COVER STORY

Sensex: B ulls Day Out

- - Amit Singh Sisodiya, and Sailaja Mannava

An exceptional Bull Run has propelled the BSE Sensex to zoom past the 12,000 mark with a sizable gain of 5,000 points in less than a year! Clearly, bulls seem to be in complete command. However, it would be financially perilous to assume that bears are in hibernation. For, occasional blips, though few and far between, do caution that bears are ready to retaliate. At a time when popular mood in the market is overtly buoyant, being a contrarian is not a bad idea, at all.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

India : The Next Knowledge Superpower?

- - N Janardhan Rao and Feroz Zaheer

Consistent and collaborative efforts from the government, industry and academia are necessary to transform India into a knowledge superpower.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Real Estate Boom : How Real is it?

- - N Janardhan Rao

Against the real estate boom, India is now trying hard to ease its regulations and encourage FDI. Besides, the primary challenges to this growth will be continued in infrastructure and prudent bank lending practices.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

Politics and Economy : Thailand after Thaksin

- - D Satish and Smita Deshpande

Thaksin Shinawatras decision to step down as the Thai Prime Minister has created a constitutional deadlock in the country. While the authorities are busy trying to come out of the cloudy political climate, which is unlikely to clear any time soon, the countrys economy begs for attention.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

India Post : New Horizons

- - N Janardhan Rao and Feroz Zaheer

The first organization for mail delivery service in the country is exploring different opportunities to reinvent itself.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

PERSPECTIVES

Reservations: Where are We Heading?

- - GRK Murty

The current move for increasing reservations from 22.5% to 49.5% in IITs, IIMs, etc., if viewed in the backdrop of "globalization", is sure to undermine national interests.

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PERSPECTIVES

Capital Account Convertibility : Is India Ready for the Game?

- - GRK Murty

Looking at China that is sitting pretty with forex reserves of $850 bn, no one should get tempted to say that CAC is essential for attracting foreign capital.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

INDUSTRY

FDI in Telecom: Indias Skewed Policies

- - D Satish and Smita Deshpande

The dispute among partners in two major telecom companies have brought to the fore the loopholes in the Indian telecom policies.

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INDUSTRY

FMCG Sector : Happy Times are Here Again

- - Amit Singh Sisodiya and Kavitha Putta

Having faced a crunch time during the last few years, Indian FMCG companies growth finally seems to be back on track.

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INDUSTRY

Auto Majors : Cashing in on Components Boom

- - N Janardhan Rao and Ravi Babu Adusumilli

As the global sourcing in the auto components is growing at a brisk pace, domestic and foreign auto majors are foraying into components manufacturing in a big way.

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INDUSTRY

Indian Pharmaceutical Industry : Post-patent Scenario

- - Roman Macaya

The primary challenges are dealing with the new environment of overprotected patents and the enormous marketing and political influence that the MNCs have on the decision makers that pay for the drugs.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

Middle East : The Petrodollar Stash

- - N Janardhan Rao and Ravi Babu Adusumilli

The present windfall of petrodollars in the Middle East is more likely to impact the global economy than it has in the past.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

Emerging Markets : Coming of Age

- - N Janardhan Rao and Ravi Babu Adusumilli

After the terrible performance in the mid-1990s, equities and bonds in the emerging markets have been outperforming the developed markets.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Contra Funds : A New Investment Driver

- - D Satish and Surendar Vaddepalli

To differentiate from their peers, some of the mutual funds have come up with contra funds based on contrarian thinking.

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FINANCIAL SERVICES

Japanese Banks : On the Rebound

- - Krishna Kishore Puranam

The Central Bank move to tighten the easy money could mean the end to one of the biggest financial free drive in modern economic history.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Life Insurance : Starving for Capital

- - N Janardhan Rao and Ravi Babu Adusumilli

Indian private life insurance players are facing severe capital crunch to fund their future expansion plans. This is paving the way for consolidation in the industry.

© 2006 IUP . All Rights Reserved

FINANCIAL MARKETS

Stock Exchanges : Gearing Up for Global Consolidation

- - D Satish and Smita Deshpande

NASDAQs unsuccessful trail and its subsequent purchase of stake in the London Stock Exchange have raised a flurry of speculations about consolidation of global exchanges.

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FINANCIAL MARKETS

Tokyo Stock Exchange : Technology Blues

- - Amit Singh Sisodiya and Sailaja Mannava

A series of technical glitches that hit its trading systems most recently questions the 56-year credibility of the worlds second largest stock exchange, which, ironically, takes pride in its technological prowess.

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MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

AT&T-BellSouth : Dial M for Merger

- - Amit Singh Sisodiya and Aala Santhosh Reddy

The merger of AT&T and BellSouth rekindles the hope of a rebirth of Ma Bell after a painful disintegration about two decades ago and the recent spate of mergers. The $67 bn deal is also a stark reminder of the failure of the deregulation in the US telecom industry.

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CORPORATE STRATEGY

HPs HURD : Reinventing the PC Giant

- - Amit Singh Sisodiya and Aala Santhosh Reddy

After transforming HP into a lean and efficient company, the new CEO Mark Hurd faces tougher challenges - the worlds No. 2 PC maker has to find new areas of growth as competition intensifies.

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ARTS AND ARTISITS

The Real Catcher in the Rye: Is it a Mere Conjecture?

- - Chaitanya Katuri

I set off to write here about a subject which unceasingly attracts both raw fervor and scholarly undertakings: Its about Holden Caulfield, the super cool American disaffected youth, who has come to exemplify the almost Hamlet-like revulsion for the "rank and base things" of the world; Only, unlike the prince of Denmark, Caulfield was all of 16 years, flunking his way out of yet another elite prep school, all the while articulating a profound distaste for all things phony. He also differed from Hamlet in another crucial aspect: his manner of articulation: breezy, impudent and endearing; none of the exalted but pedantic bemoans of Hamlet.

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ARTS AND ARTISTS

Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

- - Prof. T R Shastri

As per the lexicons, a rogue is a de-ceitful and unreliable scoundrel. Thus, a book subtitled as A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything can be easily presumed as the bedtime story explaining whatever any central bank would not desire to happen. However, the book titled Freakonomics is not so.

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APOLITICAL

Oil: Archaic Pricing Policies

- - grk

Our oil pricing policies hardly make any economic sense and thus warrant quick correction.

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