-quarter policy statement.

The RBI raised rates 13 times between March 2010 and October 2011, making it one of the world's most hawkish central banks. It has pressed the pause button on rates since December.

"Notwithstanding the deceleration in growth, inflation risks remain which will influence both the timing and magnitude of future rate actions," the RBI said.

Still, it said country's economic performance in the March quarter of the fiscal year ending this month is expected to be better than the previous quarter.

Bond and interest rate swap markets were disappointed as the RBI continued to focus on inflation risks.

The 10-year benchmark bond yield rose 4 basis points to 8.34 percent immediately after the policy release while the benchmark five-year swap rate was 6 basis point higher at 7.55 percent, and the one-year rate

7 basis points up at 8.12 percent. "It would not have made sense to cut policy rates before the budget because it will give a roadmap on fiscal consolidation, and that will be a relevant policy contributor," said Rupe Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.

The budget will be presented on Friday. The RBI's tightening took a toll on country's economic growth, which slowed to 6.1 per cent in the three months to December, the weakest in almost three years.

A Reuters poll which showed the RBI was widely expected to hold interest rates steady at its policy review on Thursday also found that expectations for a start to the rate cut cycle have been pushed back since January.

Inflation picked up for the first time in five months in February on higher food costs but another measure of price pressures cooled, sparking market speculation of a surprise rate cut on Thursday.

On average, economists estimate growth in the fiscal year ending in March 2013 will be 7 percent, a far cry from the 9 percent pace of expansion that policymakers in Asia's third-largest economy had expected a year ago.

Economic survey

2012-03-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

15th March 2012,Thursday

Pitching for more aggressive steps in order to stem rupee volatility, the Economic Survey 2011-12 today said any abnormal depreciation in the currency impacts investor confidence.

"The rupee has experienced high volatility in the last few years. Such volatility impairs investor confidence," the Survey tabled in the Parliament by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.

The rupee had depreciated sharply during the last six months of 2011. It had reached a peak of Rs 43.94 to the US dollar on July 27, 2011, and hit a low of Rs 54.23 on December 15, 2011.

"A more aggressive stance to check rupee volatility is therefore necessary," the Survey said, adding that when the rupee depreciates it has implications for corporate balance sheets and profitability in case of high exposure to External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs).

"It is true that the exchange rate had depreciated abnormally but subsequent partial correction means that it is now at a more realistic level," it noted.

The rupee was trading at 50.20 against the greenback in today's trade.

The Economic Survey said that to arrest the fall in rupee the Reserve Bank of India had taken a slew of measures and relaxed some of the capital controls to increase dollar flows into the country.

The RBI has hiked the ECB limit under automatic route to $ 750 million, from $ 500 million.