Delhi's Kotla will not get to host Test against South Africa

After the embarrassing pitch fiasco on Sunday, Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla ground has lost out on hosting a Test match between India and South Africa early next year.

The South Africa-India series will be held in February and March next year. Though the list of venues had not been announced yet, Kotla was in contention to host one of the two Test matches to be played during the series.

However, Ratnakar Shetty of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has said that it has been decided that the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) will not get to host this match after the fiasco.

A two-member inquiry committee is also being set up to look into the Kotla pitch mess-up. (In Pics: Kotla ODI abandoned)

On Sunday, the nation watched stunned as the fifth One Day International between Sri Lanka and India was abandoned after 24 overs had been bowled with the guests complaining that the pitch was dangerous. What made it worse was that this was the national capital. Irate spectators turned violent at the ground and the entire DDCA pitch committee resigned later in the day. (Read: Poor Kotla pitch leads to ODI abandonment)

International Cricket Council (ICC) vice president Sharad Pawar has also spoken out on the issue saying it's the ground and pitch that matter the most, not a fancy stadium.

After the ICC receives the match referee's full report on the incident, it will write to the BCCI within five days demanding an explanation for the incident.

The BCCI will have 14 days to respond to the ICC. If ICC decides the pitch was sub-standard, penalties can range from a warning to a fine or suspension.

Match Referee Alan Hurst had issued a statement after the match was abandoned on Sunday. He said:

"The decision to abandon the match was taken by myself, in consultation with the on-field umpires Marais Erasmus and Shavir Tarapore, and both captains as it was clear that the pitch had extremely variable bounce and was too dangerous for further play.

"Before abandoning the match, consideration was given to shifting the match to a secondary pitch. However, it was deemed impractical as the secondary pitch was not adequately prepared," Hurst said in his statement.

However, the ICC's chief executive has said Feroz Shah Kotla can still retain hope of hosting the 2011 World Cup matches.

"It is not fair to say it hangs in the balance because you cannot comment till you know what the facts are," Haroon Lorgat said minutes after landing in New Delhi, where he will be presenting the ICC mace to the Indian captain MS Dhoni on Sunday evening for becoming the world's No.1 Test team.

MF industry's assets cross Rs 8 lakh cr mark

The mutual fund industry hits another milestone, crossing Rs 8 lakh crore in assets under management for the month of November reports CNBC-T18’s Mrinalini Krishna.
The average asset under management currently stands at Rs 8.07 lakh crore which is about 6% jump from October last year. It’s been a good year for the industry from Rs 6 lakh crore in May to Rs 7 lakh crore in August and now 8 lakh crore in November.

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What is also interesting to see is that HDFC Mutual Fund, which is a second largest player have join the bandwagon of Reliance Mutual Fund crossing the Rs 1 lakh crore barrier of assets under management.
Also the other top five mutual fund players have had reasonable gains in their assets under management. While the Sensex was up about 6% through the month of November, experts feel that is not one of the key drivers of this growth in assets under management and there are many other factors.
Milind Barve, Managing Director at HDFC AMC says equity markets, the equity indices have grown by 6% but the industry has roughly about 25% of assets in equity or equity oriented fund products. “In that aspect impact on equity oriented MF could be correlated to market movement but the rest of the movement has essentially come from more money flowing into money market or money market type of products which is predominantly in the fixed income group.”
So while the equity markets are up they are not driving the AUM growth, so you can see that fixed income products are getting more of the inflows.

Tata Steel loses shine on weak numbers

Tata Steel plunges after posting weak September quarter numbers. The stock is trading at Rs 523 on the BSE, weaker by Rs 20 or 3.7%, on the BSE. It had opened at Rs 530 and has touched a high of Rs 535 and a low of Rs 521 thus far.

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The steel major posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,719.8 crore for the September quarter, compared with a net profit of Rs 4,703.6 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

Consolidated net sales during the period fell to Rs 25,269.8 crore from the previous year’s Rs 44,050 crore, down 42.6 per cent.

Business restructuring also took a toll. During the quarter, Tata Steel had to shell out Rs 911 crore as restructuring costs. Poor performance in Europe added to the company's woes.

Survey of BSE trading members on extended timings

BSE Brokers Forum conducted a survey on the extended trading hours to seek views of the Trading Members of the BSE.
418 Trading Members responded to the survey. The key findings showed that more than 79% forming almost four fifths of the respondents felt that the current timings should not be changed. Of the balance 21%, 7% felt that the markets should be extended in the morning session only, 5% felt that the market should be extended in the evening session only and 8% felt that the markets should be extended in both the morning as well as the evening sessions.
The survey indicates that the Trading Members are not welcoming the change in the trading hours and see no benefit to the Indian Capital Markets in terms of getting volumes of the Asian Markets or getting a trend of the US Markets
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Reliance's acquisition move a right step: Cyrus Daruwala

he market is abuzz with Reliance's much awaited proposed acquisition of LyondellBasell. In an interview with ET Now, Cyrus Daruwala, MD,

Financial Insights gives his thumbs up to Reliance bid and says that telecom sector industry will be biggest recipient of foreign direct investments outside infrastructure projects.

How do you read into this move of Reliance Industries going ahead and making this acquisition (of LyondellBasell), what's your take on the stock?

Most of the underperforming stocks that we have had there were ready for the picking. Inevitably what is happening is that most of the stocks are showing a huge amount of fluctuation and or the industries that you see are slightly speculative. But most of the foreign direct investments as well as the joint ventures that you see now are long term bets as they are fundamentally sound and are in the areas of growth.

How do you see things progressing from here? Is it the right time for the Indian companies such as Reliance Industries to make a mark on the global arena by taking up assets which might find it difficult to achieve valuations given that there are a lot of bankrupt companies out there?

It is correct. now two ways to skin that cat when Tata goes ahead and acquires something like a ailing asset it's not just for a global reach or because they are under evaluated. There is also a long term business synergy between the Tata Motors Groups as well as Jaguar as well as Range Rover.

Likewise, the other industries especially within the petrochemical industries - whether they are in cements, in refineries, in steel - are on the radar of the Indian companies and it is part of a long term synergitical move. They themselves benefit from some of the best practices, a good reach within the global market from an experts' point of view and in return they are also expanding their footprint by acquiring cheaper assets.

In that case would you approach Reliance Industries with a buy call given the potential of this investment and this acquisition?

I certainly would. Reliance has made a couple of these astute investments in the past. The slight volatility of their stock would not deter me as an investor that is backing Reliance into this deal. So yes it would be a buy.

What kind of an earnings upside do you see given that LyondellBasell is a distress asset? It's a bankrupt company and they are still working out their debt. So what kind of an earnings of potential do you see on the bottom line if these two companies were to come together?

I would say they would expedentially and instantly look at least about a five per cent jump in revenue, which is a much needed indicator. New revenues as well as the consolidated revenue marks are looking at about five per cent year on year growth. At least in the first instance that we have conservatively done the assessments going forth, I think the target that they would have would be a fairly ambitious between 7.5 to 12 per cent growth year on year to recoup the investments that they are going in with.

ICICI Bank Mops up USD 750 Mn Abroad

A month after country's largest lender, State Bank of India mopped up USD 750-million abroad, its nearest competitor ICICI Bank today said it has raised USD 750-million through a five-year bond issue at its Bahrain branch.

The issue had an order book of over USD 3-billion and was participated by over 250 investors, an ICICI Bank press release said here. The notes were sold under the Rule 144A/Reg S format.

The bonds, which have a maturity of 5.33 year, carry a coupon rate of 5.5 per cent, which translates to 292.6 basis points spread over equivalent London interbank offered rate, the bank said.

Despite a fall in the total income, ICICI Bank had reported a 2.5 per cent rise in its net profits for the quarter ended September 30 at Rs 1,040.13 crore, against Rs 1,014.21 crore in the same period last year.

The issue came shortly after State Bank of India raised USD 750-million through the issue of five year bonds through its London branch.

State Bank raised the amount through the issue of fixed rate senior notes having a maturity of 5 years and a coupon rate of 4.5 per cent under its Medium Term Notes programme.

The lender has a headroom to raise Rs 28,000-crore from bond issuance to meet regulatory capital requirement to fund its business expansion plans in the current fiscal.

Nifty climbs past 5000 as Europe opens firm

MUMBAI: Equities recovered intraday losses following positive opening of the European markets. However, the second rung stocks lagged behind in the
recovery.

At 2:05 pm, National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 5037.20, up 48.20 points or 0.97 per cent. The broader index hit a high of 5037.60 and low of 4932.80.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16895.36, up 109.71 points or 0.65 per cent. The index touched a high of 16923.80 and low of 16635.75.

BSE Midcap Index was up 0.34 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index moved 0.02 per cent up.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Oil&gas Index was up 1.13 per cent, BSE IT Index moved 0.80 per cent higher and BSE Healthcare Index gained 0.59 per cent.

ACC (2.87%), SAIL (2.59%), Hindalco (2.57%), HDFC (2.31%) and DLF (2.16%) were amongst the Nifty gainers.

Reliance Capital (-2.62%), Suzlon Energy (-1.86%), Reliance Power (-1.79%), Bharti Airtel (-1.60%) and Reliance Infrastructure (-1.17%) led the resistance.

Market breadth was positive on the BSE with 1308 advances and 1293 declines.

European markets were in the positive terrain led by gains in commodities. FTSE 100 was up 0.50 per cent, DAX moved 0.60 per cent higher and CAC 40 gained 0.56 per cent.

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sentiments.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at intraday low of 4969.70, down 85 points or 1.65 per cent. The broader index hit high of 5053.45 earlier in the day.

Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 16,803.43, down 195.35 points or 1.15 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 16787.75 and high of 17004.98.

BSE Midcap Index was down 1.43 per cent and BSE Smallcap Index slipped 0.72 per cent.

Amongst the sectoral indices, BSE Realty Index was fell 3.64 per cent, BSE IT Index was down 1.63 per cent and BSE Bankex declined 1.63 per cent.

Unitech (-5.10%), Jaiprakash Associates (-4.86%), HCL Tech (-4.84%), Reliance Infrastructure (-4.13%) and DLF (-4.06%) were amongst the top Nifty losers.

Suzlon Energy (2.59%), Power Grid (0.05%) and ACC (0.02%) were the only frontline stocks in the positive terrain.

Market breadth was negative on the BSE with 1537 losers and 1114 gainers.

European markets were in the negative terrain. FTSE 100 was down 0.17 per cent, CAC 40 fell 0.32 per cent and DAX declined 0.09 per cent.

Indo-Pak cyber war claims 40-50 Indian sites daily

India and Pakistan, not the friendliest of neighbours, have fought three major wars and are now engaged in another in cyberspace. As per latest reports, hackers from across the border are working overtime to launch cyber attacks on Indian websites in their cross hair.

Though the Indian side is known for its prowess in IT and related fields, it is becoming apparent that a dearth of firepower has left the Indian cyberspace particularly vulnerable to Pakistani attacks.

Reports indicate that around 40-50 sites are being hacked by Pakistani hackers on a daily basis whereas around 10 Pakistani sites are being hit by their Indian counterparts. According to analysts, one of the reasons India has been forced on the backfoot in this cyberwar is the reactive attitude it has chosen to adopt instead of being a proactive player.

There are other factors as well and studies suggest how the laidback attitude of both corporate sector and the government on cyber security has impeded a positive approach.

Cyber security expert Ankit Fadia was quoted inthe media as saying that the need to counter such attacks usually sets in after an attack happens. He adds that though ethical hacking is the answer to such attacks and does come at a cost, it is not prohibitively expensive.

Ethical hackers are also known by such names as white hackers, white knights or sneakers. They are computer security experts who specialise in penetration testing and related testing methodologies to check vulnerability of a company's information systems.

Centralized Purchasing

Centralized purchasing means buying and managing purchases from one location for all locations within an organization. This can also be run by a central location buying in to a distribution warehouse that feeds smaller warehouses. This is called a hub and spoke system.

Decentralized is the opposite where each plant or office buys what it needs. This operation allows any employee to buy what he needs. You can also run this operation with a designated buyer assigned to the site to do the buying.

The Merits And Demerits of Centralized Purchasing.)
When the purchasing function is entrusted to a single person, it is said to be centralized purchasing. It means all purchases are made by the Purchasing Officer. Generally large and medium size organisations accept centralized purchasing.
Merits of Centralized Purchasing:
• Centralized purchasing avoids duplication, so buying cost will be less.
• Departments other than purchasing are relieved from the burden of purchasing. As a result of which employees concentrate their mind in own work.
• Transportation cost and carrying cost become economical, because all purchases are made in bulk quantities.
• More trade discount can be availed due to bulk purchase.
• All the records with regard to purchase are kept in one place under the supervision of the purchase officer. It results economy in record management.
Demerits of Centralized Purchasing:
• Delay is caused in centralized purchasing as different departments of different places will send their requirements to the purchasing department. Thepurchasing department will purchase the necessary items and send to other departments.
• In this case centralized purchasing branches of different places can not take advantages of localized purchasing.
• There are chances of misunderstanding between purchase department and other departments because other departments may not get their requirement according to their own will.
• Centralized purchasing is not suitable in case of perishable commodities.
• It results more cost of transportation and botheration, as it is purchased in one place and send to the distance places.

SETTLEMENT MACHINARY IN INDIA

CONCILIATION

“ It is an attempt to reconcile the views of disputants and bring them to an agreement .
Conciliation is generally understood as the friendly intervention of a neutral person in a dispute to help the parties to settle their differences peacefully.”
Conciliation may be described as the practice by which the services of a neutral third party are used in a dispute as a means of helping the disputing parties to reduce the extent of their differences and to arrive at an amicable settlement or agreed solution.

Conciliation officer &conciliation board

In India the government may appoint a conciliation officer for a specific area or even for a specific industry, He may be either permanently or for a limited period.(sec.4)

under sec.5 of the INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE ACT 1947,the government may also ,as occasion arises, appoint a board of conciliation, consisting of a chairman and 2-4 other others members, to promote the settlement of disputes.

ARBITRATION
It is a process in which a dispute is submitted to an impartial outsider which makes a decision which is usually binding on both parties
arbitration is to be distinguished from the conciliation not only by the fact that its decision is binding on the both parties but also by its different approach and spirit.
The main objective of arbitration is adjudication and hence, there is no place for the compromise. though the parties are liberty to do so.
ADJUDICATION
The ultimate legal remedy for the settlement of an unresolved industrial dispute is its reference to adjudication by the government .
adjudication involves intervention in the dispute by a third party appointed by the government for the purpose of deciding the nature of final settlement.
Three-tier system of adjudication
The industrial dispute act ,1947 provides for a three tier system of adjudication:
Labour court
Industrial tribunals and
National tribunals

L&T sells 27 million shares of Mahindra Satyam

MUMBAI: Mahindra Satyam saw 27.2 million shares, or about 2.31 percent of its equity change hands, at Rs 114.90 a share on the BSE, stock

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exchange data showed on Friday. L&T has appointed Nomura for the share sale.

An official at leading engineering and construction firm Larsen & Toubro, who did not want to be named, said the company was the seller.

L&T had bought 8.1 crore shares in the Hyderabad-based software exporter last year at an average price of Rs 79 a share and made an abortive bid to acquire the company when it was put on the block.

Mahindra Satyam was formerly known as Satyam Computer Services, which was hit by India's biggest corporate fraud at the start of the year.

In April, L&T lost the race for control of the outsourcer to Tech Mahindra Ltd, a unit of India's Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

Google launching free videoconferencing

Google is all set to strengthen its voice and video chat capabilities. The voice and video chat feature in the company's the email serv
ice, Gmail, is currently limited to one-to-one communication, however, Google wants to broaden this capability to more than two participants.

The Google Apps product manager Rishi Chandra told SFGate that Google is set to roll out its first update in a long line of updates that will include multi-user video conferencing.

Chandra told the web site, “This (current Gmail capability) is the first step in a much broader set of features we hope to roll out over the next six to 12 months around video (and voice) chat capabilities.” He added, "It’s a great opportunity for us to push that space along."

Google acquired Web and video conferencing software in 2007 from Swedish company Marratech.

Smart gold deal by RBI

(D. H. Pai Panandiker is President of RPG Foundation. The views expressed in this column are his own)

By D.H.Pai Panandiker

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) grabbed 200 tonnes of gold offered for sale by the IMF at the going market price of $1045 an ounce. That gold will be part of the foreign exchange reserves of RBI.

The IMF had to sell gold because it needed money in order to reorganize its finances and to step up concessional loans to the poorest countries that had been hit by world recession. Further, the IMF had to ensure that its operations do not disrupt the market for gold and therefore preferred sale to central banks that generally buy gold for keeps.

Central Banks don’t speculate. Obviously, the gold bought by the RBI is for changing its asset portfolio. The $6.7 billion spent on gold was from investment in securities issued by foreign governments that form the bulk of the foreign exchanges reserves. These securities earn very low rate of interest, if at all. The interest rate in the US and Japan is close zero.

Although the composition of RBI’s foreign exchange reserves is not an open information, it appears that about 50-60 per cent of the reserves are in US dollar securities. The potential risk is that the dollar may depreciate further. Already the dollar had been down 7 per cent against the euro and 11 per cent against the yen in the last 6 months.

It is feared that, with the pumping in of cash by the Fed to avert the impending financial catastrophe last year, the dollar may plunge yet more in future.

The RBI’s gold reserves have been low compared to the gold component of reserves of many other central banks or even its hold reserves in the past. When the IMF took the decision to sell gold it was therefore expected that India will be a potential customer. Even with the additional 200 tonnes in the vault, the gold component of RBI foreign exchange reserves would be only 6 per cent.

The only yield from gold is its appreciation. In recent years, gold has been a favoured asset even among individual investors because of greater uncertainly in the real estate and stock markets. The international price of gold has been consistently rising since 2003. From $400 an ounce in 2004 it jumped to $700 in September 2007 and to $1000 in September 2009

Wipro buys Yardley’s India, Asia biz for $45.5 mn

BANGALORE: Wipro on Thursday brought 229-year-old British brand Yardley’s business in select markets including India from UK’s Lornamead Group to
stretch its personal care portfolio to the premium range.

Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting, the consumer products arm of the software firm, has snapped up Yardley business across Asia, the Middle East, Australasia as well as north and west Africa for $45.5 million (Rs 215 crore), continuing its takeover spree that included Unza. ET had reported on October 13 that the two parties were close to sealing a deal. Yardley will be merged into Wipro Consumer Care’s fold by mid-December.

“We picked up a lot of debt from Unza’s balance sheet when we acquired it. But Yardley is a profitable brand and will add to our operating margins which are at 10-13%,” Vineet Agrawal, president of Wipro Consumer Care, told reporters here.

Lornamead, controlled by British billionaire Mike Jatania, acquired the Yardley brand in September 2005 for £60 million. It will retain the Yardley business in Europe and America. Funded through internal accruals, this deal will enable Wipro straddle different price points and give it greater bargaining power for key accounts in certain markets.

“Yardley is a great fit for Wipro if it wants to go beyond Santoor to include more premium brands,” said Anand Ramanathan, an FMCG analyst at KPMG. “Synergies will improve if Wipro took a bottoms-up approach of gearing its sales force and partners towards this change to premium range,” he added.

Yardley’s Lavender talcum-to-soap range is priced around 50% higher than the costliest brand in Wipro’s existing portfolio, Unza’s Enchanteur range. The move will also strategically boost Wipro Consumer Care’s foothold in high-growth markets such as the Middle East where its overall revenue is projected to double to $30-35 million. The Middle East contributes 70% to the acquisitions revenues, with 20% coming from India and the remainder from other Asian markets.

Wipro is also planning to increase the product range under the Yardley brand. “We see certain gaps in Yardley’s product range such as body washes and deodorant roll-ons, which we feel could be added to increase relevance with the youth,” said Mr Agrawal.
“We are also evaluating the manufacture of Yardley products such as soaps through our factories,” he added. It plans to leverage its distribution reach across 50,000 outlets in metros and tier-I cities to grow the brand in India and sees cost-efficiencies arising out of merging common suppliers. Wipro Consumer Care has made a series of acquisitions in the past six years.

It arrived on the acquisition map in 2003 by picking up Hindustan Unilever’s glucose drink brand Glucovita. It bought Kerala-based ayurvedic brand Chandrika a year later and Delhi-based North-west Switchgear’s switches business in 2006.

The division shot into limelight in 2007 with its $246-million purchase of Singapore-based personal care firm Unza Holdings, which has a significant presence across South-east Asian markets. The Yardley deal will see Wipro Consumer Care’s contribution to the parent’s top line growing by 50 basis points. In the second quarter, the consumer-care division notched up 8% of Wipro’s overall revenues. Wipro’s stock closed at Rs 598.30 on the BSE, a rise of 0.42% on Thursday.

Second round: Sparring goes on in gas case

The second round of hearing on the Ambani brothers’ gas dispute began in the Supreme Court on Thursday with Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) repeating most of its arguments before a new bench constituted after Justice R.V. Raveendran withdrew citing conflict of interest.

But, the proceedings were in sharp contrast to the first six days when Justice Raveendran as a part of the bench posed several probing questions to RIL regarding pricing of gas and the family agreement between the brothers. There were hardly any posers from the new bench that now includes Justice B. Sudershan Reddy in place of Justice Raveendran.

While the bench headed by the Chief Justice heard RIL’s counsel Harish Salve’s arguments, Anil Ambani led Reliance Natural Resources Ltd (RNRL) once again accused the Union government of colluding with RIL.

RNRL counsel Ram Jethmalani hurled the allegation when Salve sought to point out his client’s discomfiture due to the government’s intervention to regulate gas supply through the Gas Utilisation Policy (GUP). Salve told the court RIL was fighting with the government that had promised not to regulate the gas supply business after its discovery. “But, they later came up with the GUP which we are fighting out,” Salve told the court.

At this juncture, Jethmalani stood up, contending Salve was making argument contradictory to his earlier submissions. “He had argued exactly to the contrary. He (RIL) is colluding with the government,” Jethmalani said. The senior counsel urged to court to give him 30 minutes every day to make his submissions as well till the RIL counsel finishes his. “It would save
a lot of time,” he added.

Pirated Microsoft Windows 7 DVDs generate $100,000 in India

Pirated Microsoft Windows 7 DVDs generate $100,000 in India
IANS 4 November 2009, 08:33am IST
Print Email Discuss Bookmark/Share Save Comment Text Size: |

LUCKNOW: About 50,000 pirated DVDs of Microsoft Windows 7 are estimated to have been sold here since the official launch on Oct 22, generating
unaccounted business of around Rs 50 lakh (nearly $100,000).

The reason for the allure of the pirated versions: These cost Rs.40-Rs.250 in Naza Market in Hazratganj here, drawing buyers from not only the rest of Uttar Pradesh and neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand but also Nepal and Bangladesh.

"This is the biggest market in the region," said a shopkeeper in Hazratganj, claiming at least 50,000 DVDs of the pirated Windows 7 have been sold since hitting the local markets within 24 hours of the official launch, fetching sellers about Rs.50 lakh so far.

The legal version of the new operating system launched by Microsoft Corp costs between $150-$300 (Rs.7,500-Rs.15,000) in the international markets. The company, however, tagged its prices 20 percent below international rates in India, where it is available in the Rs.6,000-Rs.11,000 range through official channels.

Despite the discounted company rates, buyers are opting for the pirated version.

"Why invest Rs.10,000 when it is available for Rs.250?" asked Pramod Yadav, a student pursuing a Master of Computer Applications (MCA) course.

Added Mohit Singh, who runs a computer hardware and software maintenance company: "We pay for only the DVD as we are regular customers. A DVD hardly costs Rs.20-40."

Most computer service providers or "regular customers" in Lucknow and elsewhere in India use pirated software, contended Nishant Kumar, a software engineer with HCL Technologies in Greater Noida.

According to him, what makes the pirated operating systems more attractive is that cheap pirated anti-virus software is also freely available.

"A lot of anti-virus software, for example Awast, is available on the Internet," Kumar said, adding that it was equally effective and has the same service life.

Those selling pirated Windows 7 deny doing anything illegal.

"There are over 200 shops in Naza Market. All have everything you want. We are not doing anything illegal as everything is available on the Internet," said a shopkeeper not willing to be named.

"We are only transferring and supplying to buyers who include students, professionals and even big business houses."

Those selling authentic software are unhappy.

"Be it software or encyclopaedia, everything is available in pirated form within 24 hours. We do not get the expected business," Amit Mishra of Newgen Technologies, the authorised distributor of Compaq, HP, Microsoft and Lenovo in Hazratganj, told IANS.

The police express helplessness in combating piracy. "We know what is going on for the past couple of decades. But we cannot act on our own. We need a formal complaint to act or else you (the media) will come down on us," police spokesperson A.K. Pathak told IANS.

Besides software, the Naza Market and the Naka Market in the Naka area are also famous for producing CDs and DVDs of newly released Bollywood movies within 24 hours.

"You name the movie and you will have the CD, DVD the next day," boasted Harnam Singh, a Naka shopowner

IMF sells 200 tonnes of gold to India central bank

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund said on Monday it sold 200 tonnes of gold to the Reserve Bank of India for $6.8 billion, quietly executing half of a long-planned bullion sale that had threatened to slow gold's rally.

While the IMF's plan to sell some of its gold holdings had been flagged for a year before it was formally approved in September, the speed of the deal and the buyer were a surprise for traders, who had expected China -- not India -- to be the leading contender as Beijing diversifies its vast reserves.

The sale, which an IMF official said was concluded at an average price of about $1,045 an ounce over a two-week period in the latter half of October, will relieve the market of some of uncertainty over how and when the fund would execute its plan to sell 403.3 tonnes of gold, about one-eighth of its total stock.

"This transaction is an important step toward achieving the objectives of the IMF's limited gold sales program, which are to help put the fund's finances on a sound long-term footing and enable us to step up much-needed concessional lending to the poorest countries," the IMF's managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, said in a statement.

While the threat of IMF and central bank sales did not stop gold prices from soaring to a record high $1,070.40 last month, aided by a falling U.S. dollar, traders said the IMF news could add to the market's upward momentum.

"The fact that they've sold the gold to India would suggest there's going to be fewer official sales by the IMF on the market. So that might be a positive theme for the gold price," said David Moore, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Gold rose about 0.4 percent to $1,063 an ounce on Tuesday.

Although India is the world's biggest consumer of gold, primarily in the form of jewellery and investment among its billion-plus people, its central bank had given few indications of being a front-runner in the move to diversify into bullion.

In J&K, pre-paid mobile connections banned

NEW DELHI: The Union government has banned pre-paid mobile connections in Jammu and Kashmir, citing security related reasons.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Friday said besides the ban, the existing pre-paid SIM cards would not be renewed after November 1. The Home Ministry had asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action in this regard.

“Pre-paid connections are prone to misuse. Anyone wanting a mobile connection can always go in for a post-paid connection in Jammu and Kashmir. I think the problem is not so acute in the north-eastern States; we may also have to look at the situation in there,” Mr. Chidambaram said at his monthly stock-taking press conference. He said all service providers have been informed and they had promised to implement the decision.

The decision follows reports that proper verification was not being done while providing such connections by the service providers and vendors. Fake documents and identity numbers were reportedly being used by the vendors particularly, in the case of pre-paid connections. This had given rise to security concerns, officials said.








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Intel eyes 4G entry in India

Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, is understood to be in talks with leading Indian telecom companies like Tata Communications (formerly VSNL), Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications that could bid for broadband wireless access (BWA) spectrum to be auctioned by the government in January 2010.

Talks are currently centred on Intel offering Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMAX (which provides for wireless transmission of data and up to 75 Mb/sec speed) technology — one of the popular BWA technologies — to the operator, and the possibility of taking a minority stake through its venture capital arm, Intel Capital.

A global debate is still on, but most experts consider technologies like WiMAX close to fourth generation (4G) services, offering better speeds than 3G on GSM networks. It is constrained by the fact that it does not provide enough mobility currently and experiments are on in some countries to offer full mobile voice and data service on such networks.

Unlike in countries like Sweden and Bangladesh where Intel has bid for spectrum directly to run WiMAX services (with other partners), the model in India will involve partnerships with current telecom players. Intel has, however, made it clear it isn't interested in becoming a service provider to push WiMAX.

A source close to the development says Intel plans to float a new company for its WiMAX foray in the country. “Spectrum farming is not Intel's idea. Rather, it’s spectrum partnership,” adds the source.

Asked about the talks, an Intel India spokesperson declined to comment, as did Bharti Airtel, RComm and Tata Communications.

Intel also plans to follow a consortium approach in India to roll out WiMAX-based broadband services in India, similar to its approach to the US and other markets, including Japan, where it has partnered with the likes of Google and Sprint.

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) recently released the information memorandum to auction spectrum for third generation (3G) and BWA services. Under the memorandum, DoT plans to auction two blocks of BWA spectrum at a base price of Rs 1,750 crore for a pan-India licence. The spectrum, which is the radio frequencies that enable mobile communications, will be given in the 2.3 GHz band. Once the defence services vacate more spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band, this will be open for BWA aspirants.

Currently, the country has just around 6.5 million broadband subscribers, much below the estimated 20 million projected by the government by 2010. About 80 per cent of broadband is offered through digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, another 8 per cent through cable and only 1 per cent through wireless.

THE government hopes that by auctioning BWA spectrum, broadband through wireless technology would spur growth.

However, many mobile operators say that GSM 3G services will provide high speed internet data to the masses and is far superior to WiMAX which is still not “established” and its equipment is very expensive.

Last December, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited, had invited bids from potential franchisees to provide mobile WiMAX to its customers in 16 circles last December.

Around 28 companies, including majors like Intel Technology India, Alacatel-Lucent India, Motorola India, Moser Baer Industrial Infrastructure, Huawei, HCL Infosystems, Larsen & Toubro Infotech and TCIL, figured among those who bought the tender documents.

conciliation,arbitration

Conciliation is an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process whereby the parties to a dispute (including future interest disputes) agree to utilize the services of a conciliator, who then meets with the parties separately in an attempt to resolve their differences. He does this by lowering tensions, improving communications, interpreting issues, providing technical assistance, exploring potential solutions and bringing about a negotiated settlement.
Conciliation differs from arbitration in that the conciliation process, in and of itself, has no legal standing, and the conciliator usually has no authority to seek evidence or call witnesses, usually writes no decision, and makes no award.
Conciliation differs from mediation in that the main goal is to conciliate, most of the time by seeking concessions. In mediation, the mediator tries to guide the discussion in a way that optimizes parties needs, takes feelings into account and reframes representations.

Arbitration, a form of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), is a legal technique for the resolution of disputes outside the courts, wherein the parties to a dispute refer it to one or more persons (the "arbitrators", "arbiters" or "arbitral tribunal"), by whose decision (the "award") they agree to be bound. It is a settlement technique in which a third party reviews the case and imposes a decision that is legally binding for both sides.[1] Other forms of ADR include mediation[2] (a form of settlement negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party) and non-binding resolution by experts. It is more helpful, however, simply to classify arbitration as a form of binding dispute resolution, equivalent to litigation in the courts, and entirely distinct from the other forms of dispute resolution, such as negotiation, mediation, or determinations by experts, which are usually non-binding. Arbitration is most commonly used for the resolution of commercial disputes, particularly in the context of international commercial transactions. The use of arbitration is far more controversial in consumer and employment matters, where arbitration is not voluntary but is instead imposed on consumers or employees through fine-print contracts, denying individuals of their right to access the courts.
Arbitration can be either voluntary or mandatory and can be either binding or non-binding. Non-binding arbitration is, on the surface, similar to mediation. However, the principal distinction is that whereas a mediator will try to help the parties find a middle ground on which to compromise, the (non-binding) arbitrator remains totally removed from the settlement process and will only give a determination of liability and, if appropriate, an indication of the quantum of damages payable.

Wipro's Q2 profits strenghten company confidence

Wipro’s second quarter performance and its upbeat guidance for the next quarter confirm the positive vibes given out earlier by its peers, TCS
and Infosys. The demand recovery seems to be in sight and the top IT deck is well poised to take the advantage.

Wipro, the country’s third-largest IT exporter, surprised analysts with a strong 8% sequential jump in net sales at Rs 6,893 crore (Indian GAAP) backed by better project management and cross currency benefits. Net profit shot up 14% to Rs 1,162 crore.

Also, in dollar terms, Wipro was able to reverse the falling trend in revenue seen since the March 2009 quarter. Its September quarter revenue rose 3% to $1,065 million over the previous quarter. Wipro’s stock ended 2% higher at Rs 604 on Tuesday even though the broader market witnessed heavy selling.

What has cheered investors is the management’s confidence to keep the tempo high in the coming quarters. According to the dollar revenue guidance for the December 2009 quarter, the management expects to either maintain the sequential revenue growth rate or even better it to 4.5%. Moreover, this growth is likely to come without sacrificing profit margins.

Similar to its bigger peers, Wipro has seen a revival in willingness of clients to spend on IT services across verticals and geographies. This is captured by the fact that it has reported increase in request for proposals (RFPs) for projects, including those with discretionary work targeted to improve efficiency.

A major aspect wherein Wipro stands to gain more than its peers is opportunity in the domestic market. It has been catering to the Indian government and private sector clients for a long time through its subsidiary, Wipro Infotech. Today, Indian clients account for one-fourth of Wipro’s revenue, way higher compared with 7-9% for TCS and just over 1% for Infosys.

In the domestic market, so far Wipro has won long-term, high-value contracts in verticals, including telecom, infrastructure and e-governance. Wipro’s maturity in the fast-growing domestic market attracts higher significance given that it competes head-on with multinationals such as IBM and HP.

Establishing presence in such a highly competitive domestic market may not be easy for its Indian peers, who are late-comers to the party. Moreover, Wipro’s management has cited that margins in the domestic business are comparable to those in the international market and thus, would not dilute profitability in the long run.

Given this, it would be no surprise if investors offer a higher rating to Wipro’s stock in times to come. At the current level, it is valued at 21 times its trailing 12-month net profit, a notch lower than Infy’s P/E of 21.8.

Tata Motors profit revs up 110% in Q2

Tata Motors' quarterly profit has more than doubled aided by a marked decline in raw material costs and strong demand for its Ace trucks

and Indica Vista cars, beating street estimates. India's leading auto company's net profit soared 110% to Rs 729 crore during the second quarter of 2009-10 on a revenue base of Rs 7,979 crore. The earnings don't include Tata Motors' overseas units: Jaguar and Land Rover and Tata Daewoo South Korea.

The company improved its market share across heavy and light commercials vehicles during the July to September period driven by revival in industrial activities. Tata Motors sold 89,655 vehicles during the second quarter of FY10, a growth of 21%.

Interestingly, volumes in its medium and heavy commercial turned positive for the first time since first quarter of FY09, company officials said. The company sold 52,723 cars during the quarter, a growth of 13%, helped by new products, finance availability and pre-festive buying. Exports, however, was down from 12,930 units to 8,003 during the period under review.

For the second quarter in a row, Tata Motors improved its operating margin to 13.4%. Volume recovery combined with improved realizations contributed to growth in revenues while stable material prices and accelerated cost reduction efforts continued to yield beneficial impact on margins, the company said.

Tata Motors declared the results after the stock exchanges trading hours. Its stock on Monday closed at Rs 539 on the BSE, up 1.9%. The company, over the last several months, has been tightening its belt, with an aim to bring down costs by Rs 1,000 crore in the next two years.

Tata Motors is in the midst of repaying the entire $3 billion short-term loan it took for the purchase of JLR. After this, its debt to equity ratio would improve to 1:34 from the earlier 1:6.

The company started selling the Nano during the quarter and has delivered 7,506 units manufactured from its Uttarakhand plant. The Nano, off late, has been in the news following incidents of fires being reported in three separate cases. Tata Motors MD Prakash Telang said that the company is doing safety checks on all the sold and unsold Nanos.

Critical Success Factors

The idea of CSFs was first presented by D. Ronald Daniel in the 1960s. It was then built on and popularized a decade later by John F. Rockart, of MIT's Sloan School of Management, and has since been used extensively to help businesses implement their strategies and projects
That's where Critical Success Factors (CSFs) can help. CSFs are the essential areas of activity that must be performed well if you are to achieve the mission, objectives or goals for your business or project.
By identifying your Critical Success Factors, you can create a common point of reference to help you direct and measure the success of your business or project.

Types of csfs
• Industry - these factors result from specific industry characteristics. These are the things that the organization must do to remain competitive.
• Environmental - these factors result from macro-environmental influences on an organization. Things like the business climate, the economy, competitors, and technological advancements are included in this category.
• Strategic - these factors result from the specific competitive strategy chosen by the organization. The way in which the company chooses to position themselves, market themselves, whether they are high volume low cost or low volume high cost producers, etc.
• Temporal - these factors result from the organization's internal forces. Specific barriers, challenges, directions, and influences will determine these CSFs.

Industry Standard

Industry standard is the optimum criteria for any industry to function and carry out operation in their respective fields of production. Industry standard envisages the regulated, lawful, logical usage in the segment of the economy dealing with industrialization. This may include services or goods. Industry standard contributes to global as well as domestic competitiveness. Industry standard plays an important role in the economy of any country especially for those industries which actively participate in the export related activities. For example, in the case of automobile industry, sizes of the tire serve as a means of standardization. Standardization also serves as a quality check for any industry. The global economy is also affected by industry standard, for example majority of the European countries including Germany accounting for around 84% make use of international as well as European standards to operate at par with the foreign countries. Industry standard forms the part and parcel of the industrial policies. Essential details pertaining to technology and characteristics of the organization are furnished by maintaining the standards of industry.
Role of Industry Standard:
1. Administration and the legislative bodies are also benefited by the Industry standard. They govern the practical as well as the technological standards as per the legal requisites.
2. Standardization facilitates a healthy competition and designing of new concepts.
3. Industry standard ascertains the rank of an industry in the economic set up of a country.
4. Optimum standards facilitate the creation of political as well as business related advantages. The reason being that the industry standard is worked out in consonance with the expertise of the corporate houses and different segments of the society.
In a nut shell, industry standard is a crucial tool in acquiring industry goals related to managerial, technological as well as political. Therefore, setting standards for the industry whether in the domestic market or international market provides assurance of transparency. The ultimate aim of setting industry standard is to provide a platform for giving shape to new creations.

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the process of comparing the business processes and performance metrics including cost, cycle time, productivity, or quality to another that is widely considered to be an industry standard benchmark or best practice. Essentially, benchmarking provides a snapshot of the performance of your business and helps you understand where you are in relation to a particular standard. The result is often a business case and "Burning Platform" for making changes in order to make improvements. The term benchmarking was first used by cobblers to measure people's feet for shoes. They would place someone's foot on a "bench" and mark it out to make the pattern for the shoes. Benchmarking is most used to measure performance using a specific indicator (cost per unit of measure, productivity per unit of measure, cycle time of x per unit of measure or defects per unit of measure) resulting in a metric of performance that is then compared to others.



TYPES OF BENCHMARKING


 Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes where outsourcing may be a consideration.
 Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall competitiveness and productivity.
 Benchmarking from an investor perspective- extending the benchmarking universe to also compare to peer companies that can be considered alternative investment opportunities from the perspective of an investor.
 Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products and services with those of target firms.
 Product benchmarking - the process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
 Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other industries.
 Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
 Best-in-class benchmarking - involves studying the leading competitor or the company that best carries out a specific function.
 Operational benchmarking - embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed[3].

 Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes where outsourcing may be a consideration.
 Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall competitiveness and productivity.
 Benchmarking from an investor perspective- extending the benchmarking universe to also compare to peer companies that can be considered alternative investment opportunities from the perspective of an investor.
 Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products and services with those of target firms.
 Product benchmarking - the process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
 Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other industries.
 Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
 Best-in-class benchmarking - involves studying the leading competitor or the company that best carries out a specific function.
 Operational benchmarking - embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed[3].

 Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes where outsourcing may be a consideration.
 Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall competitiveness and productivity.
 Benchmarking from an investor perspective- extending the benchmarking universe to also compare to peer companies that can be considered alternative investment opportunities from the perspective of an investor.
 Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products and services with those of target firms.
 Product benchmarking - the process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
 Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other industries.
 Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
 Best-in-class benchmarking - involves studying the leading competitor or the company that best carries out a specific function.
 Operational benchmarking - embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed[3].

 Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes where outsourcing may be a consideration.
 Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall competitiveness and productivity.
 Benchmarking from an investor perspective- extending the benchmarking universe to also compare to peer companies that can be considered alternative investment opportunities from the perspective of an investor.
 Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products and services with those of target firms.
 Product benchmarking - the process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
 Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other industries.
 Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
 Best-in-class benchmarking - involves studying the leading competitor or the company that best carries out a specific function.
 Operational benchmarking - embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed[3].

 Process benchmarking - the initiating firm focuses its observation and investigation of business processes with a goal of identifying and observing the best practices from one or more benchmark firms. Activity analysis will be required where the objective is to benchmark cost and efficiency; increasingly applied to back-office processes where outsourcing may be a consideration.
 Financial benchmarking - performing a financial analysis and comparing the results in an effort to assess your overall competitiveness and productivity.
 Benchmarking from an investor perspective- extending the benchmarking universe to also compare to peer companies that can be considered alternative investment opportunities from the perspective of an investor.
 Performance benchmarking - allows the initiator firm to assess their competitive position by comparing products and services with those of target firms.
 Product benchmarking - the process of designing new products or upgrades to current ones. This process can sometimes involve reverse engineering which is taking apart competitors products to find strengths and weaknesses.
 Strategic benchmarking - involves observing how others compete. This type is usually not industry specific, meaning it is best to look at other industries.
 Functional benchmarking - a company will focus its benchmarking on a single function in order to improve the operation of that particular function. Complex functions such as Human Resources, Finance and Accounting and Information and Communication Technology are unlikely to be directly comparable in cost and efficiency terms and may need to be disaggregated into processes to make valid comparison.
 Best-in-class benchmarking - involves studying the leading competitor or the company that best carries out a specific function.
 Operational benchmarking - embraces everything from staffing and productivity to office flow and analysis of procedures performed[3].

Windows 7 business standard by next year

In just 12 months, Windows 7 will become the standard operating system for business PCs, analysts believe.

Currently, eight out of 10 new PCs run Windows XP, nearly eight years after the operating system was first released. By next year, that figure could drop by more than half, according to new research from industry watchers Forrester.

"Today, Windows XP is installed on four out of five new PCs. When we asked IT professionals to forecast their anticipated new PC deployments within 12 months from now, we discovered that Windows 7 will already be the primary OS deployed, with Windows Vista shrinking from 15 per cent to 10 per cent and Windows XP shrinking from 81 per cent to 34 per cent," Forrester's report said.

The research, which surveyed North American and European SMEs and enterprises, found that the majority of businesses using Windows XP plan to migrate straight to Windows 7 and without migrating to Vista first.

Of the companies polled, 61 per cent said they'll jump from XP to Windows 7, while just seven per cent said they plan to make a stop at Vista on the way.

PERSONALITY

Personality can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, motivations, and behaviors in various situations [3]. The word "personality" originates from the Latin persona, which means mask. Significantly, in thetheatre of the ancient Latin-speaking world, the mask was not used as a plot device to disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a convention employed to represent or typify that character.

Personality theories
Critics of personality theory claim personality is "plastic" across time, places, moods, and situations. Changes in personality may indeed result from diet (or lack thereof), medical effects, significant events, or learning. However, most personality theories emphasize stability over fluctuation.
Trait theories
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association, personality traits are "enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts." Theorists generally assume a) traits are relatively stable over time, b) traits differ among individuals (e.g. some people are outgoing while others are reserved), and c) traits influence behavior.
The most common models of traits incorporate three to five broad dimensions or factors. The least controversial dimension, observed as far back as the ancient Greeks, is simplyextraversion vs. introversion (outgoing and physical-stimulation-oriented vs. quiet and physical-stimulation-averse).

Type theories
Personality type refers to the psychological classification of different types of people. Personality types are distinguished from personality traits, which come in different levels or degrees. For example, according to type theories, there are two types of people, introverts and extraverts. According to trait theories, introversion and extraversion are part of a continuous dimension, with many people in the middle. The idea of psychological types originated in the theoretical work of Carl Jung[citation needed] and William Marston, whose work is reviewed in Dr. Travis Bradberry's The Personality Code. Jung's seminal 1921 book on the subject is available in English as Psychological Types.
Building on the writings and observations of Jung, during World War II, Isabel Briggs Myers and her mother, Katharine C. Briggs, delineated personality types by constructing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.[5] This model was later used by David Keirsey with a different understanding from Jung, Briggs and Myers.[6] In the former Soviet Union, Lithuanian Aušra Augustinavičiūtė independently derived a model of personality type from Jung's called Socionics.
The model is an older and more theoretical approach to personality, accepting extraversion and introversion as basic psychological orientations in connection with two pairs of psychological functions:
 Perceiving functions: sensing and intuition (trust in concrete, sensory-oriented facts vs. trust in abstract concepts and imagined possibilities)
 Judging functions: thinking and feeling (basing decisions primarily on logic vs. considering the effect on people).
Briggs and Myers also added another personality dimension to their type indicator to measure whether a person prefers to use a judging or perceiving function when interacting with the external world. Therefore they included questions designed to indicate whether someone wishes to come to conclusions (judgment) or to keep options open (perception).[5]
This personality typology has some aspects of a trait theory: it explains people's behaviour in terms of opposite fixed characteristics. In these more traditional models, the sensing/intuition preference is considered the most basic, dividing people into "N" (intuitive) or "S" (sensing) personality types. An "N" is further assumed to be guided either by thinking or feeling, and divided into the "NT" (scientist, engineer) or "NF" (author, humanitarian) temperament. An "S", by contrast, is assumed to be guided more by the judgment/perception axis, and thus divided into the "SJ" (guardian, traditionalist) or "SP" (performer, artisan) temperament.[6] These four are considered basic, with the other two factors in each case (including always extraversion/introversion) less important. Critics of this traditional view have observed that the types can be quite strongly stereotyped by professions (although neither Myers nor Keirsey engaged in such stereotyping in their type descriptions[5][6]), and thus may arise more from the need to categorize people for purposes of guiding their career choice.[7] This among other objections led to the emergence of the five-factor view, which is less concerned with behavior under work conditions and more concerned with behavior in personal and emotional circumstances. (It should be noted, however, that the MBTI is not designed to measure the "work self," but rather what Myers and McCaulley called the "shoes-off self."[8]) Some critics have argued for more or fewer dimensions while others have proposed entirely different theories (often assuming different definitions of "personality").


Psychoanalytic theories
Psychoanalytic theories explain human behaviour in terms of the interaction of various components of personality. Sigmund Freud was the founder of this school. Freud drew on the physics of his day (thermodynamics) to coin the term psychodynamics. Based on the idea of converting heat into mechanical energy, he proposed psychic energy could be converted into behavior. Freud's theory places central importance on dynamic, unconscious psychological conflicts.
Freud divides human personality into three significant components: the [[id,ego and the superego,]. The id acts according to the pleasure principle, demanding immediate gratification of its needs regardless of external environment; the ego then must emerge in order to realistically meet the wishes and demands of the id in accordance with the outside world, adhering to thereality principle. Finally, the superego(conscience) inculcates moral judgment and societal rules upon the ego, thus forcing the demands of the id to be met not only realistically but morally. The superego is the last function of the personality to develop, and is the embodiment of parental/social ideals established during childhood. According to Freud, personality is based on the dynamic interactions of these three components[9].
The channeling and release of sexual (libidal) and aggressive energies, which ensues from the "Eros" (sex; instinctual self-preservation) and "Thanatos" (death; instinctual self-annihilation) drives respectively, are major components of his theory.[9] It is important to note Freud's broad understanding of sexuality included all kinds of pleasurable feelings experienced by the human body.
Freud proposed five psychosexual stages of personality development. He believed adult personality is dependent upon early childhood experiences and largely determined by age five.[9]Fixations that develop during the Infantile stage contribute to adult personality and behavior.
One of Sigmund Freud's earlier associates, Alfred Adler, did agree with Freud early childhood experiences are important to development, and believed birth order may influence personality development. Adler believed the oldest was the one that set high goals to achieve to get the attention they lost back when the younger siblings were born. He believed the middle children were competitive and ambitious possibly so they are able to surpass the first-born’s achievements, but were not as much concerned about the glory. Also he believed the last born would be more dependent and sociable but be the baby. He also believed that the only child loves being the center of attention and matures quickly, but in the end fails to become independent.
Heinz Kohut thought similarly to Freud’s idea of transference. He used narcissism as a model of how we develop our sense of self. Narcissism is the exaggerated sense of one self in which is believed to exist in order to protect one's low self esteem and sense of worthlessness. Kohut had a significant impact on the field by extending Freud's theory of narcissism and introducing what he called the 'self-object transferences' of mirroring and idealization. In other words, children need to idealize and emotionally "sink into" and identify with the idealized competence of admired figures such as parents or older siblings. They also need to have their self-worth mirrored by these people. These experiences allow them to thereby learn the self-soothing and other skills that are necessary for the development of a healthy sense of self.
Another important figure in the world of personality theory was Karen Horney. She is credited with the development of the "real self" and the "ideal self". She believes all people have these two views of their own self. The "real self" is how you really are with regards to personality, values, and morals; but the "ideal self" is a construct you apply to yourself to conform to social and personal norms and goals. Ideal self would be "I can be successful, I am CEO material"; and real self would be "I just work in the mail room, with not much chance of high promotion".

Advertising .

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Advertising is a form of communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Frequently it communicates a message that includes the name of the product or service and how that product or service could potentially benefit the consumer. Advertising often attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume a particular brandof product or service. Modern advertising developed with the rise of mass production in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[1]
Commercial advertisers often seek to generate increased consumption of their products or services through branding, which involves the repetition of an image or product name in an effort to associate related qualities with the brand in the minds of consumers. Different types of media can be used to deliver these messages, including traditional media such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio, billboards or direct mail. Advertising may be placed by an advertising agency on behalf of a company or other organization.
Organizations that spend money on advertising promoting items other than a consumer product or service include political parties, interest groups, religious organizations and governmental agencies. Non-profit organizations may rely on free modes of persuasion, such as a public service announcement.
Money spent on advertising has increased in recent years. In 2007, spending on advertising was estimated at more than $150 billion in the United States[2] and $385 billion worldwide,[3] and the latter to exceed $450 billion by 2010.[citation needed]
Advertising is communication used to influence individuals to purchase products or services or support political candidates or ideas. Advertising can be displaced on billboards, newspapers, T.V., websites, movies and more.


Types of advertising



Television
Main articles: Television advertisement and Music in advertising
The TV commercial is generally considered the most effective mass-market advertising format, as is reflected by the high prices TV networks charge for commercial airtime during popular TV events. The annual Super Bowl football game in the United States is known as the most prominent advertising event on television. The average cost of a single thirty-second TV spot during this game has reached US$3 million (as of 2009).
The majority of television commercials feature a song or jingle that listeners soon relate to the product.
Virtual advertisements may be inserted into regular television programming through computer graphics. It is typically inserted into otherwise blank backdrops[10] or used to replace local billboards that are not relevant to the remote broadcast audience.[11] More controversially, virtual billboards may be inserted into the background[12] where none exist in real-life. Virtual product placement is also possible.[13][14]
[edit]Infomercials
Main article: Infomercial
An infomercial is a long-format television commercial, typically five minutes or longer. The word "infomercial" is a portmanteau of the words "information" and "commercial". The main objective in an infomercial is to create an impulse purchase, so that the consumer sees the presentation and then immediately buys the product through the advertised toll-free telephone number or website. Infomercials describe, display, and often demonstrate products and their features, and commonly have testimonials from consumers and industry professionals.
[edit]Radio advertising
Radio advertising is a form of advertising via the medium of radio.
Radio advertisements are broadcasted as radio waves to the air from a transmitter to an antenna and a thus to a receiving device. Airtime is purchased from a station or network in exchange for airing the commercials. While radio has the obvious limitation of being restricted to sound, proponents of radio advertising often cite this as an advantage
[edit]Print advertising
Print advertising describes advertising in a printed medium such as a newspaper, magazine, or trade journal. This encompasses everything from media with a very broad readership base, such as a major national newspaper or magazine, to more narrowly targeted media such as local newspapers and trade journals on very specialized topics. A form of print advertising isclassified advertising, which allows private individuals or companies to purchase a small, narrowly targeted ad for a low fee advertising a product or service.
[edit]Online advertising
Online advertising is a form of promotion that uses the Internet and World Wide Web for the expressed purpose of delivering marketing messages to attract customers. Examples of online advertising include contextual ads on search engine results pages, banner ads, Rich Media Ads, Social network advertising, online classified advertising, advertising networks and e-mail marketing, including e-mail spam.
[edit]Billboard advertising
Billboards are large structures located in public places which display advertisements to passing pedestrians and motorists. Most often, they are located on main roads with a large amount of passing motor and pedestrian traffic; however, they can be placed in any location with large amounts of viewers, such as on mass transit vehicles and in stations, in shopping malls or office buildings, and in stadiums.
[edit]Mobile billboard advertising


The RedEye newspaper advertised to its target market atNorth Avenue Beach with a sailboat billboard on Lake Michigan.
Mobile billboards are truck- or blimp-mounted billboards or digital screens. These can be dedicated vehicles built solely for carrying advertisements along routes preselected by clients, or they can be specially-equipped cargo trucks. The billboards are often lighted; some being backlit, and others employing spotlights. Some billboard displays are static, while others change; for example, continuously or periodically rotating among a set of advertisements.
Mobile displays are used for various situations in metropolitan areas throughout the world, including:
 Target advertising
 One-day, and long-term campaigns
 Conventions
 Sporting events
 Store openings and similar promotional events
 Big advertisements from smaller companies
 Others
[edit]In-store advertising
In-store advertising is any advertisement placed in a retail store. It includes placement of a product in visible locations in a store, such as at eye level, at the ends of aisles and near checkout counters, eye-catching displays promoting a specific product, and advertisements in such places as shopping carts and in-store video displays.
[edit]Covert advertising
Main article: Product placement
Covert advertising, also known as guerrilla advertising, is when a product or brand is embedded in entertainment and media. For example, in a film, the main character can use an item or other of a definite brand, as in the movie Minority Report, where Tom Cruise's character John Anderton owns a phone with the Nokia logo clearly written in the top corner, or his watch engraved with the Bulgari logo. Another example of advertising in film is in I, Robot, where main character played by Will Smith mentions his Converse shoes several times, calling them "classics," because the film is set far in the future. I, Robot and Spaceballs also showcase futuristic cars with the Audi and Mercedes-Benz logos clearly displayed on the front of the vehicles. Cadillac chose to advertise in the movie The Matrix Reloaded, which as a result contained many scenes in which Cadillac cars were used. Similarly, product placement for Omega Watches, Ford, VAIO, BMW and Aston Martin cars are featured in recent James Bond films, most notably Casino Royale. In "Fantastic Four 2: Rise of the Silver Surfer", the main transport vehiche shows a large Dodge logo on the front. Blade Runner includes some of the most obvious product placement; the whole film stops to show a Coca-Cola billboard.
[edit]Celebrities
Main article: Celebrity branding
This type of advertising focuses upon using celebrity power, fame, money, popularity to gain recognition for their products and promote specific stores or products. Advertisers often advertise their products, for example, when celebrities share their favorite products or wear clothes by specific brands or designers. Celebrities are often involved in advertising campaigns such as television or print adverts to advertise specific or general products.
The use of celebrities to endorse a brand can have its downsides, however. One mistake by a celebrity can be detrimental to the public relations of a brand. For example, following his performance of eight gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, swimmer Michael Phelps' contract with Kellog was terminated, as Kellog did not want to associate with him after he was photographed smoking marijuana.

Liberalization

In general, liberalization (or liberalisation) refers to a relaxation of previous government restrictions, usually in areas of social or economic policy. Liberalization of autocratic regimes may precede democratization (or not, as in the case of the Prague Spring).
In the arena of social policy it may refer to a relaxation of laws restricting for example divorce, abortion, homosexuality or drugs.
Most often, the term is used to refer to economic liberalization, especially trade liberalization or capital market liberalization.

Although economic liberalization is often associated with privatization, the two can be quite separate processes. For example, the European Union has liberalized gas and electricitymarkets, instituting a system of competition; but some of the leading European energy companies (such as EDF and Vattenfall) remain partially or completely in government ownership.
Liberalized and privatized public services may be dominated by just a few big companies particularly in sectors with high capital costs, or high such as water, gas and electricity. In some cases they may remain legal monopoly at least for some part of the market (e.g. small consumers).
Liberalization is one of three focal points (the others being privatization and stabilization) of the Washington Consensus's trinity strategy for economies in transition. An example of Liberalization is the "Washington Consensus" which was a set of policies created and used by Argentina
Liberalization vs Democratization
There is a distinct difference between liberalization and democratization, which are often thought to be the same concept. Liberalization can take place without democratization, and deals with a combination of policy and social change specialized to a certain issue such as the liberalization of government-held property for private purchase, whereas democratization is more politically specialized that can arise from a liberalization, but works in a broader level of government.

IBM launches new network analysis technologies

IBM, global major in providing software solutions, has launched two new network analysis technologies named as Social Network Analysis (SNA) technology and IBM Customer Analyst technology.
The SNA technology will allow the telecom service providers to have a complete analysis of the pattern in which services are being used by the customers. It is developed by the scientists in IBM research lab in India.
The technology will facilitate the telecom operators with the calling patterns of the subscribers that will enable them to devise more attractive and useful schemes for the users.
Mr. Guruduth Banavar, Director, IBM India Research Lab and Chief Technologist, IBM India and South Asia said that the field of telecommunication is growing at a very fast pace and the mobile telephony market is getting highly competitive. The companies require intelligent solutions to analyze customer behavior so that they can increase customer satisfaction and grab more market shares.
Mr. Banavar added that the IBM’s India center has been researching on the technology for the past two years.

Nobel Economics Prize wraps up awards season

STOCKHOLM — The 2009 Nobel season wraps up Monday with the announcement of the winner of the Nobel Economics Prize, expected to attract special attention in the wake of the global economic crisis.
The Swedish Academy of Sciences that attributes the prize releases no list of nominees, so pundits are left to speculate wildly up until the announcement at 1:00 pm (1100 GMT).
The Economics Prize is the only one of the six Nobel prizes not created in Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel's 1896 will -- it was created much later to celebrate the 1968 tricentary of the Swedish central bank and was first awarded in 1969.
Since then, men have swept the Economics Prize, with no woman clinching the 10-million-kronor (1.42-million-dollar, 980,000-euro) honour which can be shared by up to three winners.
Americans also dominate the list of economics laureates, with 42 of the 62 prizewinners since 1969 holding US citizenship.
Last year, the coveted award went to US economist, New York Times columnist and fierce George W. Bush critic Paul Krugman for a trade analysis theory that determines the effects of free trade and globalisation, as well as the driving forces behind worldwide urbanisation.
At online betting site Ladbrokes, Eugene Fama of the US, often dubbed the "father of efficient market hypothesis", is -- as last year -- tipped as the most likely winner on Monday, with 2-to-1 odds.
He could possibly share the prize with Kenneth French, a professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire.
Together, the duo questioned the traditional way of measuring market returns and developed an alternative method called the "Fama-French three factor model."
Other Americans mentioned in the media as possible laureates are Paul Romer, Matthew Rabin and William Nordhaus.
Swedish paper of reference Dagens Nyheter speculated however that the winner would most likely be Austria's Ernst Fehr, a behavioural economist from the University of Zurich who has specialised in the importance of the social group, cooperation and fairness in economics.
Others rumoured to be in the running are Bengt Holmstroem of Finland, Frenchman Jean Tirole, who among other things specialises in game theory and the psychology of economic decisions, and Indian economist Jagdish Bhagwati, a professor at Columbia University in New York and the founder of the Journal of International Economics.
For the five Nobel prizes awarded last week -- for medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace -- nine of the 11 laureates were US citizens, including US President Barack Obama who sensationally won the prestigious Peace Prize.
The formal prize ceremonies will be held in Stockholm and Oslo on December 10.

SWOT Analysis ITC

Formerly Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited (ITC).
ITC is one of India's biggest and best-known private sector companies. In fact it is one of the World's most high profile consumer operations. Its businesses and brands are focused almost entirely on the Indian markets, and despite being most well-known for its tobacco brands such as Gold Flake, the business is now diversifying into new FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) brands in a number of market sectors - including cigarettes, hotels, paper, agriculture, packaged foods and confectionary, branded apparel, personal care, greetings cards, Information Technology, safety matches, incense sticks and stationery. Examples of its successful new FMCG products include:
• Aashirvaad - India's most popular atta brand with over 50% market share. It is also present in spices and instant mixes.
• Mint-o - Mint-0 Fresh is the largest cough lozenge brand in India.
• Bingo! - a new introduction of finger snacks.
• Kitchens of India - pre-prepared foods designed by ITC's master chefs.
• Sunfeast - is ITC's biscuit brand (and the sub-brand is also used on some pasta products).
Strengths
ITC leveraged it traditional businesses to develop new brands for new segments. For example, ITC used its experience of transporting and distributing tobacco products to remote and distant parts of India to the advantage of its FMCG products. ITC master chefs from its hotel chain are often asked to develop new food concepts for its FMCG business.
ITC is a diversified company trading in a number of business sectors including cigarettes, hotels, paper, agriculture, packaged foods and confectionary, branded apparel, personal care, greetings cards, Information Technology, safety matches, incense sticks and stationery.
Weaknesses
The company's original business was traded in tobacco. ITC stands for Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. It is interesting that a business that is now so involved in branding continues to use its original name, despite the negative connection of tobacco with poor health and premature death.
To fund its cash guzzling FMCG start-up, the company is still dependant upon its tobacco revenues. Cigarettes account for 47 per cent of the company's turnover, and that in itself is responsible for 80% of its profits. So there is an argument that ITC's move into FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) is being subsidised by its tobacco operations. Its Gold Flake tobacco brand is the largest FMCG brand in India - and this single brand alone hold 70% of the tobacco market.
Opportunities
Core brands such as Aashirvaad, Mint-o, Bingo! And Sun Feast (and others) can be developed using strategies of market development, product development and marketing penetration.
ITC is moving into new and emerging sectors including Information Technology, supporting business solutions.
e-Choupal is a community of practice that links rural Indian farmers using the Internet. This is an original and well thought of initiative that could be used in other sectors in many other parts of the world. It is also an ambitious project that has a goal of reaching 10 million farmers in 100,000 villages. Take a look at eChoupal here http://www.itcportal.com/agri_exports/e-choupal_new.htm
ITC leverages e-Choupal in a novel way. The company researched the tastes of consumers in the North, West and East of India of atta (a popular type of wheat flour), then used the network to source and create the raw materials from farmers and then blend them for consumers under purposeful brand names such as Aashirvaad Select in the Northern market, Aashirvaad MP Chakki in the Western market and Aashirvaad in the Eastern market. This concept is tremendously difficult for competitors to emulate.
Chairman Yogi Deveshwar's strategic vision is to turn his Indian conglomerate into the country's premier FMCG business.
Per capita consumption of personal care products in India is the lowest in the world offering an opportunity for ITC's soaps, shampoos and fragrances under their Wills brand.
Threats
The obvious threat is from competition, both domestic and international. The laws of economics dictate that if competitors see that there is a solid profit to be made in an emerging consumer society that ultimately new products and services will be made available. Western companies will see India as an exciting opportunity for themselves to find new market segments for their own offerings.
ITC's opportunities are likely to be opportunities for other companies as well. Therefore the dynamic of competition will alter in the medium-term. Then ITC will need to decide whether being a diversified conglomerate is the most competitive strategic formation for a secure future.
TC was incorporated on August 24, 1910 under the name of 'Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited'. Its beginnings were humble. A leased office on Radha Bazar Lane, Kolkata, was the centre of the Company's existence. The Company celebrated its 16th birthday on August 24, 1926, by purchasing the plot of land situated at 37, Chowringhee, (now renamed J.L. Nehru Road) Kolkata, for the sum of Rs 310,000. More . . .

What is "free-float market capitalization"?

Many different types of investors hold the shares of a company! The Govt. may hold some of the shares. Some of the shares may be held by the “founders” or “directors” of the company. Some of the shares may be held by the FDI’s etc. etc!

Now, only the “open market” shares that are free for trading by anyone, are called the “free-float” shares. When we are calculating the Sensex, we are interested in these “free-float” shares!

A particular company, may have certain shares in the open market and certain shares that are not available for trading in the open market.

According the BSE, any shares that DO NOT fall under the following criteria, can be considered to be open market shares:
• Holdings by founders/directors/ acquirers which has control element
• Holdings by persons/ bodies with "controlling interest"
• Government holding as promoter/acquirer
• Holdings through the FDI Route
• Strategic stakes by private corporate bodies/ individuals
• Equity held by associate/group companies (cross-holdings)
• Equity held by employee welfare trusts
• Locked-in shares and shares which would not be sold in the open market in normal course.
A company has to submit a complete report about “who has how many of the company’s shares” to the BSE. On the basis of this, the BSE will decide the “free-float factor” of the company. The “free-float factor” is a very valuable number! If you multiply the "free-float factor" with the “market cap” of that company, you will get the “free-float market cap” which is the value of the shares of the company in the open market!
A simple way to understand the “free-float market cap” would be, the total cost of buying all the shares in the open market!

So, having understood what the “free float market cap” is, now what? How do you find out the value of the Sensex at a particular point? Well, it’s pretty simple….
First: Find out the “free-float market cap” of all the 30 companies that make up the Sensex!

Second: Add all the “free-float market cap’s” of all the 30 companies!

Third: Make all this relative to the Sensex base. The value you get is the Sensex value!

The “third” step probably confused you. To understand it, you will need to understand “ratios and proportions” from 5th standard mathematics. Think of it this way:

Suppose, for a “free-float market cap” of Rs.100,000 Cr... the Sensex value is 4000…
Then, for a “free-float market cap” of Rs.150,000 Cr... the Sensex value will be..

So, the Sensex value will be 6000 if the “free-float market cap” comes to Rs.150,000 Cr!

Please Note: Every time one of the 30 companies has a “stock split” or a "bonus" etc. appropriate changes are made in the “market cap” calculations.

Now, there is only one question left to be answered, which 30 companies, why those 30 companies, why no other companies?

The 30 companies that make up the Sensex are selected and reviewed from time to time by an “index committee”. This “index committee” is made up of academicians, mutual fund managers, finance journalists, independent governing board members and other participants in the financial markets.

The main criteria for selecting the 30 stocks is as follows:
Market capitalization: The company should have a market capitalization in the Top 100 market capitalization’s of the BSE. Also the market capitalization of each company should be more than 0.5% of the total market capitalization of the Index.

Trading frequency: The company to be included should have been traded on each and every trading day for the last one year. Exceptions can be made for extreme reasons like share suspension etc.

Number of trades: The scrip should be among the top 150 companies listed by average number of trades per day for the last one year.

Industry representation: The companies should be leaders in their industry group.

Listed history: The companies should have a listing history of at least one year on BSE.

Track record: In the opinion of the index committee, the company should have an acceptable track record.
Having understood all this, you now know how the Sensex is calculated.

What is "market capitalization"?

market capitalisation (an estimation of the value of a business that is obtained by multiplying the number of shares outstanding by the current prie of a share)


You probably think that you have never heard of the term “market capitalization” before. You have! When you are talking about “mid-cap”, “small-cap” and “large-cap” stocks, you are talking about market capitalization!

Market cap or market capitalization is simply the worth of a company in terms of it’s shares! To put it in a simple way, if you were to buy all the shares of a particular company, what is the amount you would have to pay? That amount is called the “market capitalization”!

To calculate the market cap of a particular company, simply multiply the “current share price” by the “number of shares issued by the company”! Just to give you an idea, ONGC, has a market cap of “Rs.170,705.21 Cr” (when this article was written)

Depending on the value of the market cap, the company will either be a “mid-cap” or “large-cap” or “small-cap” company! Now the question is, how do YOU calculate the market cap of a particular company? You don’t! Just go to a website like MoneyControl.com and look up the company whose market cap you are interested in finding out! The figure in front of “Mkt. Cap” will be the market cap value.

Having seen what market cap is and how to find out the market cap of a particular company, let us try to understand the concept of “free-float market cap”