Indian Stock Picks - Share Ideas , News, Fundamentals

Mkts may surprise either ways in 2008 (CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol.com 1st Jan 2008)2007 has been a year of dreams for the stock market. Who would have thought when the year started that we would end 50% and more higher on the Nifty, 75% higher on the midcap index and the kind of multibaggers this market has churned out for the last 12 months. It has really been the stuff of dreams and therefore the bar is set very high as we go into 2008. Even so we cross our fingers, hope for the best, and hope that the markets would do an encore as they did in 2007 versus the weight of expectations when we started the year. On the markets in 2008: We probably can’t be very sanguine in 2008. We were not sanguine as we ended 2007. So we need to keep that bit of history on the back of our minds as well because when we sat on 1st of January 2007 we asked the wisemen of Dalal Street, what they thought the year would be like. Not many of them would have said that we would see 50% plus gains this year. More

Stocks to watch: RPL, RNRL (CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol.com) The markets closed in the green on the last day of the year despite some mixed cues from Asia and Europe. Sensex closed up 80.04 points or 0.40% at 20286.99, and the Nifty up 58.90 points or 0.97% at 6138.60. Technical analyst Deepak Mohoni of Trendwatchindia is positive on RPL, RNRL This is how Deepak Mohoni views stocks on board: On IFCI: IFCI has been the news driven stock and the same volatility I was talking about that a little piece of good news the market is up 13%-14%, one piece of bad news market is down 20% that day. So I would say trade it but don’t risk but the long-term trend is still up. On RPL and RNRL: Well certainly not for long-term investing but for short-term trades, whenever they start making their moves, they are fairly rewarding stocks. So one can’t really ignore them while this sort of bull market goes on. More

Govt may ask GSM players to return spectrum (Business Standard 1st Jan 2008)In what could be another blow to existing GSM mobile operators, the government may soon demand return of excess spectrum held by them beyond the eligible limit.The move comes after the government last week decided to allot additional spectrum based on Trai's subscriber-linked criteria and GSM lobby Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) accepted the decision.Going by Trai norms, which suggested up to six times more subscribers to become eligible for additional spectrum, the operators may end up holding excess airwaves. These surplus airwaves can accommodate 4-5 new players, sources said. More Zing Thing: Spice adds masala to spectrum drama (The Economic Times 1st Jan 2008)The battle for radio frequencies shows no sign of ebbing. After Idea Cellular, Spice Communications has now warned the Department of Telecom (DoT) against manipulating the priority list of allocation of radio frequencies. Spice

Expect airlines to fly back into profit (Live mint.com 1st Jan 2008) Rising ticket prices, high seat occupancy rates and slower induction of planes into fleets may help India’s domestic airlines—competing tooth-and-nail in the past few years to grab shares in a market that is almost doubling every two years—record a small profit for the just ended fiscal third quarter. Industry executives and analysts admit the results of the quarter ended 31 December, traditionally the busy season because passenger traffic climbs sharply over the holidays, may not be sustainable. But rising ticket prices, a result of consolidation in the industry, is likely to help these airlines, even in the long term, to post profits. More Will airlines pass on gains from lower fuel prices? (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008)Domestic flights could cost less in the New Year. With aviation turbine fuel costing 4 per cent less in January vis-a-vis the previous month, domestic airlines indicated on Monday that they

Govt rejects Balco expansion plans (Live mint.com 1st Jan 2008)The environment and forests ministry has rejected a fourfold expansion of bauxite mining capacity in Chhattisgarh sought by Bharat Aluminium Co. Ltd, or Balco, severely castigating the firm for what it describes as a “deplorably callous and casual attitude” in addressing concerns the ministry had raised earlier. Balco, which is 51% owned by Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd and is the third largest aluminium producer in India, says it will reapply. Sterlite Industries is a wholly owned subsidiary of London-based Vedanta Resources Plc. More

2008: equity markets will have to battle several headwinds (Live mint.com 1st Jan 2008)Will equities do as well in 2008 as they did in 2007? Will we see a continuation of the main trends of 2007? Or will the credit crisis in the West derail the bull market? It’s that time of the year when we all make predictions, never mind that nobody saw the subprime crisis coming last year. Two markets of 2007 In fact, 2007 can be neatly divided into pre- and post-subprime. Between 1 January and 24 July 2007, the MSCI World Index rose by 9.4%. Between 24 July and 28 December, it fell by 1.7%. Emerging markets too saw a slowdown in returns post-subprime, but things were not as bad as in the developed world. The MSCI Emerging Market index was up 26.7% between 29 December 2006 and 24 July, but rose a comparatively tepid 7.8% between 24 July and 28 December. The Sensex , however, broke loose from global trends and blazed a path all its own. Indian stocks zoomed after the subprime crisis hit the West.

Media: Reaching out like never before The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008)The Indian media industry spread its wings this year like never before, and went places, both in new platforms, technologies and new geographies. Multi-platform entertainment and digitisation is set to change the dynamics in the industry in the coming years. The year, which started off with the Conditional Access System (CAS) being introduced in pockets in three metros, saw viewers upgrading to digital television. For the million-odd CAS viewers with set-top boxes on the cable platform, there were about 7-8 million others enjoying the benefits of the other new digital platform, Direct-to-Home (DTH). More

Tata Steel, SAIL to form JV for coal mining (Business Standard 1st Jan 2008)Tata Steel and state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) are all set to form a joint venture for coal blocks."SAIL and Tata Steel are likely to sign an agreement to form a joint venture company for mining four coking coal blocks, most likely in Jharkhand which has reserves of about 500 million tonne for meeting their production needs," a senior government official told PTI.He said both companies would seek to put in place a formal JV company and then begin scouting for more coal blocks. The board would have representatives from both the companies. The new entity is likely to have an initial capital of Rs 2 crore to be shared equally by the partners. More

FIIs net sellers of Rs 1,119cr in F&O (Business Standard 1st Jan 2008) Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Rs 1,119 crore in the futures & options (F&O) market on Monday, December 31. More Dow drops over 100pts, Tata Motors up 2% (Business Standard 1st Jan 2008)Both the major Wall Street indices declined on Monday, but stocks finished 2007 with gains.While the Dow dropped 101.05 points (0.76%) to 13,264.82, the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 22.18 points (0.8%) to 2,652.28. More

Rupee to see choppy trade in 2008 (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008) The rupee will exhibit a choppy behaviour in 2008, say senior bank officials and foreign exchange dealers. The general consensus among dealers is that the rupee will continue to trade steadily at current levels of 39.40-39.50 in the first few quarters and then weaken post the second quarter of the next fiscal. Mr Ashvin Parekh, Partner, National Leader-Global Financial Services, Ernst & Young, said that the rupee would continue to rise against the dollar in the first few quarters of the next fiscal. “By the third quarter of the next year, the interest rate situation in the US will stabilise and that will prompt the dollar to gain ground against major currencies,” said Mr Parekh. More

The Hindu Business Line Today's Pick: Macmillan India (Rs 234) We recommend a buy in the stock of Macmillan India at current market price. From the weekly chart of Macmillan, we note that it has been on a long-term downtrend from its April 2006 high of Rs 550. After declining almost 63 per cent from the ... More

Woes of sugar industry likely to continue (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008) If it was a bitter year for the sugar sector in 2007, it is going to be still worse in 2008 unless some corrective measures taken to reverse the trend. “It seems the problems that hit the industry in 2007 will continue to dog till July-August period. Of all the problems, liquidity crunch will be the toughest,” says Mr R.S. Bhalerao, Secretary of the South Indian Sugar Mills Association (SISMA – Andhra Pradesh).Production The production has been pegged at 310 lakh tonnes (lt) for the whole of 2007-08 and the consumption requirement at 200 lt. “The remaining 110 lakh tonnes will have to be carried forward,” he said. More

Tremendous value to be unlocked in oil & gas biz (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008)The state-owned upstream giant ONGC has worked out an aggressive strategy for 2008. With a market capitalisation of about Rs 2,65,000 crore, it is set for an image makeover, enhance its core activity, and strike more strategic alliances to unlock further value. ONGC’s proven reserves today stand at about seven billion barrels of oil equivalent. More

Govt likely to arm NTPC with financial power (The Economic Times 1st Dec 2008)NTPC, the country’s largest state-owned power producer, may soon be armed with more financial power to compete with its private sector counterparts to bid for state sector projects. The government is considering a proposal to waive the ceiling of Rs 1,000 crore for equity investments by NTPC in power projects where competitive bids have been invited by state distribution licensees. The proposal, once approved, will enable NTPC to make equity investment of over Rs 12,000 crore in state projects to add over 10,000 MW of additional capacity. More

Videocon, Jindal Photo, NBCC, Indo Rama plan power foray (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008)A bevy of new power sector aspirants, including consumer electronic manufacturer Videocon Industries, Jindal Photo Ltd., polyester maker Indo Rama Synthetics and state-owned National Buildings Construction Company (NBCC), are in the fray for entering the thermal power generation business. This is despite the fact that operating small captive units is the only experience some of these firms have so far had in the power generation space. Interest in the sector is being mainly spurred by a perceived improvement in the bankability of the sector. More

Indian market doubles in value in 2007 (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008) The year 2007 will be remembered as one of the best years for stock investors as the domestic markets more than doubled in value. Market capitalisation of the Indian stock market stood at Rs 72 lakh crore, up by 118 per cent in the calendar year. Besides appreciation of listed entities, the rise in value was partly helped by blockbuster public offerings from ICICI Bank, DLF, PFC etc. Since 1992, when foreign institutional investors (FII) were first allowed to invest in Indian stock markets, this year ranks amongst the five best years for the benchmark indices. More Low-priced stocks steal the show on bourses (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008) The last day of the year on the stock markets saw low-priced stocks become the life and soul of the party, with a surge in retail investor interest. For the first time in recent months, the number of stocks that hit the upper circuit breached the 1,000 mark on Mon

High growth rate to repeat in 2008 (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008) The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, sounded confident and upbeat when Business Line caught up with him as 2007 rolled to an end. Though there are some murmurs that the economy could slow down in 2008, the Finance Minister did not reveal any trace of worry when asked about his projections for the coming year. Declining to get into any specifics, all that a smiling Finance Minister said was “let us see.” The clue to Mr Chidambaram’s confidence could be in his assessment that the current fiscal would see an economic growth of near 9 per cent. “I am not changing my growth forecast for 2007-08 and it continues to be close to 9 per cent. The average for the last four years has been 8.6 per cent. I am sure the growth in 2007-08 would also be at that average. For next year (2008-09), I am confident that with more investments taking place, we can aim to grow at 9 per cent.” This is what he said on the sidelines of a

HDFC to sell 7.15% in life venture to foreign partner (The Hindu Business Line 1st Jan 2008)Housing finance company HDFC said on Monday that it has agreed to sell 7.15 per cent stake in its life insurance joint venture - HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company - to its foreign partner, Standard Life (Mauritius ... More

Top 10 growth-oriented, open-ended mutual funds in 2007 Scheme NAV* (Rs) Returns (Per cent) Reliance Diversified Power Sector Fund 79.51 129.72 Taurus Discovery Stock 30.65 114.71 JM Basic Fund 38.09 113.71 Taurus Libra Taxshield 34.79 112.25 Standard Chartered Premier Equity Fund 25.56 108.16 ICICI Prudential Infrastructure Fund 34.65 99.2 Canara Robeco Infrastructure 26.30 97.45 Sundaram BNP Paribas Capex Opportunities Fund 32.77 96.73 Taurus The Starshare 77.08 96.18 Kotak Opportunities Fund 52.51 95.04 * As on Dec 13, 2007; Source: Rediff MoneyWiz

Dear Viewers Wish you all a very very happy & prospersous new year.

Mid & small cap stocks likely to outperform: PN Vijay (CNBC-TV18, Moneycontrol.com 29th Dec 2007) Portfolio Manager, P.N. Vijay told CNBC-TV18 India has shrugged of negative cues from Pakistan and mid & small cap stocks are likely to outperform. He adds that stocks have seen sharp gains recently and one should need to focus on stronger, largecap stocks. More

77% IPOs gave positive returns in 2007 (CNBC TV18, Moneycontrol.com 31st Dec 2007) A total of 101 IPOs listed in the year of 2007. 78 IPOs gave positive returns while the balance remained below issue price. 23 IPOs offered over 100% returns and 3 stocks jumped over 500%. Orbit Corp was the best performing IPO in 2007 whereas Broadcast Initiatives was worst performing. More

Fund houses say mkt fairly valued: Poll (CNBC TV 18 - Moneycontrol.com 31st Dec 2007)CNBC-TV18 has polled around 13-15 fund houses barring Reliance, Templeton Mutual Fund. According to the Mutual Fund poll, 82% of fund houses said that the market is fairly valued and rest said it is overvalued at current levels. Not a single fund house is saying that it is undervalued. More

Stay with Gati Corporation, says Gujral (Moneycontrol.com 31st DEc 2007)Technical Analyst, Ashwani Gujral is of the view that one can continue to hold Gati Corporation with a stoploss at breakeven and anytime he/she sees this move petering out probably book some profits.Gujral told CNBC-TV18, "The entire logistic space seems to be getting some movement back. Gati Corporation consolidated for a longtime, broke out above Rs 140. The theoretical target was around Rs 190 but one can continue to hold on with a stoploss at breakeven and anytime one sees this move petering out probably book some profits. More

Lanco Infratech bags order from AP Health & Medical (The Hindu Business Line 31st Dec 2007) Lanco Infratech Ltd has informed the BSE that Letters of Acceptance (LOA) were received from Andhra Pradesh Health & Medical Housing & Infrastructure Development Corporation (APHMHIDC), an Enterprise of Andhra Pradesh government, for the construc tion of 500 bedded hospital and ancillary structures, medical college and auditorium, hostels and staff quarters for Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) at Ongole in Prakasam District in Andhra Pradesh of a total contract Value of Rs 85.37 crore.

Hot picks for 2008 (Source : CNBC-TV18 at Moneycontrol.com 31st Dec 2007)Rahul Shah, Head - PCG, MF Global likes Simplex Infra, Ankur, Alembic Drugs and Pharma, Sea Marine and Great Offshore, reports CNBC-TV18. He believes 2008 will be the year where mid and small caps will out perform the largecaps. More

Market end in green on the last day of trading of the year 2007. Sensex closed at 20286.99 up 80.04 points and Nifty closed at 6138.60 up 58.90 points. BSE Midcap ended the year 214.92 point up at 9789.49. BSE Smallcap closed at 13348.37 up 447.08 point.

Twenty stocks for 2008 (Business Standard 31st Dec 2007) Adlabs Films Bank of Baroda Bharat Bijlee Bharati Shipyard BHEL Bharti Airtel Blue Star Dishman Pharmaceuticals Educomp Solutions HDFC India Infoline Jain Irrigation Jindal Saw Larsen & Toubro Maruti Suzuki ONGC Patel Engineering Reliance Communications Reliance Industries State Bank of India More

Sensex to give 15-20% returns in long-term: Quantum Adv (Moneycontrol.com 29th Dec 2007) Ajit Dayal of Quantum Advisors says Sensex has given compounded returns of 35% peranum in the last 7 years and one must not expect similar returns but returns of 15-20% over the long-term is possible.He further told CNBC-TV18 that valuations in India are not cheap but they are not near bubble phase either and so they are not uncomfortable with current valuations. At present at Quantum Advisors they have fairly low cash levels said Dayal.Excerpts from CNBC-TV18's exclusive interview with Ajit Dayal: Q: The expectation is that come January there is going to be big dollops of cash and that’s probably going to take the market a bit higher than where it is. Would you go with that theory? A: We have to go back a bit and look at- if you had put Rs 100 in the BSE 30 Index in January 2001, today that Rs 100 standing in December 2007, seven years later effectively would have been Rs 874. So that’s a pro

Bharti's EV works out to $2530/tower: Macquarie Research (Source : CNBC-TV18 - moneycontrol.com 31dec 2007) Bharti has sold 10% of its tower business for USD 1 billion. Shubham Majumder of Macquarie Research told CNBC-TV18 that the EV per tower works out to USD 2530/tower. The final EV decision would depend on achievement on operational and financial parameters, he said. The spectrum crunch would mean higher valuations for tower business and lower for core business, he feels. He gave a target price for Bharti at Rs 1400; Rs 250 from its tower business. His target price for Reliance Communications is at Rs 865; but he does not take into account the company’s GSM entry. More

Short-term outlook remains bullish (The Hindu Business Line 31st Dec 2007)As we prognosticated, Dalal Street raised the benchmark index above the crucial 20,000 mark close to its all-time high indeed in the last week of 2007. Even as the Sensex P/E raced to 27.5, one of the highest among all major markets, the FIIs dropped their reservations over its over-valuation and pressed buy buttons in the last three sessions of the past week. The short-term outlook for the Indian equity market seems to be bullish as many of the players are likely to join the catch-up game in the next few weeks. 2007, the fourth booming year in succession, placed Indian market firmly in the top bracket in terms of depth and the contribution of institutional trading moved up to 26 per cent from 23 per cent last calendar year. This underlined the qualitative change, underway on Dalal Street. Trading volumes jumped by over 65 per cent and institutional volume soared more than 80 per cent against that in 2006. More

Positive close seen to 2007 on bourses (The Economic Times 31st Dec 2007) Indian equities are seen closing on a positive note on the last day of the year, despite mixed cues from overseas. The indices are seen opening higher tracking Asian peers, but volumes are seen low on account of New Year’s Eve. “The Sensex has an immediate support around 19700-19800 and buying will emerge from those levels. We see the Sensex hitting 21000-21250 by next month” said Sandeep Wagle, chief technical analyst with Angel Broking. More

The Hindu Business Line Today's Pick: Bosch Chassis Sys (Rs 420.10) We recommend a buy in Bosch Chassis Systems India. From the charts of the Bosch Chassis Systems we see that it had been on a medium-term downtrend between June and October (from Rs 600 to Rs 350). However, the stock found support at around Rs 350 ... More

FIIs' net sell Rs 477cr in F&O on Friday (Business Standard 31st Dec 2007)The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 476.93 crore in the futures & options segment on Friday. More Week Ahead: Market likely to see volatility (Business Standard 31st Dec 2007) Markets are likely to head for volatility as the situation in Pakistan will determine investor sentiment. The last settlement of the year went through peacefully with a recovery driven by short-covering. Even Benazir's death failed to spark bearishness. The Sensex ended up 5.45 per cent week-on-week and closed at 20,206 points while the Nifty was up 5.43 per cent at 6079 points. The Defty gained 5.86 per cent as the rupee ended the year at 39.44/ USD. More

Spectrum war: DoT hits back at GSM players (The Economic Times 31st Dec 2007)The Department of Telecom (DoT) has challenged existing GSM operators who have been opposing the grant of Letters of Intent (LoIs) to new entrants. The DoT, in an internal note, has pointed out that some vested interests were creating misconception that LoIs should be issued to new players only if spectrum was available, even as all telecom policies since 2003 categorically stated that any number of LoIs could be issued to new players who want to enter the telecom sector. More

DTH players cry foul as taxes mount (The Economic Times 31st Dec 2007)Direct-to-home (DTH) operators have urged the government to rationalise the taxation structure on DTH service. In a letter to the Information & Broadcasting ministry, Essel Group’s Dish TV has said that even though DTH is considered to be a nascent segment, the levy of taxes by various government departments works out to be about 50%. The DTH operator has asked the government to categorise DTH players as service providers and thus entertainment tax should not be applicable on the sector. More

Reliance, Bata form alliance for footwear vertical (Economic Times 31st Dec 2007)Reliance Retail is ensuring it gets the widest possible reach for its footwear business. The company has entered into a strategic alliance with Bata India to jump-start its footwear vertical. With this alliance, Reliance will get access to India’s oldest and biggest footwear retailer’s 1,200 stores which are spread in every nook and corner of the country. Reliance Retail has entered into a distribution tie-up with Bata India to retail its private labels through Bata outlets, sources have confirmed. More

`NTPC equipment foray may get rolling in the next few weeks` (Business Standard 31st Dec 2007) NTPC Ltd, the country’s largest power generator, is planning to add 22,000 Mw capacity by 2012 — a challenging task at a time when there is a severe shortage of main power plant equipment as well as auxiliary equipment. More

E. Timor: IOC, Oil India may partner Reliance Ind (The Hundu Business Line 31st Dec 2007) Decks have been cleared for two of India’s large oil sector companies, Indian Oil Corporation and Reliance Industries Ltd, to jointly undertake oil and gas exploration abroad. IOC, along with Oil India Ltd, is now expected to join hands with RIL for exploration in the latter’s oil block in East Timor. Both the State-owned companies have obtained approval from their respective Boards to acquire equity in RIL’s asset as farm-in partners. More

Tata would like to retire after low cost car launch (Live mint.com 31st Dec 2007) Tata Group head, Ratan Tata, feels that after the successful launch of his dream project -- the Rs one-lakh car-- will ideally be the nice time for him to retire from active business life, reported Financial Times. “In an ideal world, after the small car has been launched and is successful, that would be a nice time for me to exit,” the newspaper quoted Tata as saying. Tata Motors, the automotive arm of the over Rs three- trillion market value group, is scheduled to unveil the vehicle, touted as the world’s cheapest mass-produced car, on 10 January at an auto expo in New Delhi. Rival car makers are, however, not convinced about the safety and emission standards of the car, coming as it is at that price level More

Liquidity strain likely to soften (Business Standard 31st Dec 2007) Liquidity is expected to ease gradually this week since the government is expected to pay the interest on its special deposit schemes. Moreover, there are no major outflows expected from the system as there are neither any liquidity-tightening measures nor any government-borrowing programme. Moreover, outflows towards advance taxes and the government auction in December are expected to come back to the system. RBI is also likely to mop up dollar funds that may flow into the system through private equity investments or the corporate sale of dollars. More Banks pushing for benchmark rate for term loans, deposits (The Hindu Business Line 31st Dec 2007)Once again, banks in India are trying to work out a transparent benchmark interest rate for term loans and deposits. Indian Banks Association (IBA) has renewed its initiative to work out an indicative inter-bank term money rate or Mumbai inter-bank offered rate (Mibor).

Technology sector outlook bullish; billion dollar deals in the offing (The Hindu Business Line 31st Dec 2007) 30 Top four IT services providers are poised to get lot bigger and possibly close two-three billion dollar plus acquisitions deals during the year even as there is move by MNCs to hive off internal business process outsourcing arms to third parties. The gap between the big four and other IT services providers is set to widen. However, those with specialised verticals and niche business would consolidate with smaller mergers and acquisitions, according to Mr Rajesh Jain, Head of ICE Practice at consultancy services firm KPMG. More

World's top IPO - $8-bn; India's total - $8.3-bn (The Financial Express 26th Dec 2007) Indian bourses saw over eight billion dollars worth of initial public offers in 2007, but this is just a shade higher than the world's single-largest IPO that was brought by a Russian company, latest data show. The worldwide IPO activity raised a record capital of 255 billion dollars till November in 2007, including 8.3 billion dollars on Indian bourses, according to data compiled by international consultancy firm Ernst and Young. India was the fifth largest market in terms of number of IPOs and seventh largest in terms of the proceeds for the year, E&Y said. More

Indian mkts least hit by Pak tragedy; end flat (Source : moneycontrol 28th Dec 2007) The markets ended flat amid a highly volatile session. The cues from Asian peers and other equity markets were not very encouraging. The news from across the border of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination has been very disturbing for the markets. The Indian markets were however resilient and outperformed rest of the Asia closing flat. Midcap and small cap stocks continued their upmove. FMCG, metal and realty stocks also witnessed buying interest. Profit booking has seen in select auto technology stocks. The breadth was strong in the favour of advances. Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and TCS were top losers on the bourses while DLF, Ambuja Cements, Tata Steel, Unitech, PNG and Nalco among top losers. Reliance Energy, Transformers & Rectifiers, RNRL and Reliance Industries were most active shares. More

DLF plans several listed subsidiaries (Live mint.com 28th Dec 2007) India’s largest listed developer, DLF Ltd, which raised some Rs9,000 crore in its first share sale in July, is looking at the possibility of selling stakes in various businesses that will become separate companies. “Each entity of DLF is phenomenally big. We are quite sure we want to go for a listing of each of the entities at a right time,” says Ramesh Sanka, DLF’s chief financial officer. “We will nurture them (entities) and then we will hive off whether it is insurance, telecom, hotels or even the residential business.” “In the next eight-nine months to three years, lots of listings will happen,” predicts Sanka. The offices’ arm of DLF is already getting indirectly listed through DLF Assets Pvt. Ltd, a unit. The company is looking at selling 10-20% stakes in the subsidiaries. More

Raja wants spectrum charges reworked; operators to pay more? (The Hindu Business Line 28th Dec 2007) In a move that could spell further problems for mobile operators, the Communications Minister, Mr A. Raja, has asked the Department of Telecom to review the spectrum charges being paid by service providers. Both the telecom regulator and the Telecom Engineering Centre have already recommended to the Government that spectrum charges should be enhanced. If the Government accepts these suggestions then it will be a double whammy for cellular operators as they are already reeling under DoT’s decision, on Wednesday, to enhance the number of subscriber required to be eligible for additional spectrum. DoT has been asked to give its recommendations within 15 days. More

Reliance Power: SEBI rules in favour of promoter contribution (The Hindu Business Line 28th Dec 2007) SEBI has ruled that shares issued by Reliance Power Ltd (RPL) to the promoters following the merger of an associate company with itself, can be counted for reckoning the minimum percentage of promoters’ contribution necessary in the context of its forthcoming public issue. A Rajkot based consumer protection group had argued before SEBI that shares acquired by the RPL promoters consequent to the merger ought not to be considered for this purpose. More

RCom sends legal notice against GSM spectrum plan (Live mint.com 28th Dec 2007) India’s second biggest mobile firm, Reliance Communications Ltd, or RCom, has served a legal notice on the government demanding stricter norms for allocating radio spectrum to rival GSM operators to run their networks. RCom, which offers phone services using a different technology, called CDMA, has asked the government to follow a formula worked out by the Telecom Engineering Centre, which proposed that operators serve up to 10 times the current customer base to qualify for additional spectrum used by phone firms to transmit voice signals. A Department of Telecommunications (DoT) committee last week recommended phone firms service up to four times the current subscriber base before any fresh allocation of airwaves. More

The Hindu Business Line Today’s Pick: Whirlpool of India (Rs 50.40) We recommend a buy in Whirlpool of India at current market price. It is clearly evident in the weekly chart of Whirlpool of India that it has been on a long-term uptrend since March 2007 trough of Rs 22. However, the stock met with a resistance ... More

Asian mkts shaken by Bhutto killing (The Economic Times 28th Dec 2007) Asian stocks fell on Friday as news of the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto and fears over regional political turmoil triggered a flight to less risky assets such as bonds and gold. Investors fear that Bhutto's killing on Thursday at a political rally in Rawalpindi could spark instability in the region and civil unrest within Pakistan. More Nikkei ends 2007 down 11%, first loss in 5 yrs (Live mint.com 28th Dec 2007) The Nikkei average ended 2007 with a loss for the year of 11% on Friday, its first fall in five years and making Tokyo the world’s worst-performing major stock market. The market reached its high for the year in February but was overshadowed by booming markets and vibrant economies elsewhere in Asia and in recent months has been dogged by the US subprime problems and resultant credit crunch. The year’s final trading day in Friday saw exporters such as Canon Inc among th

Inflation slips to 3.45% (Business Standard 28th Dec 2007) Driven by lower fruit, vegetable, chicken and imported edible oil prices, inflation based on the wholesale price index (WPI) declined to 3.45% for the week ended 15 December, 2007 when compared with 3.65% in the previous week. More Rupee eases as risk aversion rises (The Ecoomic Times 28th Dec 2007) Rupee eased on Friday on worries about foreign investors withdrawing funds as Asian stocks fell on fears of regional political turmoil following the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. More Core sector growth slips to 4.5% in October (The Hindu Bsiness Line 28th Dec 2007)The decline in production of crude petroleum, petroleum refinery products, cement, and carbon steel has pulled down the growth of the six infrastructure industries to 4.5 per cent in October 2007, compared with a growth of 9.9 per cent in the same month last year. According to data released by the Government on Thursday, the production

Empower Your IPO application (Outlook Money 19th Dec 2007) By the second week of November 2007, as many as 81 initial public offerings had listed on the National Stock Exchange this year -- significantly higher than the 73 and 50 issues in 200 and 2005, respectively. If you have never been to the great Indian IPO party but want to join in, you need to know that the way you fill up your application form could determine your chances of getting an allotment. Here's a beginners guide to scoring high by filling your IPO application right. More

How To Calculate CAGR (Outlook Money 19th Dec 2007 ) To know the rate of return from your investments for a period of more than one year, you need to calculate the compounded annual growth rate (CAGR). More

Balrampur Chini gets nod for Rs 159-cr pref issue (The Hindu Business Line 27th Dec 2007) Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd has informed the BSE that members at an EGM of the company on December 24 authorised the board to issue offer and allot up to 73 lakh equity shares of Re 1 each, at Rs 92 per share, and up to one crore warrants, each co nvertible within 18 months from allotment date into one fully paid up share, for cash at Rs 92 per warrant.

Shree Cement commissions Khushkhera grinding unit (The Hindu Business Line 27 Dec 2007) Shree Cement Ltd has informed the BSE that the company has commissioned its second 1.5 MTPA cement grinding unit at Khushkhera village near Gurgaon More

After a lot ups and downs market ended flat today. Sensex closed at 20208.20 a gain of 15.68 point, whereas Nifty closed at 6092.25 a positive move of 21.50points. Top gainers at BSE HDFC Bank 1,750.00(47.10, 2.77%) Wipro 549.30(13.60,2.54%) ITC 203.35(3.70,1.85%) ICICI Bank 1,242.00 (22.60,1.85%) Tata Steel 906.35 (13.60,1.52%) Telecom auto and pharma stocks shown weakness. Major laggards Tata Motors 736.70 (-15.40, -2.05%) Satyam 451.40 (-7.90 , -1.72 %) Reliance Comm 730.80 (-12.35 , -1.66 %) Bharti Airtel 966.30 (-16.25 ,-1.65 %) Ranbaxy Labs 411.50 (-4.00 ,-0.96 %) Larsen 4,160.70 (-33.15, -0.79 %) Grasim 3,590.00 (-27.05 ,-0.75 %) SBI 2,382.70 (-16.65 ,-0.69 %) Mah and Mah 827.90 (-5.65,-0.68 %) Infosys 1,804.30 (-9.30 ,-0.51 %) BSE Midcap index closed at 9438.04 up by 37.18 point and BSE Smallcap index closed at 2621.82 up by 279.33 point.

L&T eyes water treatment biz (Live mint.com 27th Dec 2007)Engineering and construction company Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) is forming a separate division within the company ahead of a big push into water treatment business as a developer. M.V. Kotwal, senior executive vice-president and member of the board, L&T, said: “We are planning a big thrust in this area and would bid for water projects as well. Presently, we are only offering turnkey construction services.” The new division would take care of the water business that will include projects in the areas of water treatment, desalination, recycling and distribution. More

Washington Post reports that cash strapped small scale induestries are unable to afford the changes necessary to become more energy-efficient and curb green house gas emission. The paper further quotes a World Bank study which says India's 4.5 million small and medium enterprises, with their obsolete technology, produce 70 percent of India's industrial pollution. >More

Midcap stocks you shouldn't ignore! (CNBC TV 18 - Moneycontrol.com 27th Dec 2007)Speaking to CNBC-TV 18, Harit Shah of Angel Broking identified Tanla Solutions, 3i Infotech and Sasken as his favourite midcap picks. He has a target of about Rs 750 on Tanla Solutions. He has a target of about Rs 180 on 3i Infotech. Shah gives a target of about Rs 395 on the Sasken. More

UB group ups stake in Deccan Aviation by 3% (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) UB group has increased its stake in low-cost airline firm Deccan Aviation by almost 3% through market purchases, stock exchange data showed on Wednesday. UB group firm Kingfisher Radio, that runs Kighfisher Airlines, purchased a total of four million shares (2.95%) on Wednesday on BSE and NSE combined at Rs 275 each. Most of the shares were purchased from Money Matters Advisory and Money Matters (India), according to the BSE and NSE data. More

The Hindu Business Line Today's Pick: Wanbury (Rs 149.60) We recommend a buy in Wanbury at current market price. From the weekly chart of Wanbury it is clear that it has been on a steady long-term uptrend since the March 2007 low of Rs 99. However, the stock met with a significant long-term ... More

Asian markets mostly up; Nikkei down 83pts (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007)The Hang Seng has moved up 58 points to 28,187. The Shanghai Composite index has gained 28 points at 5261. More FIIs' net buys Rs 845cr in F&O on Wednesday (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) The Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers to the tune of Rs 844.89 crore in the futures & options segment on Wednesday. More Dow ends flat; ADRs shine (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007)The Wall Street ended on a flat note yesterday. The Dow Jones industrial average was up two points at 13,552. The Nasdaq moved up 11 points to 2724.Indian ADRs ended on a firm note. More Oil holds firm below $96 (The Economic Times 27th Dec 2007)Oil held steady just below $96 a barrel on Thursday after a three-day rally, as traders awaited a sixth-weeekly decline in U.S. crude inventories and attached a bigger supply-risk premium to Turkish bombing in northern Iraq. More Rupee opens flat (The Economic Times

Daimler's 60% stake in bus & truck JV with Hero (The Economic Times 27th Dec 2007)German auto major Daimler will hold 60% stake in its commercial vehicle joint venture in India with the Hero group holding the remaining 40%. The total investment in the project will be around Rs 3,500 crore, although the final numbers are still being worked out. Daimler’s investment in the venture will be around Rs 1,650 crore. This pegs the equity component of the Rs 3,500-crore project at around Rs 2,750 crore. More

Reliance, IOC to go slow on city gas venture (The Hindu Business Line 27th Dec 2007)Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) and Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) have decided to go slow on their proposed joint venture for city gas distribution. “The two companies have decided to wait for the final guidelines for development of city or local natural gas distribution networks before formalising their joint venture,” sources said. The draft guidelines put out by the Petroleum & Natural Gas Regulatory Board (P&NGRB) have proposed calling bids for the projects. More

Energy sector needs Rs 480,000 crore: CII (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) The country’s power and upstream energy sectors need investments of around Rs 480,000 crore to Rs 600,000 crore ($120-150 billion) in the next five years, according to a report jointly released by the CII and KPMG. More

Cement companies escape CCI noose (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) The cement companies that were found guilty of cartelisation by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) would have had to pay a hefty fine had the Competition Commission of India (CCI) been functional. Under the Competition Act, 2007, which is yet to be notified, there is a provision that the companies guilty of cartelisation will have to pay a fine up to 10 per cent of their turnover or three times the net profit. If the penalty of 10 per cent of the turnover is imposed on 41 out of 44 guilty companies, including Larsen & Tubro, Shree Cement, JK Cement, the amount comes up to a whopping Rs 3,600 crore. And if the penalty of three times the profits is ordered by CCI, then Associated Cement Company and Ambuja Cement alone will have to pay fine of over Rs 7,000 crore. More

Why markets rally in last week of December? (The Economic times 27th Dec 2007)If you are looking for reasons pointing to the surge in equity markets and can’t find any, well then try an unconventional explanation. Go back to history, if the last ten years data is to go by, the markets have posted positive returns, or in other words rallied in the last week of every year. Further, FII inflows have also been positive during the same period, contrary to popular belief that they usually stay away from the markets due to holiday season. More Mid & small-cap stocks maintain momentum (The Hindu Business Line 27th Dec 2007) Mid-cap and small-cap stocks have been attracting investors’ interest relentlessly. The BSE data on circuit summary, new high/low and advance/decline ratio has revealed the investors’ fancy. Circuit summary data on the BSE for Wednesday shows that 771 stocks have hit the upper circuit against 54 stocks that hit the lower circuit. Of these, four belong to Group-A. If a

Banks get trapped in bulk deposits war (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) A top official at the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) was having a discussion with the then two managing directors of State Bank of India (SBI) at the skyscraper headquarters of the country’s largest bank. IBA’s agenda was to get SBI to agree to douse the bidding war for corporate deposits, with successive cash reserve ratio (CRR) hikes and continued high credit growth having made banks run helter-skelter for resources. More Bonds gain from RBI’s focus on stability (The Hindu Business Line 27th Dec 2007)Bond markets were stable during the year virtually fire-walled from the turmoil in the foreign exchange markets through both active and passive interventions by the country’s banking regulator, the Reserve Bank of India. The passive interventions were more by way of sending signals through moral suasion, a euphemism for speeches and by the RBI’s Governor/Deputy Governors and periodic press releases. Bankers take

COAI legal notice to DoT on spectrum (Business Standard 27th Dec 2007) Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI), the GSM operators’ body, has served a legal notice to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) seeking withholding of spectrum issuance till the hearing of the issue.In the petition that was filed before the Delhi High Court, COAI has challenged the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal’s (TDSAT) decision of not staying the spectrum allocation process. The case would come for hearing on January 3, 2008. More Govt accepts TRAI formula on spectrum (The Hindu Business Line 27th Dec 2007) In a bid to end the ongoing controversy over spectrum allocation to GSM-based mobile operators, the Government today accepted the spectrum review committee’s recommendation of allocating additional frequency to existing GSM operators based on the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) subscriber-linked formula and in multiples of 1 MHz. It has also decided to file

Market continued its upward movement today and closed over 20100 mark. Sensex closed at 20199.52 up 345.40 points and Nifty closed at 6070.50 up by 85.40 point. Buying was seen in auto, capital goods, metal, power, oil and banking stocks. However, it was not a very good day for IT stocks, select IT stocks closed in red. Todays top gainers are Hindalco(209.40, ++ 4.18%), DLF (1,013.95, ++ 4.35%), SBI (2,399.35, + 2.97%) , Reliance(2,896.70, 3.90%), Zee Entertainment(321.60,+5.43%), Tata Steel (892.75 , +3.51%), Reliance Petroleum (223.85, +3.39%) and BPCL (475.45, +5.46%) while losers - Sun Pharma ( 1,207.15, -2.28% ), TCS ( 1,097.75, -.99% ), ONGC ( 1,236.20, -.90% ) . Sectoral Indexes BSE IT 4591.87 10.26 BSE Healthcare 4315.91 21.08 BSE FMCG 2232.84 14.10 BANKEX 11290.08 188.34 BSE Auto 5642.90 56.07 BSE TECK 4005.05 43.09 BSE PSU 10026.23 196.22 BSE BSE Midcap closed at 9400.86 up by 189.15 points and BSE Smallcap index closed at 12342.49 up by 361.92 points.

Spice to sell 875 towers, raise $800mn debt (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007)The board of directors of Spice Communications, which met on December 25, 2007, approved a proposal to sell 875 telecom towers of the company to a tower operating Company. More

L&T arm bags Rs 748cr contracts in Oman (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has received three orders worth over Rs 748 crore ($190 million) from Dhofar Power Company (DPC) and Muscat Electricity Distribution Company for electrical substations and associated works and for executing the Muscat Golf Course in Oman. More

Videocon to invest $5 billion on building three power projects (Live mint.com 26th Dec 2007)Consumer electronic maker Videocon Industries on Wednesday said it will set up thermal power projects aggregating 5,000 MW in Gujarat, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh along with a international player. The company plans to invest $5 billion on building three power plants. The firm said it would foray into the sector by setting up a 1,600 MW imported coal-based power plant in Gujarat and has invited bids from global EPC contractors for this purpose. More

Maruti to raise vehicle prices in January (Live mint.com 26th Dec 2007)Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, said on 26 December it will raise prices of some vehicles by 2-3% in January because of higher raw-material costs. Maruti, a unit of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, will raise prices by Rs4,000-12,000 ($100-$300), a spokesman said. The company’s models include the Alto and Swift hatchback. It started a scheduled plant shutdown for maintenance on Sunday, and will resume production on 2 January, the spokesman said. More

Re may not weaken beyond 39.85: HDFC Bk (CNBC TV 18, moneycontrol.com)The currency market is going to get important as we step into earnings and it's been showing some strength to dollar for itself globally. Ravi Pai, Head Forex & Derivatives at HDFC Bank, believes the rupee will not break the current range in the next couple of weeks or so. It may weaken a bit, but not beyond 39.85, reports CNBC-TV18. More

Warren E. Buffett secured a $4.5 Billion deal for a 60 percent stake in Marmon Holdings after just two weeks of talks. New York Times further reports that Mr. Buffett’s firm, Berkshire Hathaway would acquire the remaining 40 percent of Marmon over the next five or six years at a price that would be based on the future earnings of the company. In 2006, Marmon posted revenue of $7 billion and profit of $1 billion from operations like wire and cable, railroad tank cars and water treatment systems. More

An expanding foreign appetite for capital goods such as tractors, medical equipment and electrical machinery is driving much of the boom. Much of that growth is in China, the fourth-largest export market for U.S. goods, where U.S. sales are growing 17 percent this year, according to federal officials. In the first nine months of this year, sales of U.S. aircraft to China are up 30 percent and plastics are up 37 percent. More

Although there is a surge in holiday spending over the weekend but the growth could be the lowest in last five years. Washington Post further reports that according to the National Retail Federation in Washington high Gasoline price ( at $3 a gallon) and rising food prices have discouraged shoppers from spending during November and December, which account for 20 percent of retailers' annual revenue. Read more

Finquest's top midcap picks (CNBC TV 18 - moneycontrol.com 26th Dec 2007)Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Sejal Doshi, CEO, Finquest said that his top midcap picks are Garware Wall Ropes and Gammon India. Doshi added that Fareware Wall Ropes is widening its applications. Finquest likes the business model, where there is a CAGR growth of sales of 26%, over the next three years and profit growth of 35%. Doshi commented that they like Gammon India because of the embedded value, which are there in their infrastructure subsidiaries. They believe it will provide an upside to the valuations. .. More

The Hindu Business Line Today's Pick: Geometric (Rs 85.55) We recommend a buy in Geometric. It is evident from the weekly chart of Geometric that it had been on a long-term downtrend from June high of Rs 131 to November low of Rs 70. The stock found support at Rs 70 and began moving higher. During this ... More The Economic Times Mahindra & Mahindra CMP: RS 823.55 Target price: RS 939 Jaiprakash Hydro-Power CMP: RS 125.60 Target price: Tata Chemicals CMP: RS 386.20 Target price: RS 444

Nikkei up over 30pts on US cues (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) The Nikkei was firm in Morning deals today following the rally in the US markets on Monday. FIIs net buyers of Rs 1,986cr in F&O (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) Foreign institutional investors were net buyers to the tune of Rs 1,986 crore in the futures & options (F&O) market on Monday, December 24.

Banking, telecom set to ring in robust Q3 (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) The corporate earnings in the second quarter ended September 2007 were driven by the strong performance of banking and financial services, capital goods and telecom sectors. According to research analysts, the third quarter earnings will be more or less driven by these sectors. The impact of the rupee appreciation will continue to haunt export-oriented units, leading to lower export growth in rupee terms. More

ONGC-Mittal JV bags block in Trinidad (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) Steel baron Lakshmi N Mittal’s joint venture with ONGC Videsh (OVL) has won an exploration block with estimated gas reserves of two trillion cubic feet (tcf) in Trinidad and Tobago. ONGC-Mittal Energy beat UK’s Centrica to bag the offshore block, a company official said. More

Is IFCI destined to remain single? (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) Be it a stroke of luck or a jinx, the country’s oldest financial institution, IFCI, will remain single , thanks to all the failed efforts to find a suitor or a partner to merge with. Although it found a suitor in the Vedanta group company Sterlite Industries-led consortium for offloading a 26 per cent stake but could not accept the conditions of handing over the management control to the strategic partner. Earlier, two efforts of IFCI to merge with PNB and IDBI ever since 2004, remained fruitless. More

SBI to wrap up mergers by 2009 (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) State Bank of India plans to merge all the associate banks with itself by March 2009. This step is to prepare the bank to face the intensely competitive banking environment in India, which is likely to see greater room for international players post April 2009. The proposal for merger of State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with SBI will go before the Union cabinet, which is expected to give its nod soon. More

NTPC’s maiden coal mine foray facing delays (The Hindu Business Line 26th Dec 2007)NTPC Ltd’s coal mining foray is in for delays, with the commissioning of the generation major’s first mine all set to miss a revised deadline of March 2008. Possession of land by NTPC for the project is running way behind schedule and a proposed railway linkage to be built for moving coal out of the mine is facing tardy progress. NTPC’s Pakri Barwadih block in Jharkhand is now being tentatively targeted for commissioning by end-2008, according to NTPC officials. The block was originally scheduled to be commissioned by December 2007, which was revised to March 2008. More NTPC, Arunachal in power struggle (Business Standard 26th Dec 2007) NTPC Ltd, the country’s largest power utility, has decided not to take lying down the scrapping of two of its hydro-power projects in Arunachal Pradesh. The state government had scrapped the projects, totalling 4,500 Mw, after NTPC declined to pay the upfront fee demand

ITI Ltd seeks Rs2,000 crore aid from government (Live mint.com 26th Dec 2007) The funds are being sought to wipe out accumulated losses of Rs2,225 crore and to obtain working capital for telecom equipment manufacturing. According to a company official who did not wish to be named, a committee has been set up by the Centre to finalize the package. More

Netizens drive up sales of automobile companies (The Hindu Business Line 26th Dec 2007)Surging number of surfers in the country is not only bringing windfall gains for the Internet portal business, but auto finance companies, dealers and manufacturers are also grabbing a fair share of the increased sales driven by savvy netizens. Mumbai-based CarWale.com is one among the mushrooming online car portals that is being leveraged by players to tap into the online market. As a one-stop shop for all models, dealers and road prices, its blogs and product reviews attract buyers and sellers in both the new and used car market. More

New private sector banks growing faster than the industry (The Hindu Business Line 26th Dec 2007)The country’s newly licensed private sector banks’ business has, in recent years, grown nearly twice (1.75 times) as fast as that of the banking industry as a whole. This is revealed by an analysis of the data from the RBI publication (Trends and Progress of Banking in India) on deposits and advances mobilised by the industry between 2001-02 and 2006-07. Growth rate The banking industry’s business grew from Rs 18.51 lakh crore as of March 2002 to Rs 46.19 lakh crore by March 2007. The annual growth rate calculated on a compounded basis worked out to roughly 20 per cent.In contrast, the new private sector banks registered a growth of roughly 35 per cent per annum, having grown from Rs 1.64 lakh crore to Rs 7.36 crore during the same period. More PSU banks see need for hiring specialists (The Hindu Business Line 26th Dec 2007) Faced with stiff competition from new generation private sector i

Singapore co to invest Rs 750 cr in India Infoline, arm (The Hindu Busienss Line 24th Dec 2007) India Infoline Ltd on December 24 announced that Orient Global of Singapore has proposed to buy 3.7 million shares of the company, representing 6.48 per cent of the current equity capital, for Rs 555 crore. more

'Check with us before investing in IPOs' (The Hindu Business Line 24th Dec 2007) The Government on Monday asked the investors planning to put their money in IPOs to check with the ministry of corporate affairs on issues such as the promoters' track record and regulatory compliances. Investors should verify the track record of the company and its promoters, compliance status with various regulations and whether any of its officers had been found guilty of economic offence, the ministry of corporate affairs said.

Sensex today closed 691.55 point up at 19854.12 , Nifty was up 218 points at 5985.10. It is the 6th bigeest gain in oneday. Today's main contributors are IT stocks. Wipro was up at 535.30 (+8.86%), Infosys up at 1810.90(+6.63%) and Satyam closed at 454.55 up by 6.28%. The buying activity was wide-base and lifted almost all the sectoral indices. Sector wise performance was as follows - BSE IT 4581.61 (+260.98) BSE Healthcare 4294.83(+52.30) BSE FMCG2218.74(+20.29) BANKEX 11101.74 (+363.15) BSE Auto5586.83(+45.57) BSE TECk3961.96 (+185.00) BSE PSU 9830.01 (+317.11) Today BSE Midcap closed at 9211.71 up by 186.17 and BSE Smallcap index closed at 11980.57 up by 167.25 points.

Suzlon to supply wind turbines to ONGC (Live mint.com 24th Dec 2007) World’s fifth largest wind turbine maker Suzlon Energy said it has secured an order from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to supply wind turbines with a total capacity of 51 MW on 24 December. The order, to be supplied in 34 units of the company’s 1.5 MW turbines, would be installed as part of a project at Kutch in Gujarat, the company informed the BSE.

Banking stocks worth investing in (rediff.com 24th Dec 2007) Public sector banks will take a few more years to match the valuations of private banks, but only if they resolve the key issues that are restricting their growth. In a volatile market, it is a dilemma to choose between value (slow growth, low valuation) and growth stocks (high growth, high valuation). A classic example to prove this fact is the Indian banking sector, which is dominated by large number of public sector banks (PSBs) which come under the value category whereas the private banks are classified as growth stocks.

Gujarat NRE completes acquisition of Australian mine (The Hindu Business Line 24th Dec 2007)Gujarat NRE Coke on Monday said that it has completed the acquisition of the Australia-based Elouera mine from BHP Billiton, a part of the Australia-based Illawarra Coal Business for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was made by Gujarat NRE Resources NL (Gujarat), the Australian flagship firm of the Gujarat NRE Coke group, the producer of metallurgical coke informed the BSE. The coal lease and associated licences, including the mine, would be transfer red along with associated land holdings and the responsibility for rehabilitation and closure of the mine once operations are complete. Post-transfer, the mine would be re-christened NRE Wongawilli, the company said, adding that the acquisition would gi ve Gujarat NRE group ready infrastructure, including mining equipment and railway access to Port Kembla.

Americans’ debt woes expand as defaults on credit card bills soar (live mint.com 24th Dec 2007) Americans are falling behind on their credit card payments at an alarming rate, sending delinquencies and defaults surging by double-digit percentages in the last year and prompting warnings of worse to come. An Associated Press analysis of financial data from the country’s largest card issuers also found that the greatest rise was among accounts more than 90 days in arrears. Experts say these signs of deterioration of finances of many households are partly a byproduct of the subprime mortgage crisis and could spell more trouble ahead for an already sputtering economy. “Debt eventually leaks into other areas, whether it starts with the mortgage and goes to the credit card or vice versa,” said Cliff Tan, a visiting scholar at Stanford University and an expert on credit risk. “We’re starting to see leaks now.”

The Hindu Business Line Today's Pick: Bajaj Auto Finance (Rs 370.05) We recommend a buy in Bajaj Auto Finance. The chart reveals that the stock had been on a long-term downtrend, from the May peak of Rs 518 to November trough of Rs 306. However, it appears to have found support at around Rs 306 in mid November. ... More The Economic Times Northgate Technologies : Citigroup Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 580 Centurion Bank of Punjab Research: Credit Suisse Rating: Underperform CMP: Rs 55 Indian Oil Research: ABN Amro Bank Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 628 ICICI Bank Research: CLSA Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 1,157 DLF Research: Merrill Lynch Rating: Buy CMP: Rs 961 Business Standard Savita Chemicals