After College - MBA or Job ??

Finally the most awaited & also the most dreaded ( for  few ) season of one’s Engineering career – the placement season has started. Everyone is trying to be as presentable as he/she can be. Even Saurav, who never bothered about his dressing sense, was in his best attire. The thought of  better job prospects & better future was lingering in everyone's mind & so everyone  was trying  his level best to  impress ( or fool ) the interview panel.

The same people who  were once diehard fans of  wrestlemania  & other sports  were now discussing the gyaan given by Kotler  baba & Steve Uncle . The campus was buzzing with words like TCS,TechM,Wipro, Infy etc. as IT companies dominate this season in the Engineering colleges . And the placement season was responsible for this wind of change. Although it was temporary but it was a welcome change. So finally when  the placement season was over, most students  were placed & while others decided to go for higher studies -for them either it was the critical CAT or the Mighty MS or the glaring GATE .

I would like to share two incidents which would show the euphoria surrounding this placement season and at the same time  madness of the Engineering students.

1)      (1)  One of my close friend , Saurabh  ( he is different from the one I mentioned earlier ) was so excited after he got placed in TechM, the first company to visit our campus , that he started shouting at the peak of his voice…moving from one building to another..ready to announce …I have arrived !. Few thought he has lost his mental balance & even volunteered to take him to the Doctor . However, I decided to keep a low profile:) 

)         (2)Yes , my friend Kapil is different. Trust him to do the unexpected & he won't let you down.I would not like to mention how he was dressed for the interview…it  can be anyone's guess. Finally, he was called for the interview & there he showed who he was. When asked about his dressing sense, pat came the reply  “ I don’t think it has any relevance to my knowledge or for that matter my job profile “. The panel members were shocked …But the show has  just started . Many questions were asked but  his replies were never staraightforward. Finally he was asked why he should be hired. Very candidly he replied that he was much better than the many candidates who were selected . Finally , they said that ,” You fit the bill & you are hired .” And here was the masterstroke from Kapil ,” I don’t think this company is fit for me and I don’t want to waste the time of other candidates who are waiting outside. Thankyou "…and he left . This was a rude shock for the interview panel .Whether it was  madness or something else but it surely made him a star overnight.

Engineering is like an expedition, a four year long journey. Insipid in the beginning, interesting in the middle & responsible & beautiful at the end. You can always be singer, guitarist,pianist ,cricketer,etc.  first & then an engineering student. It gives you ample freedom to excel in your area of interest. Such is the beauty of life in an engineering college.

The session after placement waiting for the  call from the company to join is very placid and serene. The busy schedule of college bus timings, class works, exams and results is no more. Spending most of the time with friends, new releases, late night roaming, computer games, short trips & placement parties make the daily routine. So everyone was trying to make the most of the opportunity available to them..Living life King size .

And finally after the final exams , it was time to bid adieu & get ready for the hunt. A hunt for a purpose, A hunt for knowledge, A hunt for the stomach,A hunt for a career and a hunt for a life.

With bucket full of dreams, We finally landed in our respective cities to start what we call professional life. One important thing I would like to mention here is that even after our placement we used to discuss the merits & demerits of doing MBA after our engineering.

Finally we ended up joining the company in which we were placed & MBA took a backseat.

Was it a big mistake ???

                                                                                                    …………………….to be continued.

iMourn iRespect Steve Jobs !!

 For Indians all hell broke loose after the sad demise of the visionary co-founder of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, who died after a long fight against pancreatic cancer. Steve Jobs' impact on modern society can not be understated. But the immediate beatification of Steve Jobs fulfills all the criteria for mass delusion and is evidence of some kind of quasi-religious quackery . Every Tom & Harry ( one name omitted for obvious reasons ) was dying to join the league of Mahindras & Tatas to pay rich tributes  to  the man behind iPad,iPhone & iPod.

There were posts on facebook  & tweets on Twitter and everyone was iMad to outsmart others in paying tributes . Everyone iMourned  the demise of Steve Jobs & everyone was iSad about it.

Few examples are :

Atul

3 Apples changed the world: the one that Eve ate, the one that fell on Newton's head & the one that Steve built. RIP Steve Jobs .

Sudhanshu 

"The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do" - Steve Jobs 

Goodbye Steve Jobs. Visionary. Leader. Genius. Inspiration. Thank you for moving us to resist settling for average. R.I.P 

Hunny 

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me."-Steve Jobs R.I.P !!

With due respect to the genius Steve jobs was, I would  like to ask all the people who went berserk how many of them use Apple products. People went overboard & compared Steve Jobs with Gandhiji . Now it was  time  for me to go iMad. I mean I don’t see any reason behind this. I wonder at the Mania of Crowds.

My post does not intend to demean Mr. Jobs or his achievements. He was a modern magician who reached into tomorrow and came up with things that changed millions of lives and nobody can deny this fact. It merely asks that we keep them in some kind of perspective and by doing so might better honor his life, work and legacy. But to listen to some of the weeping and wailing on all social networking sites & micro-blogging sites one is forced (incuing me ) to think that prior to the inventions of the iPod, iPhone and iPad no-one had ever previously listened to music, endured a telephone conversation or read anything on a screen. Let me make it clear  Apple improved each of those experiences; it did not create them.

Although iPad, iPod are great hits but it’s also true Apple remains an elite and niche product . Macpro is anytime costlier than HP or IBM product.

There’s no doubt that Steve Jobs was a genius . But that does not mean that people should throng Apple stores to hang around with other mourners and make a fool of oneself. Those that do so reveal themselves as members of a cult or iReligion  that's just as stupid as any other and equally deserving of scorn and pity.

 

Open letter to Delhi Boy - My Response

Open Letter to Delhi Boy   - My Response

Its a nice write up but the content is too much racist in nature. I could feel the lady spitting venom while reading it.

Well to start with , I am an Indian & having stayed in almost all the major metropolitan cities ( barring Kolkata ) , I can say that what you experienced in delhi happens everywhere. Just like corruption , it's a global phenomena. Idiocy does not exactly require a geographical qualification. Just because you had an unpleasant encounter with few spoilt brats , it doesn't mean that the whole lot is bad & so the generalization based on that shows your level of maturity (rather immaturity ). 

What you experienced in Delhi ,the same can be experienced by someone else in Chennai or any other city. But that doesn't mean that that person should also write an open letter demeaning others. That would be the most stupid thing to do. On a lighter note , I guess this outburst is because you were devoid of any attention from Delhi boy :P 

But on a serious note, if you have written this to garner public attention then my heartiest congratulations to you as you have accomplished this mission !! 

As someone said, Just forget & forgive and move onto new things that life has to offer !!

Shopping Spree – local action, global reaction !!

Last week my friend Mr. Atul  was on a shopping spree ahead of his visit to his hometown. I don’t know whether  the word ‘spree’ is the right fit or not , but the way he was buying things ,even when they were not needed ,it was not less than a blitzkrieg. 

On our way back , I asked the reason for this indulgence & he very candidly replied :

 “Dude, I have got the Visa power !  “, referring to his credit card as if he is blessed with Divine power.  

So my next question was, “Who is going to pay for the ‘powerful’ bill for using this so called visa power ?“. .Pat came the reply with a rider “ Me,but only if I’ll have the money to pay .” 

“ Its people like you who are responsible for the big mess in which world economy has been pushed today .” I told him. 
“ Yaar, now  what this has to do with the world economic problem. How suddenly you have brought  world economy into this ?  I am totally confused . ” he said. 

Seeing his spending habits , I couldn’t resist the temptation to relate it the current world economic problem which has forced many European economies are on the verge of bankruptcy. 

Although my friend does not fall under the NINJA ( for beginners , NINJA is a description of type of loan or credit given to people in US with No Income No job No assets  which created turmoil that threatened  some of the biggest financial institutions of the world ) category but such type of  spending  habits have  surely  created deep fissures in the global economy.
For an individual it might be an easy & best  thing to do what we call as ‘credit default’  but in an integrated economy & in an integrated world ,what is best for an individual or institution is not always best for the system.  And the fault lines which have resulted in the present economic crisis are very systemic & each individual or institution has acted as a tectonic force which led to these fissures in the world economy.  

A wider cast of character shares responsibility for the crisis : it includes regulators, policy makers , people like Atul  & me. It’s a collective effort which is all set to take the World’s economy to the brink of disaster.  The danger of Greek default is looming large & if this happens , a chain reaction will start which is sure to engulf the other European economies like Italy,France ,Germany etc.  The picture of US economy is also not that rosy as its total debt is 96% of its GDP  & the sheer size of this debt can send shivers down the spine of even the most optimistic economist hoping for the global economic recovery.

Tough time calls for tough measures & hopefully US will rise to the occasion & take measures to check the turbulence and widespread fiscal strain threatening the global economy.

The magic 'number'

Last week, I was reading a book called ' Gods and Godmen in India' by Khushwant Singh and it was a pleasure reading that book as very few authors have the guts what it takes to charge like a raging bull to attack the epidemic of Gods( i believe demi-gods would have been more apt) and godmen that has swept the nation in recent years. In that book , he has also mentioned about four things which are mostly in the minds of Indians and one of them is market ( For other three, Read the book).So what is  stock market all about ? Is it just a number or more than that ?

For some, its a 'support' level while for others its a  'resistance' level. Some call it a 'bullish' phase while other term it as a 'bearish' phase. But why such a hype about this number ? Perhaps no other number draws so much attention in middle and upper class as the numbers on the Sensex.It takes only few swings in the stock market for the people to change their opinion about equity market.Like, when sensex touched the 8000 level, everything about the stock markets looked uncomfortable and there were talks of further dips upto 6000.

And when the recent rally took place and the Sensex touched 16K, the very people who were then skeptical about the stock market are now not tired of predicting new 'Highs' for the Sensex with every passing day. We can see the changing mood of so-calledStock pundits & leading global investment houses, thanks to change in those 'Magic numbers'. There are many experts( rather Craps , saying all the non-sense things to further their own interests) appearing on the business channels trying to grab the attention of the people by predicting the new levels of the Sensex without even thinking about their blunders in the past.

But for us,the investors, while it is natural to go with the tide, some rules of investing don't change siply because the mood in the environment has undergone a change. Some understand it easily while others are forced to understand the hard way ( after loosing huge amount). But one thing is true that equity will always provide us a good earning opportunity ( a faster one) but can never give us the comfort of safety like the one in traditional investment opportunities. It holds well irrespective of the sensex level, bullish or bearish phase.

Here, I would like to quote, Benjamin Graham,the legendry investment Guru -

" In the short term, market is a 'voting'  machine whereon countless individuals register their choices that are product partly of reason and partly of emotion. However, in the long-term, the market is a 'weighing' machine on which the value of each issue is recorded by an exact and impersonal mechanism."

HAPPY INVESTING

Sugar Outlook

With reference to our earlier post “Market Outlook” , we again reaffirm our faith in the sugar stocks.But before giving the reasons for the same, its better to understand the factors which drive the prices of this commodity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are 4 factors that can determine the price direction for sugar in future.

1)  Dollar-A stronger Dollar usually means weaker commodity prices. We saw

this when the March Dollar Index rallied from 76.30 (9/22/08) to 89.74 (11/19/08). During this same period, March ’09 sugar prices dropped from 14.72 (9/26/08) to 10.44 (10/24/08). If the Dollar continues to rise, the upside potential for sugar could be limited.
2) Equity Markets-The price movement in the equity markets can have an affect on the sugar market. A weak equity market will continue to feed fears of slowing demand. This will pressure prices and/or limit the upside.

3) Crude Oil- There was a correlation between crude oil and sugar prices between 2004 and 2006. This was due to the increase use of turning sugar into ethanol. In 2004, crude broke above the $40.00 level. This “breakout” resulted in a 2-year bull run, in which prices topped out at 78.40 in 2006. During this same 2 year span, sugar prices rallied from 5.27 (2/2004) to 19.73 (2/2006).

The correlation ended after these markets topped out in 2006. As we all know, crude resumed its bull run in 2007 and pushed to a high of 147.27 in July 2008. Sugar, on the other hand, did not get near its 2006 high.
With crude prices back around the $40-$50 level, we may see the relationship return. Some Energy analysts have talked about crude prices down to $25.00-$30.00. If this happens, we could see sugar prices move significantly lower. This lower move in sugar could lead to a good buying opportunity in 2009.
4) Demand-As with any physical commodity, demand is a key factor for price
direction. As I mentioned earlier in this report, expectations were released in the last quarter of 2008 that demand would exceed production for the 2008-2009 marketing year.

**Extracted from Commodity report

 And the following factors have made us believe that the sugar story is far from over:

Parts of Brazil have had four times more than normal rain due to the El Nino effect, adversely affecting sugarcane crop. Due to this, Brazil’s sugar production is expected to fall short of the estimated 32 – 33 mt to 30.3 million tons in 2009-10.

Besides India, Pakistan and Bangladesh also plan to import the sweetener to cater to their domestic demand. Further Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest sugar buyer, may also step up imports to stem the domestic prices.

World outlook

 Worldwide demand for sugar will exceed output by 9.35 million tons in the year ending Sept. 30, more

than the 7.8 million tons projected in May, according to London-based International Sugar Organization.

Please Click Here to check the sugar prices.



We reiterate our buy call on sugar stocks with good fundamentals.Some of the good stocks which will give better returns in the near future are :

1. Bajaj Hindusthan,  --     Click for  Stock  Price Details
2. Shree Renuka Sugars --Click for Stock Price Details
3.  Simbhaoli Sugars --     Click for Stock Price Details
4.  Gayatri Sugars--          Click for Stock Price Details
5. Dwarikesh Sugars --    Click for Stock Price Details
6. Ponni Sugars Erode. --Click for Stock Price Details
   
   
   
    

"HAPPY INVESTING"

NHPC IPO - The new 'blockbuster'

The recent market rally has given the much needed impetus to the IPO season and the latest one to jump this bandwagon is NHPC. The preliminary data shows that it has been oversubscribed by 7 times. Both from the short-term as well as long-term point, it seems to be a good pick . In short-term , investors can pocket a handsome return on account of listing gains and in long-term this company will offer excellent returns by selling clean energy.

Also investing in NHPC IPO will be an intelligent move as it is from the power sector which is the flavour of the season and has excellent growth prospects considering the huge untapped hydel potential we have in India. Also coming from the stable of govt., this IPO has an edge over others as govt. will ensure that the IPO is listed at a 'good' premium to earn the investor's faith. The success of NHPC would fuel the scope of further disinvestment in other govt. entities.This will be a good bet in the long run and it is essential to remain invested in this company to reap huge benefits.

The valuation seems to be perfect and this may tilt the balance in its favour. In grey market , it is running at a premium of Rs. 10 and above which means that the stock may be listed somewhere around Rs.46. Seeing the current subscription level, it seems to be difficult to get the required allotments. But there is no harm in going for it. The only cause of concern is the market sentiments at the time of listing as any negative sentiment can drive the prices southwards. But the govt. has enough financial muscle to ensure its 'smooth' listing and the prices running southwards seem to be a remote possibility, although it can't be ruled out.

"Happy Investing."