WORLDS CHEAPEST TABLET AAKASH LAUNCHED .....

Issue 12

Oct 3 Oc t 9

2011

GOVT MAY ALLOW 100%

IN SINGLE-BRAND RETAIL.....2
FDI

YAHOO!

PREPARING FOR POSSIBLE SALE ......3

Weekly

Website: www.finx.in Email: finx@sscbsdu.ac.in

STAY HUNGRY . STAY FOOLISH. Steve Jobs

pulse

Steve Jobs, RIP

Steve Jobs, 56, the mastermind behind Apple's iPhone, iPad, iPod, iMac and iTunes died peacefully, surrounded by his family members on Oct 7, 2011. The cofounder and, until last August, CEO of Apple Inc was the most celebrated person in technology and business on the planet. Jobs cofounded Apple Computer in 1976 and, with his childhood friend Steve Wozniak in his car garage and now Apple is the second most-valued company in the world with market capitalization of $354 billion. Fans worldwide mourned over his death, paying tribute to the man who changed industries, redefined business models, fused technology and art.

Worlds Cheapest Tablet Aakash Launched at $35

HRD minister Kapil Sibal unveiled the 7 inches and 400gms, world's cheapest tablet computer, the Aakash tablet which will be made available to college students for ` 1,750 ($35); while the cost of production is ` 3,000. The difference will be subsidised by the govt. The device is made by Datawind, a UKbased company and will have 256 MB of RAM, a 2GB SD memory card, a 32 GB expandable memory slot and two USB ports. It run on Android 2.2 and will have WiFi connectivity. However, Android Marketplace cannot be accessed. It has a very slow 366 MHz processor and its rated battery life is only three hours. Hence, price isnt everything; in digital access features are more important.

Banks Downgraded Across the Globe

Moodys Investors Service downgraded the standalone rating of State Bank of India to D+ from C-. The reason given were low capital adequacy and recent failure to raise capital. This has prompted government assessment of all PSU banks capital requirements and outlook on asset quality. Moodys also cut the senior debt and deposit ratings of 12 UK financial institutions including Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), Clydesdale Bank and Lloyds Banking Group as the likelihood of government crisis support decreases.

Govt considering 100% FDI in Single-Brand Retail

At present, only 51% foreign direct investment is allowed in single brand retail and the government is thinking to raise this limit to 100% sending positive signals to foreign investors. However, this move will be accompanied by a tightening of norms for the sector which started with the new rule, issued on September 30, which makes it mandatory for the foreign investor to own the brand that it intends to retail in India. This will also encourage foreign brands currently in joint venture with Indian partners to take over entire ownership. Reliance Retail has a joint venture with Marks and Spencers while Tata Trent has tied up with Spanish fashion retailer Inditex Group that owns the Zara brand. Global retail chains such as Walmart, Tesco and Carrefour will have to wait further as the government is still contemplating on foreign investment in multi-brand retailing in the country.

into New C CG Cos Foray M

ategories

Many consumer product makers are planning to diversify into new categories to reduce dependence on few core products and maintain profitability in this volatile commodity market. Although companies have increased prices by 5% - 10%, they cannot push them further since competition is intense in these mass-market categories. Brand extensions helps to increase brands popularity (trials and acceptance), shelf space and marketing efficiency. Heinz India, known for its ketchup and Complan milk drink, plans to enter into cornflakes; Dabur, maker of Real juice and Chyawanprash, plans to launch car fresheners and aromatic candles under the Odonil brand, and Parachute hair oil maker Marico will foray into body lotions. While Perfetti Van Melle is piloting packaged potato chips and salty snacks under its Stop Not brand, Britannia is giving final touches to a multi-city rollout of its baked snacks brand Time Pass. Only time will tell how many of these category extensions will become successful.

Sept PMI declines to 50.2

According to the HSBC Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), the services sector index fell to 49.8 points and the manufacturing sector PMI fell to 50.4 in September from 53.8 & 52.6 points in August respectively. Fifty is the point that separates contraction (below 50) from growth (above 50). The composite index for India was 50.2 points in September, fractionally above the 50 threshold. The main reason is attributed to RBIs rate hike spree, high input costs and declining exports amid global economic uncertainties. However, it should not be taken as if services activities were contracting in India, even though growth might have come down. Here it should be noted that PMI is based on a survey of around 500 private firms and gives a broad indication of economic activities. But in the case of India, the large contribution of the unorganised sector yields a low correlation with industrial growth.

Preparing for Possible Sale

Having always traditionally played second fiddle to Google and now suffering from the increase in popularity of Facebook Yahoo! Inc is in the process of preparing financial information for potential sale. Yahoo!s board is also considering a number of different options, including the sale of its assets or the striking of partnerships. Chinese ecommerce company, Alibaba Group Holding Corp is amongst the interested parties. The search engine company recently sacked its chief executive, Carol Bartz over phone.

WEEKLY MARKET STATUS

SENSEX NIFTY DOW JONES 16,232.54 *

-221.03 (-1.34%) -55.2 (-1.11%) +189.74 (+1.74%) +114.6 (+0.65%) +174.92 (+3.41%) +0.16 (+0.32%)*** +0.13 (+0.19%) -89 (-0.34%) +3.67 (+4.63%)

4,888.05
11,103.12

HANG SENG FTSE US$ EURO GOLD MCX (spot price) WTI CRUDE OIL ($/BARREL)

17,707.01 5,303.40 49.13 65.99 25900 82.87

BRAIN SCRATCHER
FinX comes with yet another edition of crossword. First 3 correct entries will get their name featured on the Facebook page and the next Weekly Pulse.

*CLOSING SPOT PRICES AS ON LAST FRIDAY i.e. 07/10/2011 **RISE/FALL OVER WHOLE WEEK; FROM 30 Sep to 07 Oct ***NEGATIVE SIGN INDICATE STRENGTHENING OF RUPEE AGAINST $/EURO

LAST WEEKS ANSWERS: The Winners for last week are: Adish Jain & Mayur Gupta
ACROSS DOWN

1. A person entrusted with the belongings of another person. (6) 2. One who sells a call or put option. (7)

1. A kind of loan the principal of which and the interest thereon are due at the end of the term. (6) 2. Aruban ________=currency of Aruba. (7)

3. Creditor's conditional right of ownership against a debtor's asset 5. An informal value transfer system based on the peror property that bars its sale or transfer without paying off the formance and honour of a huge network of money brocreditor. (4) kers. (6) 4. Transferable personal property. (7)