DLF will Join IPO Boom afterall!

With the stock markets Up and then down, and then up. And soothsayers sayers, both bears and bull, giving their verdict only after each climb or slide, but never before.

It is as if the World Economy changes overnight. One week the fundamentals are very strong, the next week the markets are overheated. One week, we see nothing wrong in the sustained correction, the other week, the market is beating the trend.
I should I should also become a market analyst.
They never seem to go wrong, because they always do posts analysis.

It made DLF, the largest real estate major real worried. DLF have been mulling with the IPO for ages now, but the market always go the wrong way, there is a correction, and then the real easte stocks also took a beating. Last few weeks have been good, and now DLF don't want to wait.

They are comming with a 2 Billion Dollars Plus issue. 8750 to 9625 crore to be precise. 500 to 550 per share. All the best to you all.

Of Retail Chain and Big Corporates

Shop keepers, what they call Retail chains, become big corporates sometime. So Big, at times, that a string of shops started buy a shopkeeper called Sam Walton is today's Biggest Corporate, with revenues more than the GDP of any medium sized nations.

And so are some other retail chains.
At least in the US, and Europe where Big businesses have thrived, and some Asian countries where Big businesses have begum to thrive, Big businesses have rarely tried to build a retail or shops of thier big corporates.

I mean Retail Chains have become Big Corporates, but have seen any big corporates becoming retail chains? GE, The GM, Nike?

For that matter even Virgin?

Then, why are all the Indian Corporate Biggies rushing into the Retail bandwagon?

I will bet on pantaloon Retail and Subhiksha anyday over Reliance and Birla.
Bharti!!! They are the smarter of the lot, are they? Supply Chain and Intrastructures and all that?
In the californian Gold Rush, the ones who sold shovels made the fortunes.

Why I am worried about Big corporates going retail is that Retail is a low margin Business, and many Many Retailers going bankrupt in the past. Only one retailer can squeeze the margin, and it hits the rest.

For a traditional company making an X% ROI, starting a new venture from scratch, that will give less than X% ROI don't make too sound business sense, does it?
Core Competence anyone?

Mahinda Renault Logan

Saw the New Logan yesterday on the road. It looks very ordinary for a newly launched car. I wouldn't want to buy it.

Been thinking of going for a diesel car, what with my car giving 10-11 kms with the AC on in the delhi heat.

Then I did a little maths, and found that paying a couple of lakhs or about on a diesel car don't make as good an economic sense as we percieve. [I am not taking about the Logan here which is not too expensive]. I was comparing Verna Diesel and Petrol. 1.5 lakhs is about 3500 more on the EMI. Driving 1000 KMs a months, diesel would only save you as much... So it is the same after all.... :)

Reliance woos Bata

For a tie-up..

Reliance wants to sell BATA footwear and wants BATA to sell Reliance footwear. What a fit?
As I keep saying, Realiance was good in commodities marketing, to industrial buyers. The consumer face of reliance have never been... umm like other consumer facing companies. It has a stodgy, PSUis feel to it. So does Bata, what a Fit!!

Health Conscious Anthony!

Did I mention that I have started to run.. After a long time..

Today was my second day, and I actually enjoyed. My limbs took to running quite well.
But then I had started gym also, some weeks back.. Ah Egg whites and all that.

I grew up in a boarding school, and running was actually a ritualistic punishment from which we got a break only on sundays.. The shrill whistle that broke our early morning dreams, and man, the best dreams only used to visit in the early mornings... Dreams with the favorite teacher I had a crush on blah blah blah :)

I am up at 6 AM past 2 days, and plan to do so for a long time now... I just sit tooo long in my work hours. Need to run for my life....

Health Conscious Anthony!

Did I mention that I have started to run.. After a long time..

Today was my second day, and I actually enjoyed. My limbs took to running quite well.
But then I had started gym also, some weeks back.. Ah Egg whites and all that.

I grew up in a boarding school, and running was actually a ritualistic punishment from which we got a break only on sundays.. The shrill whistle that broke our early morning dreams, and man, the best dreams only used to visit in the early mornings... Dreams with the favorite teacher I had a crush on blah blah blah :)

I am up at 6 AM past 2 days, and plan to do so for a long time now... I just sit tooo long in my work hours. Need to run for my life....

NTPC Airs Wind Energy

Vinod Midas Khosla maynot think that wind might be as good a moneyt spinner as Solar Thermal power plants, but PSU giant NTPC is looking at wind energy when it decided to diversify its power portfolio. NTPC might have been looking at Suzlon and the Likes and their stock prices, but Solar thermal plants would have made more long term economic sense.


Solar thermal Power plants use concentrated solar heat, much the way kids use a lens to burn papers. It uses millions of mirrors to focus solar ray to produce heat which will produce steam to turn turbines.

I have read about a smelting furnace somewhere in France. Couldn't google it just now.[Oh here it is ]My school project was multiple mirror solar cooker. My dream have been to concentrate wind power by using the concept of nozzle, as a school inventor :)

Productivity of US and Indian IT professionals?

US IT Professionals More Productive than Indian IT professionals?

That is what a report says based on revenues per employee.
I won't go into explaining how the profitability of many Indian IT companies are better than US IT companies lest I should digress.

But that US IT Professionals are More Productive than Indian IT professionals is grossly mis-stated/analysed.

Revenue Per Employee of an US IT company can not be compared to an Indian It company. The day the two becomes comparable, US Lobbyist and IT professionals will stop crying about being bangalored.

A thousand dollars is still a lot of money, the appreciating Rupee not withstanding, and so, Indian IT companies are OK when they bill an US client 2 thousand dollars for an Indian programmer, because we are going to pay the prgrammer 1000 dollars for the same kind of work that his US counterpart who leaves office at 4 PM on a friday, does, and yet gets paid 5000 dollars . To pay 5000 dollars, taking the same logic(The figures are just hypothetical, I can give exact number if you want), the US IT company needs to bill the client 10000 dollars... That is 5 times.. :)

That is why INDIA is such a hot destination. If Indian Companies start billing the client as much as the US counterpart, the Industry will be dead before the Estimate hits the inbox of the client.

The report was fine, and going by the definition of productivity defined in terms of revenue per employee it is fine, but the report needs to be interpreted in a more logical way, no?

Disclaimer: I work for an US IT company, and have wokred for Indian IT companies as well, and have been actively involed in Estimatation process. The numbers I quote are just figurative to drive home the argument.

And yes, on output terms, and delivery, Indian IT pros are very good.

Moving to own Domain??

Been thinking of moving to my own domain, and publish using wordpress for sometime now.. OK why I haven't been posting too often.. I have spending most of my waking hours at work place... and Blogger is not accessible.. and general lethargy too..

A new domain might break the inertia, and motivate me to start posting again. I do have a blog domain, that I registered. I wanted a couple of Like Minded Happy People to start posting. The idea was too if I could have that as a separate blog. Well, it grounded after a few weeks..

I am planning to blog there full time.

Lets see..

The Stock market's been hot Like crazy..
I am making money on good stocks and losing on speculative derivatives.
How many times have I told myself that if there were even 1% luck factor, I would be unlucky...

Despite getting good returns on things I am certain about, the Uncertain never ceases to tempt me.