The Slack Discussions

The Slack group at Capital Mind Premium has been extremely active and if you haven’t been there, pop us a note by replying to this email. (If you’re a trial member this probably sound like Greek to you; it will be available when you sign up!)

A brief summary of some of the interesting things discussed there in the last few days:

#stocks: Marksans Pharma Issued Restricted GMP Certificate from UK

Marksans Pharma Ltd has informed BSE that pursuant to the UK MHRA GMP inspection of the Marksans’s Goa plant conducted from November 23, 2015 to November 25, 2015 and subsequent to the Company’s response to the UK MHRA observations, the Company has received communication from UK MHRA informing that they are issuing a “Restricted GMP Certificate” allowing the Company to continue manufacture and marketing of critical products for the UK markets.

#macronomics: As Demand Falls, Tea Prices Splutter Downwards in March

Prices of several tea varieties witnessed a downtrend at the Kochi auctions this week amidst subdued demand from upcountry buyers and blenders. This breaks away from a bullish period starting October 2015, where tea prices initially rose and continued to soar owing to increased arrivals and strong demand.

#stocks: IDBI Bank’s Stake Sale Race Heats up

The International Finance Corp., one of the investors interested in buying a stake in IDBI Bank Ltd, has finished inspection of the assets and liabilities of the state-run lender, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

#stocks: Infibeam IPO: Why Twitter’s Dirty Secret — Paid Tweets — is not funny anymore

Twitter users are quick to diss journalists. Presstitutes, we are called. Idiots of the highest order. The list is long. But you still love Twitter. It has played a crucial role in shaping public debate, taken control away from traditional media, and made journalism more participatory and accountable. But there’s a big problem that is quietly swept under the carpet — paid tweets.

#general: Sri Sri Ayurveda – the Next FMCG Pretender?

As the race for the FMCG summit heats up with Patanjali rumoured to enter the fray, take a lot at the next entrant – by yet another familiar spiritual face – Sri Sri Ayurveda.

#stocks: Jet Airways makes Amsterdam its European gateway

India’s second largest airline, after Air India, is going to stop operating flights to the U.S.

Jet Airways has decided to stop operating flights to the U.S. from March 27, 2016 onwards by reworking its flight schedule. The airline, India’s second largest airline after Air India, had started flying to the U.S. namely to New York and Newark airports in 2007.

#stocks: Uh-oh; WHO Cracks down Heavily on Cadila Healthcare

In June 2008 the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Prequalification Team (PQT) implemented a Notice of Concern (NOC) procedure that is applied when an inspection is performed and serious observations are made that result in concern about the site’s compliance with specified standards such as those relating to Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) or Good Clinical Practices (GCP). Hence, this notice is issued in accordance with this procedure.

#stocks: JustDial – JD Omni Product Review

A dire attempt by Justdial to enter the super-hot e-commerce sector which is soaring in India and is expected to go to $50B+ by 2020, as per reports. The Indian e-commerce market is dominated by Amazon and home-grown Flipkart, Snapdeal, Paytm, Infibeam and Shopclues and covering more than 90% of customer market share.

#stocks: The Dow is doing Something it Hasn’t Done since 1933

Stocks are catching spring fever.

The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 officially wiped out their year-to-date losses this week, as the weight of the Fed was lifted from investors’ shoulders. If the Dow can hold its gains through the end of the month, it would mark the biggest quarterly comeback since 1933.

#general: Starwood Dumps Marriott Deal for Competing bid

Starwood Hotels & Resorts said it planned to end a deal to be acquired by Marriott International Inc after receiving a superior proposal from a group led by China’s Anbang Insurance Group. The Anbang-led group has raised its offer for Starwood.

#general: UT Electricity dept Proposes 32% Hike in Power Tariff

High drama was witnessed at a public hearing of the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) after the UT electricity department proposed a 32% hike in power tariff for the next fiscal with residents strongly objecting to the move. The move, if accepted, would affect more than 2 lakh households and the JERC is to take a call on the matter within a month.

#macronomics: Feb Power Price Hits all-time Low of Rs 2.3/unit at IEX

Average power selling price in February fell to a record low of Rs 2.30 per unit at Indian Energy Exchange.

“With average Market Clearing Price (MCP) in February 2016 at an all-time low of Rs 2.30 per unit in 2015-16, the spot power market continued to be the most competitive option for distribution utilities and open access consumers to procure power,” IEX said in a press release today.

#general: The Journalist and the Troll: This Man Spent Two Years Trying to Destroy Me Online

I saw the photo first, me in a bloody wash of red with “RACIST” pulsing over my face. A couple of clicks brought me to this:

“In the darkest shadow of Bloomberg’s glossy office building in Manhattan, you may find a woman by the name of Dune Lawrence—a ‘journalist’ who has built a career on writing salacious articles about China.”

#general: Andhra govt Offers low-cost Broadband Internet, 15Mbps at Rs 149 per month

The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh N Chandrababu Naidu and Cisco Executive Chairman John T Chambers jointly launched AP FiberNet in Visakhapatnam as a part of the NOFN project. Under the project, the Government of Andhra Pradesh will offer low-cost broadband Internet to households and workplaces.

#macronomics: Slowdown in IT Sector hits State Software Exports Hard

Exports down by 30% as an adequate number of orders are not being received from the US and Europe, which are major customers.

The global economic slowdown has had its impact on Karnataka, which has suffered a steep 30 per cent drop in exports of electronics, computer software, information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) in the first half of 2015-16 fiscal. Such a drastic drop in export figures in an industry that is seen as the cash cow for the state’s coffers follows a steady growth in the previous three years.

#general: $2 Billion Loss for Generators as a Million U.S. Roofs Get Solar

Rooftop solar is casting a $2 billion shadow over power generators across the eastern U.S.

With more than a million U.S. houses set to have solar panels by the end of next month, grid managers serving the eastern U.S. plan to cut the amount of electricity they buy from conventional plants by about 1,400 megawatts, starting in 2019, according to industry consultant ICF International Inc. That’s enough juice to power about 780,000 households.

#general: India’s e-commerce Boom Breeds Drama for Deliverymen

Every morning Manzar Imam buckles his helmet and straps on a backpack that’s almost as big as a washing machine, girding for the battle ahead.

The 45-year-old is a kind of modern-day gladiator, one of tens of thousands of “last-mile” motorbike deliverymen in India’s cutthroat and chaotic e-commerce industry.

#general: He who Would Valeant be

UNTIL recently, America hadn’t had a spectacular corporate disaster since Lehman Brothers in 2008. But Valeant, a Canadian but New York-listed drug firm, now meets all of the tests: a bad business model, accounting problems, acquisitions, debt, an oddly low tax rate, a weak board, credulous analysts, and managers with huge pay packets and a mentality of denial. The result has been a $75 billion loss for shareholders and, possibly, a default on $31 billion of debt.

#stocks: Vijay Mallya: The poor bank’s Donald Trump

A recently discovered video on YouTube is a 1998 interview of the business baron Vijay Mallya by television presenter Nikki Bedi. Bedi asks Mallya for his thoughts on being referred to as the “Donald Trump of India.” Mallya eloquently replies, “Well, I don’t know Mr Trump personally. I have read a lot about him. He obviously likes to live his life as I indeed do, but I am not yet anywhere near bankruptcy.”

#macronomics: Proposal for Equalization Levy on Specified Transactions

Report of the Committee on Taxation of E-Commerce.

#macronomics: Government may Permit 100% FDI in 25 more Segments of NBFCs

Government is expected to propose 100 per cent FDI in 25 more segments of NBFCs including commodity broking and infrastructure debt fund with a view to attract more foreign inflows.

#general: Get Ready to Cough up a Higher Property tax in Bengaluru

Civic body hopes to mop up an additional Rs 700 cr after raising the tax from April 1; Total kitty may touch `2k cr Property taxes in city municipal limits will go up from April 1. Residential and commercial property owners will pay 20% and 25% more levy.

#macronomics: Govt Prepares Bailout for Steel Sector

The government is readying a financial package to help revive the steel sector and also prevent bank loans advanced to steel firms from turning bad.

The steel and finance ministries are working on a package for the steel sector that will be finalized in the next two months, steel secretary Aruna Sundararajan said.

#general: Patanjali Doubles Sales, Closes in on FMCG Biggies

Home-grown Patanjali Ayurved Ltd. (PAL) is growing rapidly, giving the much-older established players in the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment a run for their money.

And, if the Haridwar-based company is able to sustain the pace, it would soon overtake other majors such as Dabur India, Emami and Marico in terms of sales and profitability.

#stocks: Jindals May be set for a Deal on Chhattisgarh Power Plant

Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Energy Ltd is in advanced talks to buy a power plant owned by Jindal Steel and Power Ltd, controlled by his younger brother Naveen, said two people directly involved in the discussions.

“The deal is valued at more than Rs.5,000 crore and is to be announced before the 31st of this month,” said one of the two people cited above.

#stocks: Tax Authorities Start Probe against Penny Stock Traders

The Income Tax department has initiated a countrywide probe against hundreds of entities and individuals who are suspected to have evaded tax and generated black money by investing in‘penny stocks’ at the stock exchange.

#general: Ayush Doctors may get Nod to Practice at Primary Health Centre

The Group of Secretaries to PM has backed the radical proposal to allow Ayurvedic, Homeopathic and Unani practitioners to practice at primary health care level and the Centre has already begun moving the wheels.

#general: Jet Airways Flight landed Withing Minutes of Brussels Airport Blasts

Two Jet Airways flights, one from Delhi and the other from Mumbai, had landed just a little before the twin bomb blasts at the Brussels airport, data with aviation website Flightradar24 showed on Monday.

Jet Airways said it will soon be issuing a separate statement on the incident.

#stocks: Mahindra Reveals Name of its new SUV as ‘NuvoSport’; Launch on April 4

Indian utility vehicle manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra has revealed the name of its new SUV as ‘NuvoSport’. To be launched on April 4, 2016, the co
mpany also unveiled the images of the NuvoSport.

Based on the same new generation platform as the Scorpio, the NuvoSport derives its name from its sporty styling and its innate ability to enable an active lifestyle. The SUV is targeted at those who lead an active, outdoorsy lifestyle and have a bucket list of experiences to tick off regularly during their lifetime.

#macronomics: Hackers Stalked Bangladesh Bank for Two Weeks Before Big Heist

Hackers who stole $101 million from Bangladesh’s central bank stalked its computer systems for almost two weeks beforehand, according to an interim investigation report seen by Bloomberg.

#general: Back-office Blues hit India as Service Exports Start to Slow

India’s position as the world’s back office may be slipping away. For years, India’s services exports had grown fast enough to help bridge its merchandise trade deficit. That expansion came to a halt last year as weak global demand and increased competition made it harder for Indian companies to win new markets, leaving the country more vulnerable to oil price swings or jumps in imports.

#stocks: Zee Entertainment in Talks to Acquire Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network

Subhash Chandra promoted Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) is in advanced talks with Anil Ambani’s Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd (RBNL) to acquire 49% stake in the latter’s BIG FM radio business as well as a 100% stake in its television channels.

#general: Government To Consider Air India Stake Sale: Report

The government is to examine the possibility of selling up to 49 percent of loss-making national carrier Air India, news agency NewsRise Financial reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed official.

#macronomics: Tough to Achieve Double-digit Growth Given Global Headwinds: FM Arun Jaitley

Asserting that its “extremely difficult to achieve double-digit growth in the current global environment, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today said there is a scope for improvement from the current rate if reforms are carried on.

#macronomics: Will India replicate China’s Previous Growth Rate?

Is India’s steel industry ready to take the torch from China?

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi pushes for improvements in India’s infrastructure, the nation’s steel consumption is set to accelerate. China’s demand for steel, meanwhile, is retreating from the double-digit growth rates of the past 10 years as Beijing tries to shift the economy to focus on domestic consumption rather than exports. Now the question is whether India is ready to take the steel torch from China. To do so, India would need better regulations,power availability and other infrastructure.

#general: Why Drugs Prescribed by 80 percent Doctors in India are now Banned

A survey conducted by eMediNexus revealed that the drugs prescribed by nearly 80% of Indian doctors are from the recently banned list of 344 drugs. The survey which was conducted to gauge the sentiment of 4,892 doctors, also concluded that up to 40 per cent of doctors disagreed with the government’s justification for the ban. The survey further revealed that a quarter of doctors felt their reputation would be negatively impacted. Over 75 per cent of surveyed doctors also opined that at least one of the drugs should not have been banned, and a third felt there should be exceptions to drug bans, like in the United States. Codeine and Nimesulide combinations were the main exceptions to the ban that doctors felt should have been made.

#stocks: How 52,911 Profitable Indian Companies pay Nil Tax

“Why is it that subsidies going to the well-off are portrayed in a positive manner? Let me give you an example. The total revenue loss from incentives to corporate tax payers was over Rs.62,000 crore… I must confess I am surprised by the way words are used by experts on this matter. When a benefit is given to farmers or to the poor, experts and government officers normally call it a subsidy. However, I find that if a benefit is given to industry or commerce, it is usually an incentive or a subvention.” — Prime Minister Narendra Modi, February 15, 2016, Delhi.

#backtobasics:

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Disclaimer

Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice and should not be construed as such. Please do not take trading decisions based solely on the matter above; if you do, it is entirely at your own risk without any liability to Capital Mind. This is educational or informational matter only, and is provided as an opinion.

Disclosure: The authors at Capital Mind have positions in the market and some of them may support or contradict the material given above, or may involve a direction derived from independent analysis.