Wednesday, December 12, 2012

AMERICAN BUSINESSES: BANKRUPTCIES

Bankruptcies in US companies have continued...

Enron and Worldcom were two other dubious names at the dawn of this century that investors would remember with horror and trepidation. Accounting frauds at these companies, which were done by executives at multiple levels to hide the burden of debt on them, led to further investor billions going down the drain; and the government bringing out its much publicized Sarbanes-Oxley legislation to prevent further frauds.

With GM now staring at the road to bankruptcy, that too, after borrowing extremely precious time and money from the US government, the issue of corporate bankruptcy is as relevant as it ever was. The examples are many, and span across sectors and throughout history, with companies like Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Texaco, Inc., Financial Corp. of America, Refco Inc., Delta Airlines & IndyMac Bancorp, Inc. on the list. Bloopers like flawed strategies, dubious reputations of top executives, failing to move with the times, et al have been the usual culprits.

Chapter 11 is not such a bad place, provided you don’t intend to stay there! Professor Michael A. Roberto, Professor of Management, Bryant University, Rhode Island, comments to B&E, “Chapter 11 bankruptcies in the US enable firms to restructure their obligations to creditors. In doing so, the company has the potential to emerge from a bankruptcy with a more optimal capital structure, a more reasonable debt load & less burdensome labor contracts.” Delta Airlines is a perfect example. The airline was burdened by high costs and weak revenues, so it took bankruptcy protection. After a restructuring that lasted around 18 months, the airline brought itself out of the Chapter 11 successfully. So it’s not that bad, Wagoner, oops sorry, you’ve been kicked out! Not that bad, Mr. Fritz Henderson! 


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Sunday, December 9, 2012

Madgascar III: Coup d’état

Madagascar faces an uncertain political future

In the African scheme of things, what is better than a coup d’état? A bloodless coup d’état! Watching the regime of Madagascar's ex-President, Marc Ravalomanana, come to an end was like sitting through a Sophocles tragedy in all its acts and nuances. In Madagascar, the protagonist – the king – deliberately turned a blind eye to the aspirations of his subjects and deaf to those aides who unsuccessfully tried to convince him that he was in deep mess.

Ravalomanana, too was warned in advance. But he didn't pay much heed. It is not that there was no case against the incumbent. He used his office to secure a near-monopoly of the dairy business in Madagascar and started to carve out an empire in tourism. In fact, the largest hotel in the country – constructed by the Chinese – was owned by him. That was too much for a nation, where 70% of its populace lives on less than $1 a day. But that does not necessarily mean that the power snatcher, Andry Rajoelina, had the mandate of the people. Experts believe that this ex-disco jockey is an untried leader who is too full of himself and is evidently disapproves of democratic establishments. At 34, he is full six years short of legal age for becoming President. Rajoelina, who doesn't even have two years of political exposure, led a rebellion in the capital Antananarivo that forced Ravalomanana to vacate office, after a majority of the army turned against him. “He is a non-starter. An upstart with little political experience; he also lacks the support of any political party,” says Stephen Ellis, an African affairs expert at the Free University Amsterdam, while talking to B&E. “With the exception of perhaps the metropolitan mob in Antananarivo, his support base is unsustainable,” adds Ellis.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Friday, December 7, 2012

A shameless nation of freeloaders

 Many of you must have barely read or heard about the latest shenanigans stalking Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) – the Mecca, Medina, Vatican and Chaardham of Left wing civil service aspirants masquerading as activists and wannabe academicians. One student even earned his 15 minutes of fame by threatening to jump to his death. Many student leaders have been rusticated for disrupting the sale of prospectuses for the academic year 2009-10. They, and their supporters, have declared war on the JNU administration. Why? Three ostensible reasons. First, JNU wanted to 'commercialise' the campus. Second, it wanted to install electricity meters in hostel rooms. Third, it increased the cost of the prospectus by a 'staggering' Rs.80 to Rs.200 each. This hike comes after 10 years. When student leaders launched an agitation, JNU announced that there will be no electricity meters and no 'commercialisation'. It also announced a free prospectus for a candidate below poverty line. But the student leaders were adamant. They insisted that 'poor' students cannot afford Rs.200. The stalemate continues.

This brouhaha reveals two deeply disturbing things about India – the farce that is higher education in India and the shameless manner in which middle class Indians crave for freebies. Of course, the political class happily exploits both to suit its ends; ensuring that 'quality' higher education becomes a slave of 'patronage' and the real poor of India get lemons; while the middle class and the rich walk away with all the freebies (subsidies). Take JNU as the classic example of these symptoms. Are the student leaders serious when they say that aspiring students cannot afford to pay Rs.80 more for a prospectus? Out of curiosity, I went to the JNU website and checked out the fee structure. Hold your breath; even you can't believe this happens in India!

If you are a B.A (Hons), M.A, M.Sc or M.C.A student in JNU, the total annual fee that you pay is about Rs.330 – inclusive of fees for sports and cultural activities, I-card, Library use, et al. That works out to less than Rs.30 a month. If you are an M.Phil, M.Tech or Ph.D student in JNU, the total annual fee is a princely Rs.355 or so; still less than Rs.30 a month. This island of ''academic excellence'' and bastion of socialism also has many fine hostels where the admission fee is a mind boggling Rs.5. The annual fee, including electricity, water and other facilities for a student opting for a single room is about Rs.700. That works out to less than Rs.60 per month. So you have a JNU student pursue higher studies at less than Rs.100 per month – including a stay in the hostel use of library, newspapers, electricity and what not.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Thursday, December 6, 2012

Catch ‘em wrong!

Questioning the ‘brilliant’ financial disclosure by Barclays...

What would your impromptu reaction be, if ‘some’ aggrieved investor walked up to you, complaining about ‘some’ well known financial institution posting ‘some’ unprecedented loss during the year gone by? Chances are, you’ll hardly bother to offer him a dimeworth of condolence, forget empty words of solace! For isn’t it a norm these days, for banks to post ‘negative earnings’, CEOs to walk away with zero bonuses and employees to get jettisoned?! Now how about this exercise – what if ‘some’ investor walked up to you, complaining about ‘some’ well-known financial institution posting ‘some’ below-average growth in profits during the year gone by? Chances are, you’ll entice and cajole him into selling his shares (in that company) to you; for what better than a financial entity that can promise and deliver on profits even at a time when the world is tearing its hair apart on the brobdignanian losses that has come to haunt investors...

And this is where Barclays comes into the scene, like a fresh breeze, declaring financials for 2008 on a positive note (what a relief!), with net profits having risen by 4% to touch $7.54 billion and total PBIT ringing the $9 billion bell during FY‘08. Although these make Barclays’ performance sound totally ‘beyond expectations’ (which it is to an extent), the real story behind the scene is bound to give its investors few more wrinkles on their foreheads. And here we are not even referring to the huge 14% fall in EBIT over FY‘07 or about another worrisome 14% fall in diluted EPS for FY‘08; we’re referring to some abnormalities than only get more obvious on closer scrutiny.

Though the bank witnessed a great group balance sheet growth of 71% to touch $2.92 trillion (in FY‘08), but the credit for the same primarily goes to the fall in value of Sterling as opposed to the UK Dollar and Euro.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Bestselling blockbusters

 Reading the future of books and movies...

Salman Rushdie presented the world his magnum opus – Midnight’s Children – in 1981 and more than 25 years later, people are still bewitched by this tale. Not only did it bag the ‘Booker’ of Bookers last year, but now Deepa Mehta is planning to bring it to life on the silver screen. Filmmakers have often looked to books for inspiration, but Midnight’s Children is understandably no ordinary book. Deepa, along with Imran Khan as her lead star, and Salman Rushdie himself by her side, paying extraordinary attention to the making of the film, might just be able to succeed in recreating this intricate, magical story; though it’s no menial task. Yet complex scripts haven’t deterred filmmakers as yet! Innumerous books have been made into films, and as the trend keeps growing, one wonders if writing books, while keeping films in mind is their ticket to money and fame?

With over 1,000 films churned out of our country alone, it’s no surprise that books are often made into movies, and when it’s one like Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s Devdas – just one film is so not enough to do the book justice! After Shahrukh Khan’s much-lauded performance as Devdas just 6-7 years ago, the new talented kid on the block, Abhay Deol, is now out to paint the character in a more modern but equally inebriated hues in Dev D. While Vidhu Vinod Chopra had masterfully recreated another of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s book – Parineeta – he is now betting his money on the story Five Point Someone by Chetan Bhagat. Titled 3 Idiots, the film has Aamir Khan in the lead role. Another of Bhagat’s book – One Night @ the Call Center – was made into the very forgettable film Hello. Vishal Bharadwaj brought Shakespeare’s stories to the common people in India through his films Maqbool and Omkara. And the film which has finally got our countrymen seriously into the race for the Oscars – Slumdog Millionaire – is also based on a book – Q & A by Vikas Swarup.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Monday, December 3, 2012

Gas them all, we say!

The lethargy to move to alternative fuel seems almost insane...

In Japan, while Honda rolled out its first hydrogen powered car, another Japanese company, Genepax, has gone one step ahead in making a prototype which runs on water by extracting the hydrogen for fuelling the engine. This should be seen in the background that hell-raisers (economists, if we may) now claim that the price of oil could even touch $200 per barrel in months to come. And though it might be too early to prefigure the shape of things, one thing is for sure, that the short journey to a new world where the need to plead and live with a prayer for oil price to come down, has already begun.

Yet, the real question is whether the energy problem is really so grave or is it simply a result of inertia of developing countries to strive for alternatives. And especially so in developing economies like, say, India. A report by the Global Environment Facility of the UNDP on India’s Coal Bed Methane (CBM) extraction potential states, “It is estimated that in India, the largest coal producer in the world, there are around 20,000 sq km of area where CBM capture could be carried out and that the country’s recoverable reserves of methane are 800 billion cubic metres, with a gas production potential of 105 million cubic metres a day over 20 years.” Compare this with Saudi Arabia’s daily production of oil which stands at 9.5 million barrel per day.

The reality is that many underdeveloped and developing nations have similar sources of alternative energy; yet, fail to see the potential. If most of the major metropolitan cities turn to CNG as the standard fuel for all public transport systems and private vehicles, it would reduce the oil demand significantly.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Sunday, December 2, 2012

Save ‘their’ souls?

Ratan Tata seeks a special contingency fund to be created by banks to rescue Indian companies who have taken dollar and euro loans. A script not so hard to decipher!

Unlike what B&E’s successive critical analyses of various big ticket acquisitions of the Tata Group would suggest, we actually admire Mr. Ratan Tata. Yes indeed Sir! Your quest for global conquests has been the stuff of legends. We are truly enamoured by the visionary aggression with which you have led the Tata group.

So our mental state was understandable when we read a few days back that he is seeking special funds in banks. Our first impression was that Tata is perhaps planning to now buy out a bank or two! But then we found out that it was a proposal for ‘select’ Indian banks to create a special contingency fund to rescue ‘credit-worthy’ Indian companies from despair, if the dollar & euro loans they’ve taken are recalled or have to be repaid in a hurry. That’s because the global crisis might compel many foreign banks & institutions to refuse to extend or roll over loans after December 2008. Hmm... surely no company could be more credit worthy than the Tata Group, right?

Two years ago, B&E had the temerity to suggest that the double whammy of a falling rupee and falling demand and profitability for steel could make the Corus acquisition unmanageable and saddle Tata Steel with unprecedented debt.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

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Friday, November 30, 2012

Do more harm than good. Read on!

While Delhi basks in the glory of post-Marathon mania, it turns out that running might just do more harm than good. Read on!

If one follows a certain amount of discipline before the run, marathons can be what they’re supposed to be – harmless, and a lot of fun. All that is required is consistency in workouts before the marathon and increasing the stamina by following the 10% formula, i.e., to never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% over the previous week. Jumping more miles than this would be a mistake that the body will pay for in the not-so-distant future. In fact, high intensity workouts every day does not allow the body to recover. Accommodating an easy workout in-between is definitely a far better plan.

While most people practice running in the parks, it is important to avoid uneven surface. On the other hand, slanting surface causes one foot to roll inward and the other outward, leading to a bad posture. If the surface is hard and concrete, and not made of grass and packed dirt, it can cause further injuries to the joints. So that makes looking out for the flattest and softest surfaces a worthwhile task.

Whoever came up with the phrase ‘run for your life’ obviously was oblivious to the perils that can come your way if you don’t do it right!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Bouquets & corruption BRICbats

Transparency International’s corruption index kills Russia’s image

Corruption, bribery and nepotism are the three pillars on which some modern economies are being based. The well known Berlin based anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), has come out with its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) to measure corruption on a scale of 0 [zero being the lowest rate of corruption] to 10. Expectably, poor countries like Somalia and Burma lie at the bottom of the table close to a perfect ten. Whereas small trouble-free and rich democracies of Western Europe like Denmark and Sweden lie at the top.

Another BRIC nation Brazil is placed somewhere in the middle of the table, at a mediocre – though relatively better – 62 [up from 70 last year]. Brazil could have scored magnificently better, but last year’s corruption charge –the ‘mensalao’ episode – where President Lula’s Worker Party is alleged to have bribed lawmakers in return for their support to the party in the lower house of the Parliament, played spoilsport!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Defeat Corruption

What’s the dirtiest secret about corruption? Just how little we know about it. Treasuries are plundered and kickbacks are paid, but the nature and scale of the world’s shady transactions largely remain a mystery to us. Luckily, a little economic detective work is all that is needed to expose the smuggling, cheating and bribing that is hiding in plain sight.

It was the odd uniformity of the suitcase’s contents that tipped off the baggage inspector: six thick, identical rectangles. They could have been books, but then again, they could have been six bundles of cocaine. And in August 2007, security was tight at Buenos Aires airport; the country was in the midst of a presidential election. The suitcase’s owner, a Venezuelan businessman just in from Caracas, hesitated briefly when asked to open his suspicious luggage. Out tumbled $800,000 in cash. It was, according to US investigators, an illegal campaign contribution from Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez intended for Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, wife of Argentina’s former president & candidate for presidency herself. What better to grease the countries’ friendship, investigators alleged, than a suitcase full of cash?

Such tales of bribery and corruption are as old as politics. Try as we might to rid officialdom of crooks, extorting senators, vote-buying presidents and judges for sale remain all too common. Whether it’s the $90,000 in cold cash that turned up a few years ago in a US congressman’s freezer, the “Versailles in the jungle” built with the billions embezzled by Zaire’s Mobutu Sese Seko, or the bank balances of oil autocrats in Central Asia, venality and excess remain the scourge of modern global politics.

But corruption is not simply a moral concern. It’s blamed – perhaps rightly – for many of the world’s ills; widely accused of being an endemic barrier to economic development, responsible for Africa’s lasting poverty and Latin America’s perennial stagnation. It is, says conventional wisdom, what makes poor countries poor. It undermines the rule of law, distorts trade, and confers economic advantages on a privileged few. It prevents aid money from reaching victims, topples buildings thanks to shoddy construction, and strangles business with constant burden of bribes and payoffs. Yet the truth is that we have very little idea about how corruption works or how pervasive it is. We have anecdotes about rotten individuals – a Ferdinand Marcos, a Robert Mugabe, or Charles Taylor – but this tells us almost nothing about the breadth and depth of global corruption. After all, when bribery and embezzlement is done right, it’s invisible. Economists haven’t even resolved if and when corruption is really a problem: East Asian economies have boomed in recent decades under reputedly corrupt regimes.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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PROFILE: B.S. YEDDYURAPPA

Karnataka Chief Minister needs to quell Bajrangi hate mongers and ensure safety to minorities

After being criticised by every corner, the state government had to arrest Bajarang Dal Chief, Mahendra Kumar. The Centre has issued a notice to the Karnataka government to control the law and order. The Central team and the National Commission for Minorities (NCM) have both, in their respective reports, rapped the government of Karnataka for failing to protect the attacks against the Christian community. This forced Yeddyurappa to order a judicial probe, a opposition demand that he had earlier refused.

Governing Karnataka has turned out to be a litmus test for Yeddyurappa. In a political career spanning over decades, Yeddyurappa has been at the helm of many political posts. As a grass-root politician he has headed a town municipality, has repeatedly been to the two houses of state legislature and has been the leader of opposition in Karnataka.

This his first stint in power. He needs to put his experiences to use. Long innings within the RSS and Jan Sangh may have streamlined his philosophy and focussed his approach when it came to contesting elections. However, he now needs to realise that a CM''s job is not to appease his coterie even if they collectively stimulate horrendous wrongs. Karnataka has led India to its IT fame. The recent attacks are a blot on the state''s face. Yeddyurappa needs to realise that his progressive electorate may not forgive him for the recent attacks even if they practice the same religion as his.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, November 26, 2012

JAPAN: PM RESIGNATION

Japan urgently needs a worthy successor after Fukuda's resignation

The upper and lower houses of Diet (Japanese parliament) have been paralysed for around a year and the country is expected to see some stability only if Aso becomes Fukuda’s successor. Aso commands a popular support within Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and is known for his straight talking. If he comes to power, things may change for better for LDP.

Having a strong person is the need of the hour not only for LDP but also for Japan. Indecisiveness in politics is something that Japan can’t bear anymore. The economy is feared to be galloping towards recession. The whole messed up issue of selection of governor for the Bank of Japan has dented the image of Japan. Other areas also need proper consideration. Japan's foreign policy needs people who can continue with the vocal presence that Koizumi had shown and people need reforms on the pension, health insurance and gas tax front. LDP has failed to deliver on every front and people's disappointment is evident now. This is bad for the party since the opposition, Democratic Party (DPJ) would now want to carry out elections as soon as possible. Things would be tough for whoever comes to power after Fukuda. He has to resolve all the conflict within LDP and also keep Japan outside the grip of recession.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Can reduce the usage of personal vehicles?

Only an efficient public transport system can reduce the usage of personal vehicles

“Indian cities are in the grip of motorisation which is why smooth mobility on roads is increasingly becoming a distant dream,” Anumita Roy Chaudhary, expert on transport in Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) shares with B&E. If one considers Europe, (known to have one of the best public transit system in the world), the whole economy depends heavily on efficient road transport, where 85% of the people travel by buses or coaches; which leads to less motorisation of roads.

Though there are big plans like setting up of 16 new flyovers and monorail in Mumbai, other Indian cities still don’t have such roadmaps. Indian policies, too, are not very supportive to public transportation. In other words, they encourage purchase of private cars. In India, one pays road tax only once during the purchase of car which is much less than the annual road tax paid by a public bus owner. Contrary to this, in Singapore, one has to bid for getting a licence even before buying a car.

‘More’ is increasingly becoming ‘less’ in India. However, not many want such a thing to happen. With fuel prices going up and inflation surpassing two digit figures every now and then, it is getting tough for Indian consumers to buy a car and maintain it. So, it’s only investment in public transit system that can substantially reduce this burden.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

INBEV: BUSCH ACQUISITION

20% premium makes a great sell...

For AB’s shareholders, there could be no better news. With the combined entity expected to earn $36.4 billion in revenues and control more than 50% of the US beer market, expected cost synergies of around $1.5 billion by 2011 too don’t look too faint a mirage.

Juli Niemann, CFA, Smith, Moore & Co., also explains, “Synergies are there as the duo would create an excellent end-on-end brewing, distributing & marketing powerhouse worldwide.” However, InBev should not do away with the theme parks that AB owns (which clocked revenues of $1.3 billion, 7% of AB’s total revenue in 2007) in the name of cost-cutting. Having become a global power now, the combined entity should also not get complacent on the marketing front as Ann Gilpin Analyst, Morningstar asserts, “If InBev cuts on advertising or marketing it will pay the consequences...” Amongst this hullabaloo, there is SAB Miller which has now been dethroned from the numero uno spot in the beer-making business; and it won’t be long before we hear of a SAB Miller bid for... errr.... watch out for this space!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Of food crisis & your appendix!

Food production across the world is higher than in the past two years; but export bans worsen the crisis

The G-8 nations, during their recent meeting in Toyakocho, Hokkaido, Japan, have urged nations like Argentina, Egypt, India, Indonesia and Russia to stop restricting food exports. “We will strive to ensure that food, agricultural trade and overall trade policies are conducive to ensuring food security for all. For this purpose, we reaffirm the need to minimise the use of restrictive measures that could increase the volatility of international prices,” an FAO declaration said. This meeting in Japan couldn’t have been more killingly ironical. International economists and global leaders forget (conveniently) that Japan itself has hoarded around 1.25 million tonnes of surplus imported rice, which it is not bringing into the market.

But it is not that Japan alone is to blame (though it takes a considerably large amount of blame). The world has got so engrossed in trying to save itself from artificially raised oil prices that it has closed its eyes to the anguish of hundreds of millions of starving people. In many ways, if the issue of bio-fuel, however hyped or over-hyped, is responsible for the food crisis, then the hoarding of food grains is no less a contributor to the world food crisis. While some countries like Japan are sitting on huge piles of food – using it to make either artificial fuel or simply to hoard the same – the others are facing calamitous situations because they simply have nothing left to eat.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Fitness foreplay

Looking to bust that stress or simply want to try out something refreshing, sign up for a Pilates routine, or take refuge in a spa and rejuvenate yourself with the experience

Pilates anyone?

Founded by one Joseph H. Pilates, Pilates (Pi-lah-teez) is catching up in India. It revolves around a series of controlled movements on a mat (or a machine) focusing on the torso, toning the body by building up flexibility, strength, endurance, and coordination without adding bulk to the muscles. Pilates helps improving posture, makes one less prone to injury and results in overall good health.

Pilates is the ‘In-thing’ and classes are springing up everywhere. Growing popularity and the big names attached with it, just makes this pleasurable exercise routine even more interesting. Says model and actress Gul Panag, “Choc-a-block shooting schedules and erratic working hours stress me, so it’s important to take time off to rejuvenate my body. I follow Pilates thrice a week on the desired areas which give me visible results.”

There are many fitness centres and YMCA’s which offer Pilates classes but most are focused on mat exercises. Unlike Yoga, Pilates is movement based and requires deep abdominal engagement to support the spine and create core-centred movement. Pilates is very good for pregnant ladies too as it improves blood circulation, balance and strength. “Pilates is for everyone. I am a complete workaholic and the stress grows on me. To help bust the stress caused at work and allow fresh creative energies pumping back into my system, I indulge in Pilates,” says fashion designer Urvashi Kaur. Instruction DVDs on Pilates can be recommended for beginners but for advanced training nothing beats the supervision of an advanced trainer. A relatively new concept in India, Pilates is here to stay.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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