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Anil Ambani Talks About Hutch Bid; Says Funds Have Been Tied Up

Anil Ambani has for the first time gone on record on the Hutch acquisition bid. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on the group company FLAG Telecom's new initiatives, Ambani digressed for a while on his company's plans to acquire Hutchison Essar. I watched the press conference on CNBC TV18 live. Key points below:

--Reliance Communications is contstantly looking at opportunities to grow which will include both organic and inorganic opportunities. The plans to bid for Hutch is one such opportunity.
--Reliance has received funding commitments and line of credit from global banks to fund any corporate moves from our side.
--There is no certainty that the deal will go through.
--Hutch is only one of the ways to create sustainable value for the company.
--The private equity funds who are supporting the bid include the top ten funds in the world.
--On valuation - "We have absolute clarity on where value creation starts and value creation ends." (Translation: They know how much price to pay for Hutch, and the $21 billion reportedly demanded by Hutch could be higher.)
--On how do they plan to merge Hutch if they succeed in acquisition: "We will comply with all the department of telecom guidelines on the merger and acquisition".
--There are no plans currently to offload any stake in Reliance Communications

 

 I wish people can be so brief and to the point. Amazing work done by Sahad.

market rising what is your rationale

From Yahoo Finance 10:30 am : The market is off its best levels, in part due to a recent reversal in the Energy sector, but is holding onto respectable gains as investors digest more confirmation that the housing market is stabilizing. At the top of the hour, the Commerce Dept. showed that sales of new homes rose 3.5% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.047 mln (consensus 1.015 mln) while median sales prices rose 5.8% from a year ago. Even though not too much emphasis should be placed on median sales prices, the fact that they rose for a second straight month (and/or did not decline) helps to alleviate worries that the downshift in house price appreciation may spill over into consumer spending.DJ30 +66.17 NASDAQ +9.40 SP500 +5.42 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 756/1917/234 mln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 612/2302/144 mln

Get ready for stronger oil prices.

ENERGY AND MATERIALS

Oil Price Boosted by Iranian Ire at U.N. Sanctions

After a two-day losing streak, the oil price rebounded to $63 after Iran threatened to use oil exports as a weapon to combat U.N. sanctions on its nuclear research. The price was also helped by the onset of colder temperatures in the American northeast and by plans by Abu Dhabi to make good on the latest round of announced OPEC production cuts. On Saturday, the U.N. Security Council finally agreed to impose sanctions on Iran's trade in nuclear materials. Iran replied by announcing plans to speed up enrichment rather than rein it in, and in a newly belligerent shift of verbiage, now claims it will use "any weapon" to resist what it defines as illegal sanctions. Iran is the second-biggest oil producer in OPEC, which pumps 40% of the world's oil. The oil price is highly sensitive to political developments in Iran and also in Nigeria, where a group called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta [MEND] has unleashed a campaign of terrorist attacks including kidnappings and car bombings at oil installations.
* Sources: New York Times, Bloomberg
* Related commentary: OPEC Opts for Delayed Production Cut, Oil Traders Testing the OPEC Cartel, Bulls Versus Bears on the Oil Outlook
* Potentially impacted ETFs: Oil Service HOLDRS (OIH), United States Oil Fund LP (USO)

Weather derivatives, Equity race

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil slipped further on Friday from a three-month high hit earlier in the week, as forecasts called for unseasonably warm weather to linger in the U.S. Northeast.

U.S. crude settled down 25 cents at $62.41 a barrel, extending a tumble from Wednesday brief climb over $64, which was the highest since late September. London Brent crude fell 4 cents to $62.42 a barrel.

Modelling the eonomic impact of climate change: Anywhere from a 3% to a 9% reduction in global GDP (U.K./Stern)

Housing Futures and Foreign Exchanges

Investors in to Equities

Some thoughts on my side:
Any good recommendation on weather derivatives.

Why equity is becoming hot. Is bull run a reason.

Recommendation
Read href="http://paul.kedrosky.com">Paul Kedrosky

Housing Slump Slows GDP to 2% Crawl

Housing Slump Slows GDP to 2% Crawl

The U.S. economy expanded by a paltry 2% in Q3, weighed down by the worst decline in home construction since 1991. The GDP figure fell short of economists' expectations of 2.2% growth. Consumer spending grew 2.8% against forecasts of 2.9% while the personal consumption expenditures price index, another spending gauge, was flat with last month at 2.4% and down from Q2's 4%. The GDP price index rose at a 1.9% annual rate versus 1.8% in November and 3.3% in Q2. Last week, the Fed indicated that it has a relatively soft outlook for the economy but considers inflation to be a greater risk than slow growth. The price index for personal-consumption expenditures excluding food and energy, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 2.2% in Q3, down from 2.7% in Q2. The mid-Atlantic business activity index dropped to -4.3% in December from 5.1% in November, the third month in four it has been negative. Stock prices slipped on the indicators, with the DJIA dropping 42.62 points to end at 12,421.25 and the Nasdaq losing 11.76 to close at 2,415.85. Bond prices perked up in anticipation that a slower economy will mean lower interest rates.

I believe the fed is lowering the interest rates for the next meeting.

Rig Shortages Delay Gulf Exploration and Production as Costs Jump

Rig Shortages Delay Gulf Exploration and Production as Costs Jump

Bloomberg reports a severe shortage of deep-sea oil drilling rig availability is creating delays in exploration and production for oil majors such as Chevron, which is struggling to exploit the "Jack" oil field in the Gulf of Mexico, the deepest well ever tested, announced in September. A Chevron senior drill-site manager comments, "There's a lot of prospects out here we'd like to drill but can't yet because there aren't enough rigs." Amidst the shortage, daily rental fees continue to rise, having doubled over the past 18 months. Transocean, the world's largest rig operator charges as much as $520,000/day. There are only 18 rigs in existence that can reach the deepest discoveries, and there are currently 31 rigs on order globally with such capabilities. Of these, only two will be finished next year and 13 will be ready in '08. Meanwhile, the delay in exploring and producing oil in the Gulf of Mexico means the U.S. will continue to rely on OPEC. Total daily rig operating costs which can exceed $1m/day are seen hurting profits of oil majors. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg estimate average net income growth of 12% this year, versus 35% in '05. Earlier this month, Chevron announced a 23% increase in capex for '07 to $19.6b.

Thanks Seeking Alpha

U.S. Current Account Deficit Hits New Record

U.S. Current Account Deficit Hits New Record

The U.S. current account deficit hit a record $225.6 billion in Q3, reflecting high oil prices and burgeoning demand for foreign goods. Measured as a percentage of U.S. gross domestic product, the trade gap was the second-highest ever, at 6.8%. The current account measures U.S. trade and investment in goods and services abroad, and its astronomical size -- on an annualized basis, the deficit has tipped $900 billion -- is considered a primary risk to the global economy. The U.S. needs about $2.5 billion a day to finance the deficit, and if investors lose faith in U.S. assets and send their money elsewhere, the dollar might drop sharply and interest rates shoot up. While some believe the deficit has peaked, thanks to lower oil prices and robust exports, other analysts fear that the sheer vastness of the remaining shortfall will keep external financing risk high. U.S. exports increased to $262.1 billion from $252.8 billion, but that gain was offset by imports, which rose to $480.7 billion from $463.4 billion. The trade gap is particularly wide with China, prompting some U.S. legislators to call for higher tariffs and other measures to combat what they consider unfair Chinese currency policies

 

Thanks seeking alpha

Warren Buffets Interview Summary

Gmail - [pelampali] Fwd: FW: Some facts about Warren Buffet, the second richest person! Interesting...

There was a one hour interview on CNBC with Warren Buffet, the second
richest man who has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very

interesting aspects of his life:



He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he
started too late!


He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering
newspapers.



He still lives in the same small 3 bedroom house in mid-town Omaha,
that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has
everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a
fence.



He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or
security people around him.



He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest
private jet company.



His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only
one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals
for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis.



He has given his CEO's only two rules. Rule number 1: do not lose
any of your share holder's money. Rule number 2: Do not forget rule
number 1.



He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time
after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch
television.



Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only
5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with
Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But
when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates
became a devotee of Warren Buffet.



Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his
desk.



His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest
in yourself.

Things to watch out

Paul Kedrosky's Infectious Greed: Things to Be Nervous About in 2007

Things to Be Nervous About in 2007
The World Bank has out a lengthy new global economic outlook report filled with things to fret about in 2007. Here are just a few of 'em:

* An oil-sector supply shock could disrupt growth
* A disorderly unwinding of global imbalances remains possible
* A housing market crisis could cause a recession
* Overheating could provoke a sharper slowdown
* Avian flu is still a worry
* Marine fish are under increasing pressure
* Global temperatures are rising
* Climate change could have a catastrophic impact on some countries

Whew, there is so much to worry about. On the other hand, and not to take anything from these serious issues, especially climate change, from a contrarian point of view all these worries are reassuring. After all, they're all known, and the market does climb a wall of worry, so 2007 could be a very good year indeed on the major markets as we ascend this particular Eiger.

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Financial Times

December 7th 2006

COUNTRY BRIEFING

FROM FINANCIAL TIMES

By Joe Leahy in Mumbai

India is considering allowing hedge funds to set up shop in the country in the first half of next year as part of new rules governing foreign portfolio investors.

Hedge funds are already indirectly active in the country's burgeoning stock market through so-called "participatory notes", instruments linked to an underlying Indian security that are sold by approved investment banks. But they are not able to trade stocks directly.

"When they are already present in some sense in the markets and they're partaking of our growth story, why not allow them to come in through the front door and deal with us directly?" said Mr Damodaran, chairman of the Securities Exchange Board of India, the stock market regulator.

The coalition government has traditionally eyed hedge funds with deep suspicion amid concern they could cause increased volatility in the stock market.

But they have become a growing part of the investment landscape. Some 40 to 45 India-dedicated offshore hedge funds - 7 per cent of Asia's total - have sprung up during the past couple of years, according to GFIA, a hedge fund industry consultancy based in Singapore. They have an aggregate asset base of $2bn-$3bn.

Mr Damodaran said the initiatives affecting hedge funds were part of an overall review of the country's regulations governing the registration of foreign institutional investors that is expected to lead to clearer guidelines on who should be allowed in.

The result could be the winding down of the participatory note system.

He said foreign portfolio investors would be screened - based on whether they are subject to quality regulation in their home jurisdiction, the credibility of their major shareholders and whether their investment style would "promote volatility".

However, any move to allow hedge funds will face several hurdles, industry experts say. India still does not allow short-selling, although it is reviewing the issue, and industry experts expect the government to have difficulty forcing foreign funds to divulge details of the identities of their investors.

"The thought is good but the implementation will be harder," said Pashopati Advani, of Advani Share Brokers, an adviser to Avatar Investment Management, an India-focused hedge fund.

Mr Damodaran said Sebi had released new rules on ownership of Indian stock exchanges allowing any single investor, foreign or Indian, to hold a maximum of 5 per cent in an Indian stock market.

He also said the Ministry of Finance was working on rules that would permit total foreign investment in a stock exchange of 49 per cent.

Foreign strategic investors would be permitted to hold up to 26 per cent while foreign institutional investors would be allowed to buy up to 23 per cent.

(c) 2006 Financial Times Information Limited.

---

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A Tower Goes for $1.8 Billion - New York Times

A Big Deal, Even in Manhattan: A Tower Goes for $1.8 Billion - New York Times

Records are still being broken as fast as they can be set in New York real estate. Skip to next paragraph Enlarge This Image Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times The building at 666 Fifth Avenue, shown in 2004, opened in 1957. Tishman Speyer Properties, the company that bought Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village for $5.4 billion last month in the biggest real estate deal in the country, has agreed to sell the 41-story skyscraper at 666 Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street for $1.8 billion to a New Jersey real estate family, the Kushners. The price is more than three times what a group led by Tishman Speyer paid for the building six years ago and the highest price ever paid for a single office building in the United States. The Kushners, who own 22,000 apartments and more than five million square feet of office and industrial space in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland, are relatively unknown as real-estate players in Manhattan. But they are making a head-turning splash buying a tower that has served as a symbol of corporate power and elegance since it opened in 1957.

Feds notes on Interest rates.

PARSING THE FED

Four! Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2006

THE FED'S STATEMENTS reflect how the members of the central bank's Federal Open Market Committee perceive the economy. The slightest changes are scrutinized for clues about where interest rates may be headed. The Dec. 12 statement announced that the Fed was keeping rates steady at 5.25%, its fourth pause in a row after 17 increases in 17 meetings. The Fed is betting slower economic growth and falling energy prices are easing inflation pressures -- meaning no reason to raise rates more, but no need to cut rates yet, either. Below are the differences between the October statement and the December one.

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady,

Fed Holds Interest Rates Steady,
While Warning About Inflation

By GREG IP
December 12, 2006 3:06 p.m.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged as it acknowledged that the economy has weakened and the housing pullback has gathered force, but reiterated its concern about inflation.

MORE ON THE FED

 

Bernanke

• Parsing the Fed: How the Fed statement changed in October from the previous month
 
• See the text of minutes for the Fed's Oct. 24-25 meeting. (Released Nov. 15)
 
• Read the text of the Fed's decision on interest rates released Oct. 25.
 

"Economic growth has slowed … partly reflecting a substantial cooling of the housing market," the Fed said. That was a more emphatic characterization than in previous statements which described the housing market as simply cooling. It added, "Although recent indicators have been mixed, the economy seems likely to expand at a moderate pace on balance over coming quarters."

It repeated its previous assessment that inflation is "elevated" and could rise further given the lack of spare economic capacity, but should moderate. But it repeated, as it did at the previous three meetings, that some inflation risks remain and thus it views its choice on interest rates as whether to raise them, not lower them.

Ten of the 11 voting members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee agreed to leave the target for the federal funds rate, charged on overnight loans between banks, at 5.25%. Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker dissented, favoring instead a quarter-percentage-point increase. It was the fourth consecutive meeting at which he dissented.

---

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Bond risk is it worth or not

5 smart bond moves - December 25, 2006

Fortune Magazine) -- A plain-vanilla asset that generates steady returns - that's how most investors view bonds, and lately they've been living up to that image. Since the beginning of the year, most investments up and down the credit-quality scale have returned between 3% and 6%, according to research firm Lipper, just enough to deliver the two things that make fixed-income investments part of a balanced portfolio: a reliable income stream and safety of principal.

Bond-fund managers and economists predict more of the same in 2007. The spread between Treasuries and higher-yield (i.e., riskier) corporate and junk bonds is narrow, meaning that investors aren't really rewarded for taking additional risk. The markets seem to expect the Federal Reserve to cut rates, but Fed officials are saying they remain concerned about inflation - a hint that they may hold rates steady or at the very least will not cut them fast enough to satisfy Wall Street.

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Yahoo Facebook Deal

At Yahoo, the long running courtship has lasted at least as long as this year, and is internally referred to as "Project Fraternity." Leaked documents in our possession state that an early offer was $37.5 million for 5% of the company (a $750 million valuation) back in Q1 2006. This was rejected by Facebook.

Things really heated up mid year. Yahoo proposed a $1 billion flat out acquisition price based on a model they created where they projected $608 million in Facebook revenue by 2009, growing to $969 million in 2010. By 2015 Yahoo projects that Facebook would generate nearly $1 billion in annual profit. The actual 2006 number appears to be around $50 million in revenue, or nearly $1 million per week.

These revenue projections are based on robust user growth. By 2010, Yahoo assumes Facebook would hit 48 million users, out of a total combined highschool and young adult population of 83 million.

Our sources say that Facebook flatly rejected the $1 billion offer, looking for far more. Yahoo was prepared to pay up to $1.62 billion, but negotiations broke off before the offer could be made.

These documents are now a couple of months old, and both Yahoo and Facebook may have changed their views on a possible deal substantially in that time.

Thanks Techcrunch

Hedge Funds in India

December 7th 2006

COUNTRY BRIEFING

FROM FINANCIAL TIMES

By Joe Leahy in Mumbai

India is considering allowing hedge funds to set up shop in the country in the first half of next year as part of new rules governing foreign portfolio investors.

Hedge funds are already indirectly active in the country's burgeoning stock market through so-called "participatory notes", instruments linked to an underlying Indian security that are sold by approved investment banks. But they are not able to trade stocks directly.

"When they are already present in some sense in the markets and they're partaking of our growth story, why not allow them to come in through the front door and deal with us directly?" said Mr Damodaran, chairman of the Securities Exchange Board of India, the stock market regulator.

The coalition government has traditionally eyed hedge funds with deep suspicion amid concern they could cause increased volatility in the stock market.

But they have become a growing part of the investment landscape. Some 40 to 45 India-dedicated offshore hedge funds - 7 per cent of Asia's total - have sprung up during the past couple of years, according to GFIA, a hedge fund industry consultancy based in Singapore. They have an aggregate asset base of $2bn-$3bn.

Mr Damodaran said the initiatives affecting hedge funds were part of an overall review of the country's regulations governing the registration of foreign institutional investors that is expected to lead to clearer guidelines on who should be allowed in.

The result could be the winding down of the participatory note system.

He said foreign portfolio investors would be screened - based on whether they are subject to quality regulation in their home jurisdiction, the credibility of their major shareholders and whether their investment style would "promote volatility".

However, any move to allow hedge funds will face several hurdles, industry experts say. India still does not allow short-selling, although it is reviewing the issue, and industry experts expect the government to have difficulty forcing foreign funds to divulge details of the identities of their investors.

"The thought is good but the implementation will be harder," said Pashopati Advani, of Advani Share Brokers, an adviser to Avatar Investment Management, an India-focused hedge fund.

Mr Damodaran said Sebi had released new rules on ownership of Indian stock exchanges allowing any single investor, foreign or Indian, to hold a maximum of 5 per cent in an Indian stock market.

He also said the Ministry of Finance was working on rules that would permit total foreign investment in a stock exchange of 49 per cent.

Foreign strategic investors would be permitted to hold up to 26 per cent while foreign institutional investors would be allowed to buy up to 23 per cent.

(c) 2006 Financial Times Information Limited.

---

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The housing shortage in India

India has a serious housing shortage, estimated at 23m units. More than 90% of this shortage is in low-cost housing. The government has pledged to build 2m additional units each year. Around 50m people live in urban areas that are officially designated as slums. Rural housing conditions are also poor.

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India finance: Private-equity, venture-capital deals rise

COUNTRY BRIEFING

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

      Private-equity and venture-capital firms invested about US$2.3bn in 147 deals in India in 2005, compared with US$1.6bn in 68 deals in 2004, according to Venture Intelligence India, which provides data on private- equity, venture-capital and merger-and-acquisition deals in India and Indian-founded companies worldwide. Late-stage and publicly listed companies accounted for more than 60% of private-equity investments in 2005. The study said a majority of the investment went into the information technology (IT) and IT-enabled services sector, with 44 deals valued at US$474m. This was followed by the manufacturing industry (excluding textiles and automobile), with 26 deals valued at US$366m.

The research said southern India attracted 41% of all private-equity investments last year (in value terms), while western India clinched 40%. Southern India, particularly Bangalore in Karnataka state, is home to much of India's IT industry; western India to much of manufacturing.

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India economy: Guidelines for foreign investors in real estate

COUNTRY BRIEFING

FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a press note dated March 3rd issued guidelines for up to 100% foreign direct investment via the automatic route in townships, housing, built-up infrastructure and construction development projects. The ministry's guidelines are:

• The minimum area to be developed under each project would be 10 hectares.
• In the case of serviced housing plots, there would be a minimum built-up area of 50,000 sq metres.
• For construction-development projects, either of the two conditions mentioned would need to be met.
• Investment in a combination project, however, would be further subject to the following conditions:

(i) Minimum capitalisation of US$10m for wholly owned subsidiaries and US$5m for ventures with Indian partners. The funds would have to be brought into India within six months of start of business.

(ii) Original investment cannot be repatriated before three years from completion of minimum capitalisation.

(iii) At least 50% of the project must be developed within five years from the date of obtaining all statutory clearances.

(iv) The investor would not be permitted to sell undeveloped plots. The guidelines define "undeveloped plots" as those where roads, water supply, street lighting, drainage, sewerage and other conveniences have not been made available.

(v) The project must conform to laid-down norms and standards, including land-use requirements and provision of community amenities.

(vi) The investor must be responsible for obtaining all necessary approvals, including those of building/layout plans, external development and other charges.

---

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Smaller deals in Private Equity Sigh..

Private Equity: The Challenges Ahead

In private equity, the best returns have historically gone to a relatively small group of firms. "All studies show that the top quartile of private equity funds outperform the market. But other than that, they don't necessarily outperform the public market. It's a question of how good your private equity manager is," says Jim Leach, head of the $6 billion in-house private equity fund at the $96 billion Ontario Teachers Pension Plan.

During the last year, "mega" funds such as KKR, Carlyle, Blackstone, and Texas Pacific have enjoyed gains of 40% or more, according to one private equity executive who declined to be identified. The same executive said it was inevitable that returns for "mega" funds would head somewhat lower over the next year or so.

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private equity

Private Equity Leaders

Private Equity
The Jury Is Out

Feel the tremors? Private equity giants like Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, and Texas Pacific Group are seismically changing the landscape of industries from semiconductor producers to hospital operators. And they’re just getting started. In 2006, private equity firms bought $628 billion worth of companies around the globe. Bankers estimate they have amassed $2 trillion more buying power. Is this a good thing? To the firms’ investors, many of which are pension funds and endowments, the returns that private equity firms produce—in excess of 20%—are manna. Buyout shops are achieving stellar yields by making more operational improvements than ever before to the companies they own. Still, some companies owned by private equity firms are ending up worse off. About 64% of buyout firms’ returns still come from what Wall Street likes to call the “financial engineering” of companies. Now the burden is on the private equity players not to get carried away with their zeal for big bucks.

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Share Holder Thrsholds

VC Circle - Indian Venture Capital, Private Equity, M :: Legal Guest Column: Understanding Shareholder Thresholds

The following are generally applicable to both public and private companies.

At 10% - the approval of at least 10% of the shareholders is required for the requisition of an Extraordinary General Meeting or for an application to the company Law Board for relief in the event of minority oppression or mismanagement of the company

At 26% - the approval of at least 75% of the shareholders (a special resolution) is required in order to inter alia:
- alter the Memorandum and Articles of the company
- change the name of the company
- repurchase the company’s shares
- change the registered office
- liquidate the company

At 51% - the approval of at least 50% of the shareholders (an ordinary resolution) is required in order to inter alia:
- alter/increase the share capital
- declaration of dividend
- to increase or reduce the number of directors
- to remove directors
- to appoint officers

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Real Estate in India

VC Circle - Indian Venture Capital, Private Equity, M :: Yatra Capital Raises €105 Million From Euroenext; To Focus On Tier II III Cities

Yatra Capital Raises €105 Million From Euroenext; To Focus On Tier II III Cities
by Sahad on Mon 11 Dec 2006 00:47 IST | Permanent Link | Cosmos
Yatra Capital Ltd, an India-focussed real estate investment company, has raised €105 million from the Euronext exchange in Amsterdam. Yatra would be the first Indian real estate company to list in Euronext.
Yatra Capital, founded by ex-HSBC executive Ajoy Veer Kapoor, has investors like Morley Fund Management, Fortis Investments and Standard Life. Yatra plans to own and develop residential, commercial and retail properties in India. Its primary focus will be on tier II and tier III cities. It will also consider select tier I opportunities.
Saffron Capital Advisors, an asset management advisory firm dedicated to Indian real estate, will act as fund and asset manager to the company. The law firm Simmons Simmons team was an advisor to Yatra. ABN AMRO was involved as listing agent and Fairfax IS Plc was a placing agent.
It's not Yatra alone, there were other companies like Ishaan Real Estate who have raised finance abroad. Ishaan, for instance, recently raised $340 million from London's Alternative Investment Market. Hiranandani Constructions is planning a $500-$750 million float in AIM. Unitech also plans to rasie about $700 million from AIM. Bangalore's Embassy group is looking to do a floar in Singapore early next year.

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Macro economics

CNNMoney.com Pre-Market Report - Dec. 8, 2006

Increasing unemployment rate



Increasing Bond Yields



Rising oil prices





Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that employers added a modest 105,000 jobs in November, up from 92,000 in October. That would be well below the average job growth so far this year of about 147,000.



The unemployment rate is forecast to edge up to 4.5 percent from the five-year low of 4.4 percent reached in October.





Oil price rose back above $63 a barrel in early trading. U.S. crude climbed 89 cents to $63.38 a barrel in electronic trading. Brent crude futures gained $1.21 to $63.78 in London.



prices edged lower ahead of the jobs report, with the yield on the 10-year note at 4.49 percent, versus 4.48 percent late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.





The dollar rose against the yen and edged higher against the euro.

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IPO and its butterfly effects

Venture Intelligence Blog: Is Unitech for real?

Sanjay Chandra, Unitech's 34-year-old Managing Director, sums up the change: "Till a year ago, real estate was a totally ignored sector. We never used to get any investor meeting requests. Now, we have a full-fledged investor relations department since there are at least 30-40 requests per month, mostly from foreign institutional investors." Another issue that provided fillip to the sector was the high-decibel marketing of the abortive IPO of Unitech's competitor and peer in NCR, DLF. "Whenever there is a large public issue in a sector, there is a rub-off on other sector stocks as well," says S. Ramesh, coo, Kotak Investment Bank, who was involved with the now-postponed DLF initial public offer.

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Amaranth got cleared by its clearing house

DealBreaker.com

Turning Amaranth Lead Into Gold For JPMorgan and Citadel Today’s edition of Platt’s Energy Trader takes in depth look at how Citadel and JPMorgan took over Amaranth’s energy portfolio, turning Amaranth’s losses into profit. The basic outline of the story is that after gas prices sank and the spread between March 2007 and April 2007 natural gas futures shrank,



Amaranth found itself in the troubling position of having to sell off assets, in part to meet the margin calls of its broker, which happened to be JP Morgan. Citadel and JP Morgan then teamed up and bought the portfolio at a steep discount—a move that some at the time thought looked like a bailout of Amaranth.

As it turned out, Amaranth collapsed anyway. It’s energy trading desk was at the heart of its operations, and after the meltdown it had little hope of going on. And the “bailout” was anything but an act of charity or an LTCM-style attempt to shore up market stability. JPMorgan and Citadel had their eyes keenly on the prize—profits. In a matter of weeks, JPMorgan turned around and sold it’s half of the Amaranth position to Citadel, pocketing a cool $750 million.



It pays to take risks. When the bottom is hit there is only one way it will move the upward movement. Again the debate is who know when the bottom is hit.



Thanks Dealbreaker

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Private Equity Trickles into India, Wireless Eyed

I dont know whether this is the first PE. But this is the first Huge one I heard recently. I was wondering why in India there is Less PE deal. Indians and known for bargaining but I bet there is more undervalue properties in India than in any where in the world. In fact thats what I wanted to do when I go back. I am happy that people are realizing the potential and are able to leverage it. Any comments

The Wall Street Journal reports Blackstone Group and Texas Pacific Group are considering making an offer for Hutchison Telecommunications' Indian wireless firm Hutchison Essar, which is the third largest carrier in India. The newspaper cites people familiar with the matter who say a deal could exceed $8 billion, not including debt assumption. Hutchison Essar has more than doubled its subscribers in the past year to around 20 million. Warburg Pincus is said to have had a large stake in the two leading carriers, Reliance and Bharti Tele-Ventures. All parties declined to comment. According to Dealogic, there has been $38.8b worth of buyouts in Asia (including Japan and India) this year, with India accounting for $3.1b. Private-equity firms are awash in capital raised specifically for Asia, and are coming under increasing pressure to make deals.
* Sources: The Wall Street Journal
* Related commentary: The Rush For Indian Tech Stocks, Barclays and PowerShares To Offer India ETFs, Private Equity Buyouts: The Five Cs, The Private Equity ETF: A Look Under The Hood
* Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Hutchison Telecom Int'l (HTX)

Thanks Seeking Alpha for the news

Google and contents

Google and BSkyB Sign Search, Email, Video Deal - WSJ.com

The deal underlines both the growing value of Internet search-based advertising to media companies and Google's need to develop partnerships with content owners and distributors.

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Microlending Moguls

Micro Lending Moguls

Silicon Valley Moguls
Support Microlenders,
Just Not in the U.S.

6, 2006; Page B1

WSJ



This ought to be the perfect time to be Silicon Valley's biggest microlender, making small, business-oriented loans to poor people, the part of the population usually considered credit risks by banks. It's a popular subject today. Its most famous advocate, Muhammad Yunus, just won the Nobel Peace prize for his efforts in the rural villages of the developing world.

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Thanks Paul for linking to this article

Bloomberg.com: Exclusive Theil

PayPal's Thiel Scores 230 Percent Gain With Soros-Style Fund By Deepak Gopinath Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- One morning in 1998, at Hobee's coffee shop, near Stanford University, a young money manager named Peter Thiel decided to gamble on an Internet startup. Thiel ended up investing $240,000 in the company, which eventually became PayPal Inc., the giant of online payments. Thiel ran PayPal, took it public and, in 2002, sold it to EBay Inc. for $1.5 billion. Thiel, then 34, walked off with $60 million. He bought himself a Ferrari 360 Spyder and moved into a condo at the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco.

Even Gekkos 80- 20 rules shy apart, 2% owns 50

Richest 2% own over half of world's wealth

Richest 2% own over half of world's wealth








The richest two per cent of adults in the world own more than half of global household wealth, according to a study released on Tuesday.

In 2000 the richest one per cent of adults owned 40 per cent of global wealth, a report by the Helsinki-based World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University said.

Its comprehensive study of personal wealth has revealed that the richest 10 per cent of adults accounted for 85 per cent of the total global assets.

In contrast, the bottom half of the world adult population owned barely one per cent of global wealth. Average wealth amounted to $144,000 per person in the USA in year 2000, and $181,000 in Japan.

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Googles success and amazing co-incidents

Shuzak.com | Coincidences that made Google successful

Over 25 years ago, IBM's *accidental* visit to Microsoft ultimately ended up making Bill Gates the richest person in the world [1]. Was luck the only reason attributed to his success? No way. Though without it, Bill Gates might have been working for Apple today. I have a theory; for something to be successful a large series of coincidences must sum up exactly right...at least, such was the case with companies such as Microsoft and Google. In that regard, the difference between Microsoft and Google is that Microsoft's luck ran out while Google's luck continued to flourish. Indeed, God worked in mysterious ways for Google; ever since its emergence in 1998, Google has repeatedly scored high on luck [2]. That is not to say that Google didn't deserve its dramatic rise to success; on the contrary, a successful company seeks out opportunities. Taking advantage of an opportunity means recognizing that there is an opportunity to take advantage of. For the purpose of this article, I will reveal a few unpredictable events that led Google on its road to riches but were, more or less, a coincidence.

Had few of the following events not occurred, Google would probably not have existed today.

Google's Coincidental Success:

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Hedge funds and their investments

Five Top Hedge Fund Managers and Their Holdings - SeekingAlpha

Summary: Barron's identifies five top-notch hedge funds whose investment moves are closely watched by the industry, revealing their top holdings and some recent transactions:



David Tepper's Appaloosa Fund: (1) Oracle Corp. (ORCL) (2) Micron Technology Inc. (MU) (3) Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT). Other big holdings: Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), NASDAQ 100 Trust Shares ETF (QQQQ), AMR Corp. (AMR), UAL Corp. (UAUA), and Continental Airlines Corp. (CAL). Notes tech stocks aren't the bargains they were earlier in the year.
*



David Einhorn's Greenlight Fund: (1) Ameriprise Financial Inc. (AMP) (2) Microsoft (3) Hospira Inc. (HSP). In May Einhorn talked about his Hedge Fund 3 12 06affinity for Microsoft, saying that buying Microsoft at $23 was like getting Alex Rodriguez for a merely average price in a fantasy-baseball draft.




* Steve Mandel's Lone Pine Capital Fund: (1) Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (BAM) (2) Google Inc. (GOOG) (3) Comcast Corp. (CMCSA). Mandel cut his Google position by 25% in Q3, suggesting it may be getting too rich for him. He added to Comcast and Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM), sold Research In Motion Ltd. (RIMM) and America Movil SA de CV (AMX), and established a position in Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB).
*



Ed Lampert's ESL Investment: (1) Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) (2) AutoZone Inc. (AZO) (3) AutoNation Inc. (AN). The three comprise Sears Holdings' CEO's entire portfolio. Barron's says many hedge-fund managers own Sears out of admiration for his retailing skills.




* Activist investor Carl Icahn: (1) Time Warner Inc. (TWX) (2) ImClone Systems Inc. (IMCL) (3) American Railcar Industries (ARII).

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This is my perception of money

Emergic: Rajesh Jain , Amazing Blog and inspiration for returnees

For me, money never was an end goal. Money has to be an instrument to bring about change, or more specifically, make the future come alive. For me, money gave me the freedom to experiment and live even more in the future. If I start thinking about money, I'll probably never end up doing anything else in life. For me, ideas matters more than money. I don't like businesses which need lots of capital. I like to look at blue oceans and think up things that haven't been thought of before. The single success of the past gave me the freedom to do all this without having to worry about criticism of my business capability from the extended family (as my father had to in the period after I returned from the US).

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Google tick through new google spreadsheet

Google Finance project:

I heard about the Google finance operations in Digg. Primarily my goal was to run financial analysis for the entire SP 500 tickers, I infact obtained the entire ticks of SP500. But alas google puts a limit for the number of formulas in a sheet currently its 250.

So I compiled a sheet for some of the popular tech companies ticker and posting for the benefit of the community. I also give a link for any one to download in case any one want to monitor or run some analysis.

Url and download link http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=p-aPvrBThNTgsgz1KbCovQw&output=html

Vijay.Chandran@yahoo.com

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Investment mantra

question is simple. What is your investment mantra.



Some VCs invest in Innovation, Some in innovative business models.



I will prefer a mixture of both in any mean. Had any one did the break up study, can any one suggest me a good literature to read about this.

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MNC work style in India

Thanks to Hiranandani, He knows what exactly is the problem. I see an opportunity for a negotiator. Any real estate brokers out there.

He suggested that multinationals may have trouble working in India because they are large and bureaucratic, slow to make decisions and unwilling to put the effort into smaller transactions. Meanwhile, locals want to have a personal relationship with their foreign partner, particularly when dealing with private equity investors that do not have the transparency of a publicly-traded firm.

Hiranandani went on to say that there is little chauvinism or anti-American feeling in India and that the government is open to foreign capital. Communication is easy because English is spoken as a first language in most regions.

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Global real estate hives

Global Hotspots in the Real Estate Business - Knowledge@Wharton

Global
Hotspots in the Real Estate Business
Published: November 29, 2006 in Knowledge@Wharton
Emerging real estate markets in India and China, along with recovering
property industries in Germany and Japan, are among the top
destinations for global real estate investors, according to panelists
at the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center's fall meeting.

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University and venture capitalist funding

This is exactly what I did my summer project in. Amazing isn't it.

I was involved in market research and in the board suggesting recommendation to a University filed patent. I have few more thoughts on this side. I will write about this more when I get some time. read below from WSJ
More Universities Increasing Support For Campus Start-Ups - WSJ.com

Often, when a technology is developed on campus, a university signs a licensing agreement with the developers, which may include royalties for the university, an equity stake, or a combination of the two. Stanford, located in the heart of Silicon Valley, hit the jackpot when it licensed key technology from Google, the search engine developed on its campus by Ph.D. students Sergey Brin and Larry Page. Last year, Stanford made $336 million by selling Google stock it owned as part of that deal.

Optimism and Billionaires: Any equation

Billionaire Richard Branson hosts a technology conference - Nov. 30, 2006

At one point I mentioned my impressions of our host to News Corp.'s Philips, who works closely with Rupert Murdoch. "That's something I've noticed about these moguls," he replied. "They're almost always the most optimistic person in the room."

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Whos runs the web 2.0 bubble

Interesting article. Web 2.0 is centered around Google. I thought about it but not as intensive. Let the IT Gods bless every one and every one profits. I don't want to see that.

 No matter I am bullish on the stock and respect the people working over there. I have little concern over the stock prizes of tech firm.

Read more Seeking alpha

 

Thomas Hawk submits: Dave Winer has an interesting observation out today about the Web 2.0 bubble. Since most of the Web 2.0 companies are not going public, the question Dave raises is how will we know when the bubble bursts. Dave suggests that we'll know when Google's (GOOG) stock crashes.

Since most Web 2.0 companies are not selling stock to the public, and are mostly funded by VC money, the argument would be that we would not likely see a dramatic fallout like we did with the tech stock market in 2000-2002.

But Dave thinks that Google has a big impact on the health of the Web 2.0 playground and that as go Google's prospects, so goes Web 2.0.

And this might be true to the extent that so many Web 2.0 companies business plans are built on eyeballs and advertising. But there are some that are generating real revenue and real profits and these might be the ones that survive even if we do see a Google induced Web 2.0 crash.

With Google's current P/E ratio sitting at about 60 times earnings it does make you wonder: Is Google's stock price already set for perfection? What if advertising revenues don't come in in line? What if there are cracks beneath the surface of Google that we don't know about?

Earlier today, on his Real Money Radio Show, Jim Cramer was lathering Google up good, like only he knows how. He was praising the pathetic Verizon deal (there is no way people are going to pay $15 per month for YouTube on their phone) and telling viewers that they need to buy Google now. This kind of stuff worries me. Cramer is pure hype. And hype builds speculation which builds panic which builds crashes.

Of all of the stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500, Google has the 11th highest overall analyst rating out there. Wall Street could not be more bullish on the stock. Buy, buy, buy, buy. But there is very little room for more enthusiasm left on the stock. A single solitary analyst, Philip J. Remek over at Guzman & Co. (an investment company that no one has heard of of course), is the only analyst on Wall Street saying sell. And even there Guzman's target price for the stock is $460 a share, a mild drop from where it sits today. Contrast that with Safa Rashtchy over at Piper Jaffray who says that Google is going to go to $600 a share or with Mark Rowen over at Prudential who says that Google is going to go to $575 a share and you really do have a stock priced for perfection.

Personally, I'm scared of Google's stock price. I don't own the stock myself and worry that it could be set for a fall. And if it falls, I worry that Dave might be right and that the collateral damage that impacts the entire Web 2.0 could hurt a lot of great companies and businesses.

GOOG 2-yr chart:

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Bid for gambling company, Is it a gamble?

Second Group May Make Bid for Biggest Casino Company [New York Times]

Summary: Coming on the heels of last month's $15.5 billion offer by Apollo Management Group and Texas Pacific Group to buy Harrah's Entertainment, the largest casino operator in the world, a second buyout group is now considering an offer for the company. The new offer, led by Penn National Gaming, which owns casinos and racetracks, and D. E. Shaw, the hedge fund, sent shares up 2.5% yesterday after it was announced on CNBC. Any buyout would require the new owners to obtain a license to operate gambling businesses in the state of Nevada, a requirement that has stymied deals for casino operators in the past.
Related links: Media coverage: Las Vegas Business Press. Commentary: Who Will Acquire Harrah's? * Valuing the Casino Industry: Are There More Harrah's Out There? * Harrah's Seems Underwhelmed by Buyout Offer * Harrah's Gamble Not Without Risk * Bidding Up Harrah's.
Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Harrah's Entertainment (HET), Penn National Gaming (PENN) * Competitors: Wynn (WYNN), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Trump Entertainment Resorts (TRMP), Monarch Casino & Resort (MCRI), Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK).

read more from seeking alpha

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Want to start your own business? Learn how on Yahoo! Small Business.

Docor in wall street

Its of utmost important what I am saying here, People always want to be successfull, unfortunately or fortunately for many financial independence is the definition of success.

I understood it takes great effort to make money but at the same time it doesn't guarantee any thing more. I found these lines very very interesting read more

Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices - New York Times

“lifestyle security comes from financial independence. I’m doing what I want to do and it just so happens that is where the money is.”

How to avoid the classic entrepreneurial mistakes

The Venture Capital Institute- Deathtraps

ENTREPRENEURIAL DEATH TRAPS

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Grahams value investing principles in a nutshell

Benjamin Grahams Value investing

The analytical criteria of the Graham-Rao method contain quality criteria and valuation criteria. The quality criteria are:

# The company must have an adequate size (Sales of Rs 100 crore may be taken as adequate size for Indian companies)

# Current assets should be at least twice that of current liabilities and the total debt-equity ratio should not be greater than 1:1

# The company should have paid dividends and earned profits for the last 10 years

# There should be a growth in earnings per share (EPS) of 10 per cent per annum over the last seven years The two valuation criteria are:

1.The current share price should not exceed 20 times the average EPS in the last seven years for companies with a seven-year growth (GAGR) higher than 20 per cent. For companies with past growth rate between 10 and 20 per cent per annum, the multiplier has to be the growth rate itself. In other words fair value is the average EPS of the last seven years multiplied by the P/E ratio specified as above

2.The current price should also not be more than 1.5 times the latest book value.

Survivor characteristics by Fred Wilson with updates

Update from Fred

If you take money at a valuation that is not sustainable and the market corrects and you need more, you will often be facing a cramdown/restructuring where everyone gets wiped out and the new money owns the company

I've lived through that too many times and I don't want to see it again

The problem with lofty exit expectations is that once they are dashed by new market realities, you will often lose your investors and employees who were sold on an outcome that is no longer possible

Hope this helps

Fred

He mentioned that New Money owns the company. From an entrepreneur point of view does it really matter as long as he holds a considerable equity. I cant comment on this. Of course market will always correct the valuation when its on the either side.

Yes the second one makes more sense. Exit expectations should be a a decision of all the major stake holders. No one can belittle sweat equity.

A VC: Building A Bust Proof Portfolio

So here are the things that those "survivor" companies had in common:

Lower burn rates

Business models, revenues, and customers

Good venture syndicates with real VC firms (as opposed to strategic investors, amateurs, new funds, etc)

* Realistic valuations (as opposed to valuations that could not be sustained when the market broke)

* Committed entrepreneurs who were in it for more than just money

* Long time horizons for everyone involved (entrepreneurs, investors, employees)

* Reasonable exit expectations

* Less capital raised and less preferences on top of the founders

Isnt it some thing which he says indirectly that dont have high ambitions.

Reasonable exit strategies,If the market is offering you one is there anything wrongs in taking it.?

Realistic valuations? Wht not ahigh valuation

Less capital raised, is it you are telling in terms of part with less equity

Indian entrepreneurship saga

Indians are the start-up kings of US- The Economic Times

Indians are the start-up kings of US. Indian immigrants to the US account for 28% of all foreign-founded private start-up companies in a climate dominated by immigrant entrepreneurs, according to a new study on the hot-button issue. The study found that over the last 15 years, immigrants have started one in four (25%) US public companies that were venture-backed, representing a market capitalisation of more than $500 billion

The study also found that immigrant founders are responsible for building a high percentage of the most innovative American companies, with 87% operating in sectors such as high-tech manufacturing, infotech and life sciences.
article is throws a light about Indian entrepreneur and the important part played in startups.
The surely could have mentioned some names like Ram Shriram, Vindh Khosla etc

Real Estate Sector review

I'm glad to have readers like Deepa who has some interesting insights and would like to know more about real estate sector. Here I make an attempt to understand the goings on
in the Real Estate sector and how and why it is a good investment option.

• The Tenth Five Year Plan has estimated a
  shortfall of 22.4 million dwelling units in the country. According to
  one estimate, over the next 10 to 15 years 80 to 90 million housing
  units will have to be constructed.
• The investment required for
  constructing these dwelling units and for providing related
  infrastructure during this period will be of the order of $666 billion
  to $ 888 billion at roughly $33 billion to $44 billion per year ($ 1
  billion = Rs 4,400 crore).
• The real estate prices have stabilised and showing a steady growth after the boom and crash in the mid 1990s.
• There is a steady growth in Housing Finance sector of approx.30 % over last four years.
• The
  rate of interest for housing finance has become reasonable and
  affordable which has resulted into more credit offtake and subsequent
  maturing of the housing industry. Even though there is an increase, the
  rates are still reasonable to my mind after factoring in the tax
  benefits.
• Fiscal benefits provided by the Government of India have encouraged the end users and investors alike.
• Income of the urban buyer has grown substantially.
• There is tremendous scope and growth in the Infrastructure Development.
• Foreign investment by way of FDI has been approved.
• Emergence of professional builders in the market with proper accounting standards.
  Emergence of rating systems for building projects.
• The
  high growth of the real estate sector has led a lager financial
  institution to launch a dedicated real estate fund. These funds are
  simultaneously enticing large institutional investors as well as High
  Net worth Individual (HNIs) to expand their portfolio.
• Last
  year in July, 2005 SEBI approved the country’s first venture capital
  fund, HDFC Property Fund, in real estate. Thus SEBI has not allowed to
  a property fund to come up as a mutual fund but as a venture capital
  fund. This will allow only the high net worth individuals and
  corporates to subscribe for this fund. HDFC board had approved the
  corporation’s entry into business of real estate venture fund after
  SEBI amended, the venture fund act.
  With the real estate prices of
  both residential and industrial properties in major cities
  sky-rocketing in the last two years and with housing still remaining a
  major bottleneck for urban planners and developers, the bullish outlook
  on the real estate market is justified. And many are projecting a 15-25% growth for the sector in the next 5 years.
• A
  report by the CII has pointed out that globally the real estate is and
  should always be considered as an attractive investment option.
• The
  scrips in the construction sector are doing very well. The Mutual Funds
  who have invested in Infrastructure stocks are doing well too.
• Key Construction stocks to my mind are Gammon, GMR, Mahindra Gesco, Hind, Patel Engg., Era Constructions.

RBI
thinks the real estate sector is a bit heated up or prone to be over
heated. So there might be some go slow on Real Estate Mutual Funds and
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT) but they are bound to come, sooner
or later.

Warren Buffets Philosophy of investing

Warren Buffett  - the greatest investor of this generation. What makes him click

from his famous speech in 1984 Columbia Business School

1)) Value investing

 2) Look for the value of the company as a whole.

Buffett gave the example of the Washington Post Company, which, in 1973, was selling for $80 million in the stock market. At the same point of time, the assets of the company were worth not less than $400 million. So the price of the business was much less than its value. And that made it a good buy.

  3) Look for the total worth of business

  4) Psychology of investors.
           The higher stock prices go, the more they appeal to investors, a psychology that often proves detrimental to the interests of both investors as well as the market.



As Buffett pointed out in the speech, "He's not looking at quarterly earnings projections, he's not looking at next year's earnings, he's not thinking about what day of the week it is, he doesn't care what investment research from any place says, he's not interested in price momentum, volume or anything… He's simply asking: What is the business worth?"


Thanks DNAIndia for amazing article.

Rakesh Junjunwalas Portfolio

The above portfolio of RJ is as declared to stock exchanges as on Oct 31, 2006. I shall update the same as and when more information is filed with the exchanges.

Note: Panama Petrochem Ltd is the new stock addition to the master investor's portfolio in September 2006 quarter. I shall shortly post more research on Panama Petrochem on this blog.
Disclaimer: Please dont invest just because he invested in it. The message got to me from an elite group which has key peoples working in indian stock exchange.

Google Acquires Jot Spot news from Wall Street Journal

Congrats to Jotspot guys

From Wall Sreet Journal

Google Inc., expanding its efforts at providing software that helps users create and post their own materials on the Internet, has acquired a California startup that develops online collaboration tools known as wikis.

The announcement came Tuesday through separate postings at Google's and JotSpot Inc.'s Web journals. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

JotSpot Chief Executive Joe Kraus wrote that he had been following Google's recent acquisitions and product launches and quickly concluded that "Google shared our vision for how groups of people can create, manage and share information online. Then when we had conversations with people at Google we found ourselves completing each other's sentences."

Wiki tools, popularized by the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, let users collaborate to create, modify and delete information.

In July, JotSpot released a new version that aims to make shared pages similar to spreadsheets, photo albums and other software people already use. In the past, Wiki tools have generally mimicked basic Web pages or word-processing documents -- photographs, for instance, might appear as a list of attachments, with no thumbnails previewing the image before downloading.

Google's acquisition of JotSpot, which has closed, comes as the Internet search leader prepares to purchase the online video-sharing site YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in stock.

Earlier in the year, Google said it bought Upstartle, the maker of the online word processing program Writely. Google has since packaged Writely with an online spreadsheet it developed. The free tools could help groups simultaneously work on documents and provide alternatives to Microsoft Corp.'s dominant business-software applications.

Mr. Kraus said the latest deal lets JotSpot tap into Google's resources, including a large user base and durable data centers. As JotSpot, based on Palo Alto, Calif., makes the transition to Google's systems, new registrations have been suspended.

JotSpot has both free and paid versions. The free, JotSpot-hosted service restricts the number of pages and the size of the collaborating group

Citigroup Makes Partial Exit From Suzlon To Make Rs 801 Cr; Unsold Holding Worth Rs 1,800 Cr

This is one huge exit in the recent times. Citigroup Venture Capital International, the private equity arm of Citigroup, has sold a part of its holding in Suzlon Energy for Rs 801 crore ($178 million), reports The Economic Times . This includes Rs 185 crore ($41 million) it realised during the IPO of Suzlon Energy in 2005.

 CVCI's original investment in Suzlon is Rs 100 crore or $22.2 million (half of which was debt) which it made in 2004. It still holds shares worth Rs 1,800 crore. Add Rs 801 crore it realised from its partial exit, the total value of CVC's holding in Suzlon is Rs 2,600 crore ($577 million). This is 26 times the original investment.
Apparently, CVCI's Suzlon realisation could be the third most profitable exit in India. First, of course, is Warburg Pincus which made $1.6 billion from an investment of $300 million in Bharti Televentures. Then CVCI itself made approximately $600 million when it sold off its stake in i-flex to Oracle. Citigroup stayed invested for 12 years in i-flex. It's not clear how much was its original investment.

Read - CVC bags Rs 801 cr from part of Su


Reference Thanks vccircle.

 This one is getting better and better everyday, I will recommend  vccircle for any MBA anytime.

American dream

From Michael Lewis interview with Fortune's Brian O'Keefe,

The Big American Dream. I think Lewis did a wonderful job by explaning the arenas where you can build the dream on. He summarizes in to final four categories.

1.Street in the East
2.Valley in the west
3.Washington for politics -I nere though about this as a big arena until he mentioned
4.Proffesional Sports

Interview From Fortune , Thank you Paul

The stars of your books typically find ways to capitalize on market inefficiencies. Is contrariness necessary for greatness?

True greatness requires an ability to respond to challenges and overcome difficulties and suffer and endure - and to think under pressure and act under pressure. America is built on ambition. And there are these little arenas of ambition in the country. There's Hollywood. There's Wall Street. There's Silicon Valley. There's Washington in politics. There's professional sports. And those arenas of ambition - they tend to become ossified. When someone walks into one of those arenas and takes it on, I find that very appealing and healthy.

Wanna be a founder, check points

1. Single Founder
Power of team with complimentary skills is by far important that the product itself.
2. Bad Location
I may not say that enrepreneurship is not found in other parts of the world. a suitable location surely makes your life easier
3. Marginal Nice /.
I will more prefer to say this as lack of vision, and dare to challenge the leaders
4. Lack or Originanility
We need to think twice. You tube is not the first video sharing site. Read break.com, Succes is through innovation either in existing or solving the problem
5. Flexibility
If you want to stick to the plan. Knock on your head twice, Because very few succesful companies did. Read Google, Yahoo etc
6. Hiring Bad Programmer
My god dont ever do this, Hire the best you can afford. A bad move on this one will not only kill your current project but also your future projects
some how sorrounding by the wrong people is the last thing you want to do. Kill or escape before it gets to you. I mean it!!!
7. Platform
Be flexible , Even though its necessary to chose some thing you are comfortable with. Willingness to learn and adapt to newer and better platforms should always be an option
8. Slowness in launching
Think hard on this. If you know the curve stay ahead.
9. Launcing too early
No one can say more about this than Sabheer Bhatia Not Hotmail but Aarzoo.com)
10. User in mind
If you build some thing, try to understand what is the problem it solves and for whom. Is that a crowd some one who you can bank on.. Creating a dating site for 70+.
11. Burn rate
Take enough money or better not take it at all
12. Small is cute
launching a company is inversery proportional to number of people in the team, Keep is less than 3 by any means and you will find some thing

Thanks Mr Paul Graham , I am always inspired his ways and very regular dealer. if you surely need to need more ane each points in detail please visit Y Combinator

Oil prices and market estimations

Amazing comments, let us c what he have for us. Normally it is very hard to find this kind of article. I am glad that some one have enough courage to speak out

 

Thank you Mr. Paulson  For macro economics review , Please read below.

 

INTERVIEW: Reluctant Rally Still Has Life by Sandra Ward

Summary: Interview of James Paulsen, Well's Fargo strategist. A year-ago he boldly predicted oil prices would fall and stocks would continue to deliver superior returns; he offers some key market expectations:

• Current market: A few months ago disaster loomed. Now mortgage yields have fallen, stocks have risen, gas prices are down, and we are near full employment. The present recovery cycle, which began in March 2003, tends to go through 120 day phases, but its undertow remains strong. The ten-year yield, at 4.8%, is where it's been for the past 5 years. Before this recovery ends/peaks, long-term borrowing costs will have to increase.
• Oil prices: Based on the rise in other commodities, oil belongs at about $50/barrel; anything above that is a result of speculation. Coming of its highs, oil is likely to overshoot on the way down. Paulsen would consider investing in the complex once it breaks into the 40s.
• Fed interest-rate policy: "We have got to go higher." Core inflation remains and will continue.
• Investor caution: Corporate excess cash-flow is "off the charts," but they aren't spending it. Every quarter they "beat their numbers," but say the future looks tough. Investors have been putting their money in 5% money-market funds and foregoing superior stock market returns. All this caution is bullish -- businesses still have money to spend and investors to invest: "I think bravado and optimism begets bad times and chronic cautiousness paints a beautiful picture for the future."
• Trade deficit: Emerging economies have been the beneficiaries of the record U.S. trade deficit, driving worldwide economic growth, particularly in emerging markets. In a stroke of unintentional genius, this policy will result in a huge payback in coming years as the world's nouveau middle-class brings the U.S. trade deficit down with their new-found wealth.
• Dollar: "The dollar is going a lot lower." The G-7 will force China to float their currency, and the dollar will weaken against Japan and emerging currencies, if not Canada and Europe. If the dollar breaks to new lows, commodity prices will rise, leading to core inflation; this is the bond market's biggest risk, and makes investing overseas a good idea.
• Private equity boom: "It tells you how much excess liquidity we have in the system."
• Housing: He agrees with Greenspan; the worst might be over. Refinancing has exploded, lumber is showing signs of bottoming, yields are down, and housing stocks are up since July despite bad reports.

Quick comment: Here are some links to recent Barron's interviews: ( href="http://energy.seekingalpha.com/article/18436">1) Charley Maxwell: Where Oil Prices and Producers Are Headed (2) Chris Ceraso: Auto Industry Analysis (3) Rudolph-Riad Younes: Value Stocks Can Be Found -- Beyond U.S. Borders (4) Seth Glickenhaus Picks Four Stocks for a Weak Economy (5) J. Kyle Rosen: Using Options to Take Risk-Free Bets (6) Marty Cohen: U.S. REITs Look Strong, International Better

For Jones Investors, the Price Is Right by Kopin Tan

 

Elements of Sustainable companies from Sequoia

Elements of
Sustainable Companies

Start-ups with these characteristics often foretells the success of a business and the likelihood of it becoming a sustainable, enduring company. We like to partner with companies that have:

Clarity of Purpose

Summarize the company's business on the back of a business card.

Large Markets

Address existing markets poised for rapid growth or change. A market on the path to a $1B potential allows for error and time for real margins to develop.

Rich Customers

Target customers who will move fast and pay a premium for a unique offering.

Focus

Customers will only buy a simple product with a singular value proposition.

Pain Killers

Pick the one thing that is of burning importance to the customer then delight them with a compelling solution.

Think Differently

Constantly challenge conventional wisdom. Take the contrarian route. Create novel solutions. Outwit the competition.

Team DNA

A company's DNA is set in the first 90 days. All team members are the smartest or most clever in their domain. "A" level founders attract an "A" level team.

Agility

Stealth and speed will usually help beat-out large companies.

Frugality

Focus spending on what's critical. Spend only on the priorities and maximize profitability.

Inferno

Start with only a little money. It forces discipline and focus. A huge market with customers yearning for a product developed by great engineers requires very little firepower.