Tags:
Journalism of Courage
Fizzled out confrontation
It was billed as a confrontation between SEBI and the Finance Ministry over the issue of starting rolling settlements. Yet, when SEBI chief D R Mehta and his team met the finance secretary last week, Mehta ensured that the famous tiff was knocked off the agenda. A brief meeting between Mehta and the finance secretary is said to have settled the issue and rolling settlements were not discussed. Sources believe that Mehta has promised to initiate rolling settlements without interference from the ministry in a short time. But before that, there are other issues on SEBI8217;s priority list. The main one is to get the BSE promoted Central Depository of Shares off the ground by resolving the inter-connectivity issue. It is learnt that SEBI proposes to issue a couple of directives to settle this issue. However, it is unclear if the directive will be issued to companies to effect share transfers within a few hours or if it will be issued to the National Share Depository to abandon itsstand that share registers can only be changed by the company issuing the shares.
Swadeshi savvy?
Now that it has formally broken up with Countrywide Finance Ltd, HDFC is set to kick off its own finance operations. HDFC is using the lessons learnt from this experience to avoid problems. So HDFC8217;s consumer funding will be available only to its home loan borrowers and will depend on their credit history. The dwelling unit that is already mortgaged to HDFC for the housing loan will secure the consumer goods as well acirc;euro;rdquo; that way HDFC avoids shady recovery agents. Incidentally, the split has finally changed the pattern of such break-ups. Normally, it is the foreign companies which use the tie-up to break into the Indian market and then drop the Indian partners. It learnt from GE Capital, earned from Countrywide and then got out with a premium. How8217;s that for Swadeshi savvy?
Auspicious 18th
The Deepak Parekh panel report on UTI, which led to the huge bail-out is finally being released on May 18.Last week, the UTI board decided to release the full report, as against the three-page summary issued earlier. What is auspicious about the 18th? Well, UTI8217;s month long book closure period is starting next week. So even if the report sends investors into a panic, they will go through a forced period of sober reflection and may end up deciding not to sell their units. They also hope that the rally of nearly a 1000 points will add to the sobering influence.
Cricket and the market
As a cricket crazy nation is set to go into a World Cup frenzy, it is the punters on stock exchanges who are enjoying the most. Their love for the game has to be demonstrated through heavy and sustained betting. Its going to be non-stop punting from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. says one punter acirc;euro;rdquo; the stock market closes at 3.30 p.m. just in time for the match to begin. 8220;Everything is working out so well, how can India not win8221; says a punter. Others are hedging their bets by putting some money on South Africa too. The hype is set towhip up such a frenzy, that bookies expect the betting to match the Rs 1,000 crore plus per day trading on the bourses.
Strange efficiency
Press reports quote Congressmen saying that while Sonia Gandhi became an Indian citizen only in 1983, the electoral officers may have over-enthusiastically included her name on the voters8217; lists in 1981 and 1982. Funny, how everybody else seems to have their names regularly knocked off the list even though they are natural born citizens. Maybe the Congress, which has the most experience of misadministering the country, can explain how that happens.
Author8217;s e-mail:suchetadalalyahoo.com
