Expert Zone
Straight from the Specialists
India markets weekahead: Await breakout or breakdown
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
It was a volatile trading week with lots of stock-specific action driving Indian markets. Jittery world markets, earnings disappointments from front-line companies and a weakening rupee erased gains registered early in the week.
Results season has been a mixed set with more negative surprises. Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank and Infosys were some prominent bright spots, while TCS, HCL Tech, L&T, JSW Steel, Crompton Greaves and Idea Cellular disappointed.
Reliance also reacted as the stock had run up before the results. On the positive side, the strike at Maruti’s Manesar plant has finally ended and hopefully this should be a long-term solution.
Making your mind up in India
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
When I tell people at a dinner party in London that I’ve just been to India — which I sometimes do because I’m frequently in India and I lived in Mumbai once — people very often say to me, ‘Oh, how wonderful! I went there once. India’s so spiritual isn’t it?’ So I reply ‘Well, it probably is, but not the bits I go to’. By which I mean Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and all that — bustling, busy, commercial and industrial India isn’t remotely spiritual. Or am I missing something?
Road to stress-free retirement years
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Retirement is not the end of the road; it is the beginning of yet another fabulous journey. After all the gruelling years of hard work, a calm and stress-free retirement is the best reward one can get. So how do we ensure we spend our sunset years without worrying about any liquidity crunch? Here is an overview to help you live life on your own terms after retirement.
Change in inflation behaviour
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
Since the beginning of this year, particularly after May, there has been a visible change in the behavior of inflation. In the food sector, it has slowed down; in the industry sector, it has picked up. The latter is the secondary effect of food inflation coming through cost of production in industry.
India markets weekahead: Lack of adverse news enough to sustain markets
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
In one of the best weeks in recent times, we saw the broader indexes move up over four pct supported by positive FII statistics, better than estimated results from Infosys and lack of adverse international news flow.
Too many questions, no convincing answers
(Nipun Mehta is an award-winning private banker with many years of experience across Asia. The views expressed in the column are his own and not those of Reuters)
If one were to evaluate global events of the last four years dispassionately, the subprime mess in the U.S. and the imminent debt default by Greece (and four other countries to a lesser extent) and the resultant crisis in the euro zone have virtually held the global economy to ransom.
Is Indian Customs going global?
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs has ushered in a slew of measures to facilitate trade in recent times.
Markets weekahead: Infosys results, IIP data to determine trend
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
The Nifty regained the 4,900 mark after plunging to approximately 4,750 levels during the week, as Indian indices played catch-up with a rally in global indices later in the week on hopes that Europe will recapitalise its banks to tame the euro zone debt crisis.
If the U.S. slips into recession
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
In his testimony to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke described the U.S. economy as “close to faltering”. That is disconcerting enough. But with the EU also on the edge of a financial crisis, the threat to the world economy can be enormous.
A quick guide to understand your risk profile
(The views expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not represent those of Reuters)
“Risk is a part of God’s game, alike for men and nations” – Warren Buffett
