Is it a shame if Indian company buys a US/UK company?

Isn't it a racist remark when someone tells that "Its a shame to us to have a Indian company taking over our (US/UK) company?"

Well, but this has been the words of some of the famous and most posh business magnets of the world; they very well understanding the Globalisation happennin in the world and who very much know the contribution of India to Globalisation.

Read the full story here from TIME

India a emerging power is set to take over many of the said "posh" businessess all over the world with the intellect and the power of money we have. What do these industrialists mean when they say "We do not want an Indian to take over our business"? This is nothing less than a racist remark and I am sure the whole of India, each and every Indian resident / Non-resident would comdemn.

Sensex crashes more than 700 points again on a Monday

The indian Sensitive Index started lower than Friday's previous close and only managed to drop more and finally closed more than 700 points lower than its previous close on Friday. ( 19,261.35 : -769.48 ).

It was just last week that Sensex had climbed to the magical 20000+ figure and managed to hold it for 2 continous days till today when it fell well below the 19500 mark. It is the second highest single day point-fall for the Sensex. Nifty ended the day at 5789, (provisional), down 258 points. It is the highest single-day point fall for the Nifty.

The market succumbed to profit booking today, that came in due to weak global cues as well as profit booking by FIIs in the holiday season. The Sensex ended losing 769 points from the previous close, at 19,261. Nifty also lost 270 points and shut shop at 5777. All BSE sectoral indices closed lower, with BSE Metal, Realty, Capital Goods and Oil & Gas indices being beaten down the most. Market breadth was extremely weak, with 210 advances against 1,007 declines on the NSE. The top gainer on the Sensex was HUL, while losers included DLF, NTPC, Tata Steel and HDFC.

Source: Rediff

SENSEX Goes past 20k magical figure and maintains it for one more day!!

The Sensex hit a all time high above 20k points and managed to hold on to it for another day.

Though the Sensex did not rise too much on its previous close, happy is the fact that it could hold on to such a high score for another day!!

Gone are those days when I remember people used to celebrate 1k+ in a yr!! Its almost become a ritual on the Sensex to gain/drop by 1k atleast one day in a week!! Seems like if it does not happen, the investors are sleeping or its a public holiday and the market is on leave.

The Diwali was a huge celebration that the Sensex could touch the 20k figure once and it crowned the Elder Ambani prince as THE RICHEST MAN ON EARTH.

Though the Ambanis hold on to be THE MOST RICHEST FAMILY; Ambani lost his top position in a very short span of time.

As I have even written in one of my earlier posts, this rise/fall in the Sensex is surely trigerring the normal indian to invest in shares and attaching him with a dream of being a quick crorepathi, a seasoned investor would say that this is a false market; better watchout!!!

There are various analogies that the right score for the Sensex is around the 15k at the present Indian Economy, the current score is very tempting for a novice to get into the Market dreaming/hoping to make some quick gains.

The Market is bullying week on week and so does is become a bear the once a week!! The huge difference in the value of INR against the USD surely marking down the technology and telecom shares, is surely helping the Export industry trigger off some profits.

It has been reported that the Reliance did sell off some of its shared in the Market and sitting on some cash offlate. Who knows if its ONLY RELIANCE? Only because Ambanis are in the limelight, everyone wants to see whats happenning to them.

I being just a Market Watcher and a very selective Investor, would wanna advise a novice only to make sure 100 times before he goes ahead and buys something. Only hope that he/she does not settle in for a loss. If you are in, make some quick money on it and get out of it. Surely buy some longterm shares, keep them; who knows? u might one day even be listed on the Board of Directors of it!! Be selective. Export industry is booming. Technology companies are just hoping that they do not writedown operating losses and cling on to be the best to their investors.

Wait and watch!! The Indian Market is Bullying and Bullying a long way I must say!!

FED Cuts rate; as the Market falls again

The FED cut its rate again by quarter a point; even then, the US Markets and the DOW falls again on Tuesday.

The Wall Street expected atleast half a point cut on the FED Rates; was not happy/satisfied with the quarter point cut.

FED Cuts its rate again in this quarter (again by quarter a point) to help stave off recession says a special report from CNN Money.

Read more

As Srivatsan and I were discussing couple of weeks back. To put it in Srivatsan's words, as I quote:

Its a deadlock. Fed Rate, Dollar Value, Inflation.
Touching any one of the three will do nothing only but to increase the other two. The lately added crisis to the US market, the huge Billion dollar write down by most of the Financial Institutions; their CEO's forced to quit, the mortgages crisis all getting into one at once, making the life of an investor miserable.

Unquote.

Is US heading for another recession?
How much will this affect the Asian and the European Markets?
Is this for good or bad?
Only time is the answer at this point.

What does it take to be the CEO of Citi Group?

The Billion dollar question that was in the Wall Street for more than a month now. What takes it to be the CEO of Citi Group?

Finally the executive board has found the answer. The answer is VIKRAM PANDIT


Now or never for Citi's new CEO

If he wants investors to overlook his flimsy resume, Citi's Vikram Pandit needs to take some radical steps, right now.
By Peter Eavis, Fortune senior writer

New Citi CEO Vikram Pandit will need to act quickly and decisively to reassure investors.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Judging by his resume, Vikram Pandit doesn't have the depth of experience to run Citigroup, but with some quick and decisive moves the bank's new CEO could win back many of the investors who've dumped Citi's stock as it fell victim to the credit crunch this year.

What might those moves be? Pandit's agenda will initially be influenced by the immediate severity of bad loan losses and other pressing problems at Citigroup, but within his first month investors will also want a clear indication of where he stands on important longer-term questions, like whether large parts of the bank should be sold off.

Pandit, 50, has been at Citigroup (Charts, Fortune 500) only since July, when the bank bought his hedge fund, Old Lane Partners. Before that, Pandit was at Morgan Stanley, where he won a reputation for his markets savvy. Charles Prince, Citigroup's previous permanent CEO, left the bank last month when the bank said it would take up to $11 billion of losses on mortgage-related securities.

Like all new CEOs, Pandit will have a short grace period during which he can take tough measures that would normally be considered defeat if carried out by a longer-serving CEO. For instance, don't be totally surprised if Pandit quickly raises a substantial amount of new capital, adding to the $7.5 billion of stock the bank sold to the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority late last month. Eager to see financial soundness at banks, investors are tolerant of capital raises right now - and the Abu Dhabi investment may turn out to be insufficient if fourth quarter earnings are worse than expected.

Read more

Source: www.cnnmoney.com

WISH YOU ALL THE SUCCESS IN YOUR NEW JOB Vikram!!

One Man's food is another Man's poison

We have heard so many examples and instances which explain the above proverb. Wanna know the latest one? Read Below:

Being a nature lover and one among the Mountain Roarers (www.mountainroarers.net), we wanted to venture on this Rail Trek. I guess it was 4 months back that we had planned; but we were told about this Good's train which plys on this track then and were advised not to venture this. The current news that the Indian Railways at last has bridged Mangalore Bangalore via Hassan with this new train, makes the idea of trekking this again a dream. Read below, an article in Times of India, Bangalore Date: 12/12/2007 page 7

TRAIN TO MANGALORE

Track TREKKERS stopped in their tracks
Ashwini Y S | TNN

Bangalore: It’s termed Trekker’s Paradise, with good reason. The tens of tunnels (with thousands of resident bats) and bridges, steep valleys and ravines, the wilderness and, most importantly, the abandoned railway tracks. All these make for one of the most exciting trekking routes in Karnataka.
For over 20 years, the Subramanya-Sakleshpur railway track drew hordes of trekkers and nature lovers. But now, the Mangalore-Bangalore Passenger chugs regularly on this stretch, following its maiden journey last Saturday. While scores of commuters are joyful, (finally, there is rail connectivity between the port city and Silicon City), it comes as a disappointment to many. As a trekker said, “The abandoned track has a charm that the running train doesn’t.’’
This stretch of 55 km on the Hassan-Mangalore rail route saw a never-ending trail of visitors, who weren’t deterred by the gaping bridges and bats and leeches. This beaten track is accessed from Gundya, a village on the Bangalore-Mangalore national highway, about 20 km from Kukke Subramanya. At the 13th km on Subramanya-Gundya road, the Mangalore-Hassan-Bangalore railway line crosses over the road, where the trek would start.
“My first trek was on this stretch, hence it is all the more special. I ventured into this range with a bunch of friends in peak monsoon. The weather was fantastic, but the highlight was the track, tunnels and the bridges. As far as trekking is concerned, it is sad that the train has started plying on this route,’’ says Mumbai-based scribe Namitha J.
Pramod V N, a systems engineer with a software firm, too speaks with a heavy heart: “It is pitch dark inside the tunnels, and one would get bitten by the leeches endlessly. All these made for a great adventure.
However, the excitement which was
there around four years ago when I trekked here first has waned. Two years ago when I trekked here again, I realized that there was so many more people around, thanks to the broad gauge work which had begun on the track. There is no more a sense of mystery surrounding this region.’’
Avid trekker and artist Dinesh Holla lives in Mangalore, and has mastered the art of trekking on this stretch. “Now that one knows for sure a train is plying, trekkers would be fearful of this stretch. Even if the train comes, one can stand by its inside the tunnel, but not everybody would be up to this kind of an adventure,’’ he added.
According to South Western Railway general manager Praveen Kumar, it is not advisable to trek this track anymore as thee are plans to add more trains. “Currently, there are four goods trains going up and down the stretch. We are planning a day passenger train some time very soon, apart from an additional goods trains. In a year’s time, 20 trains will ply this route.’’
Though trekking is considered trespassing by the Railways, it can do little about it, he said. “It is highly unsafe to go on this route, but most trekkers are well-versed with train schedules so they take adequate precautions,’’ he added.

RIGHT TRACK
South Western Railway started Mangalore-Bangalore passenger service on Dec 8
8 goods trains ply the Subramanya-Sakleshpur stretch
SWR plans an additional passenger day train, apart from a few more goods trains
Plans also on to start Mail and Express services

Blessing in disguise?

My flight back to Bangalore from JFK via Heathrow was on 5th De 2007, at 18:25 EST.

I left home by 13:00 hrs because the weather was expected to get worse as the noon progressed. It was a full 1 hr drive in the taxi from Jersey City to JFK.

I had already checked in online with my seating and baggage. So, I had to just drop the bags off at the kiosk, collect my boarding pass and get on to the lounge for the long wait. I checked my bags in by 2:15 and the security queue was not too big, 2:30 I was on the duty free shops and the lounge.

Grabbed a Chocolate muffin (which I’ve started to love so much after coming to NY) and Ice tea, spent like 45 mins in the café.

I just them remembered that I had got this book “The Monk who sold his Ferrari” when I was leaving from Bangalore to NY. I hadn’t touched it after I came to NY coz of my hectic schedule. Started reading it from page 101 (where I had bookmarked it 75 days back).

After doing all these also, I was left with a full 2 hrs for the flight to start boarding. Tried the Duty Free shops, did some last min shopping (which I’m so obsessed with in NY). And there I was in the flight in no time.

The flight boarded by 18:10 as scheduled and left from the gate. Then started the whole episode. The flight moved from terminal 7 to the adjacent one over a bridge. Under the bridge was the traffic jam of NY. It was an emphatic view. I missed my camera too much. I remembered seeing this view in some of the pics on the internet. But this was my 1st personal experience.

Ooops!! I forgot to mention, by the time I got to the JFK, the weather did get worse (as rightly forecast). It started snowing with small flakes when I was in Midtown and by the time I got to JFK, it started snowing quite heavily.

The traffic jam I mentioned was partly due to the weather too. Though at that time of the day, the road traffic everywhere in NY gets worse.

The flight moved the adjacent terminal as I was mentioning. The flight stood standstill for like 20 mins and then then captain announced that the weather had got worse and I would take some time to get air.

I was sitting besides the window and I had quite a view of the happenings outside on the ground. There were some vehicles around the wing and tail spraying water over it to remove the snow on them.

It took a full forty mins to clean both the wings and tail completely before the wings could open up indicating that it would be taking off sooner or later.

As the flight had come over to the adjacent terminal, it had to find its way back to the runway on that terminal. The flight again stood still for another 30 mins with the captain announcing that the flight is scheduled to depart late (which was very evident by now to all, unless one was sleeping already).

Again the wheels started rolling, and we could see at a distance flights taking off, so it was a sigh of relief that we were somewhere close to the runway to take off. One the plane started to make its way towards the runway, I started counting the planes in the queue for take off… 1 2 3 4 5….. 10.. Ours was the 11th flight in the queue waiting to take off.

It took another 20 mins for our turn to hit the runway. The flight took off finally at 21:10 EST. It was a total 2 hrs 45 mins late. The only best thing that could happen to me.. I had 6 hrs transit at Heathrow. Thanks to the weather at NY and the air traffic, I was now left with less than 4 hrs of transit at the Heathrow. Is it bad or a blessing in disguise for me? Though for others in the flight who missed their connecting flight because of the delay, British Airways rebooked the next connecting flight to their destinations (as announced repeatedly by the Captain during landing).

Bye Bye New York

Ah!! Its been a good 75 days that I am here and I am all set to return to My India. My flight is in the early evening hrs of 5th Dec.

Been a good experience. Met a lot of interesting people here with different / same mindsets and tastes.

I'm surely taking back some wonderful memories back home. Will miss the fun time we had here, but I am sure god has more in store for me.

Can't pin point the best time I had. Be it the 1st aerial view of NY; Niagara Falls with my old frnds and my sweetheart; the trip to Atlantic City; watching American Gangster in the theatre; sitting by the river on the banks of the Statue of Liberty Island; roaming around the streets of NY; the Times Square; wonderful colleagues; Awesome roomies; The time we spent in the kitchen cooking the best meal we could; the long walk from Spruce to the Indian Square; Playing black jack in the Trump Taj Mahal casino; Shopping spree we(my colleagues, my roomies and I) had in the last 3 weeks; Singing and dancing to glory on my last Sunday here in NY.. lots lots and lots!!

Though one wish remained as it is. Wanted to visit my uncle in Ohio; but time did not permit. Sorry Naganne mama!! Next time sure!!

Thank you Google; Thank you Yahoo; Thank you Skype for all the help extended in making the best connection possible between my mom, my chittu, my frnds, my family and me. Without you, I would have ended up spending more than what I earn here.

Last day at office, reported the status and sitting idle for the rest of the noon, waiting for the clock to tick 5 PM to make a move.

Life is very long, atleast long enuf to remember the good times we had. World is very much round; enuf for anyone to take a tour around it again n again in a lifetime. Sure that I will meet you all again. Till then; New York!! Take Care!! Bye Bye!! Sayonnara!!