The Satyam saga

Satyam’s story is taking interesting turns of late now. And the repurcussions are going a bit beyond what I used to think as possible earlier. My earlier notions have been that the stock market and the share prices at best have a secondary effect on the parent company and companies are run based on what they bring home and not by the tribulations of the market. But this issue has made me reconsider my notions. Let me put it down in points:

• Satyam as a company has got its shares listed in the stock exchange and are driven by the general mood of stock market. Normal and boring.
• Then Mr. Raju decides to use some of Satyam’s cash pile to bail out his son’s companies and this has got the investor community up in arms. They start dumping shares en masse and this leads to a massive fall in the share price.
• So far, this is only a market issue with some repurcussions to the promotors but not the company as an entity. But then this changes. As it transpires, some of the promoter’s shares have been pledged to some institutions in exchange for cash and they have done the same further. The loss of share value means that the collateral is lesser in value than the loan. This forces the holder to start selling the shares to avoid any further loss.
• This changes the game completely, as the promoters might now have gone in minority and are liable to be ousted from the company. The company is now getting seriously affected.
• What happens next is to be seen closely……

Personally, it now looks out to be a long drawn out affair. I was hoping for a bonanza announcement this board meeting but the resignation of its directors has meant that such decisions will not be smoothly taken. Anyway, i still reiterate this stock to be a great buy at every fall. There are good short term rewards at the very least here.

The way the internet is moving

http://www.wired.com/software/webservices/news/2008/12/YE8_web

New developments in the web in 2008.

Why did Sensex crash from 20K to under 10K?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-3901597,flstry-1.cms

A voice of sanity. Its amazing how sentimental we become when it comes to making our decisions. Like the author says here:

“It is strange that when prices fall in general, we are all happy because goods are now better value. But when stock prices fall, we shed copious tears. Exactly the same stocks with exactly the same economic fundamentals were great buys with Sensex at 20,000; but they are bad investments today with Sensex at some 10000 odd!”

On the whole though a good time to buy.

The Satyam Opportunity

I might be a bit naive in here but let me stick my neck out. I dont own any shares of Satyam till date but this to me seems to be a great time to buy Satyam shares. I am looking at a good jump in share prices in the next year plus dividends or bonus options if the current board decides to fight this out. I believe I should be buying more of Satyam

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/rssarticleshow/msid-3888972,flstry-1.cms

The latest news about Satyam which I vaguely instinctively believe is trading at Santa Claus bargain rates. Let me lay down some rules:

1. The share capitalisation will be atleast 20% from current levels up in 2 months time (considering that it has fallen 40% in the past weeks)
2. There is a very good possibility of a massive dividend - mainly as a move to assuage the shareholders and temporarily prevent massive sell off

So in the by end of Feb my holding of Rs 100 should fetch me atleast 120 + a handsome dividend.

Top Technology Breakthroughs of 2008

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2008/12/YE8_techbreaks?currentPage=all

A look at what 2008 brought us and where we might be moving in 2009. While this list tends to be only technology related at present, some of these are nonetheless very interesting. My favourites:

• Flexible Displays – Leading the way to wearable computers and all other kinds of possibilities.
• GPS – We are now seeing the trend of attaching GPS coordinated geographical information to any and every kind of database available. Imagine reminder services that not only remind you of time but also the place of activation. So the next time you are at a superstore your mobile will automatically bring in the grocery list. Ahh.. life will be so much easier.

Looking back at 2008.

Looking back at 2008.

A year where some would say there were more losers than winners. I would personally call it a year we learnt a lot. A lot about getting simple. Getting back to the basics.

All of a sudden, being in cash and having solid content has become more important than having a potential. We are all in a process of Getting Real. Getting to know the real value of things. So in a way, its been a good year. An adventurous year……

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7786169.stm

The New Trend in Automibile Design

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/08/07/0714_royal_college/1.htm

 

The new trend in Automobile Design

 

The Vehicle Design Masters program at the RCA held its annual degree show a few weeks ago, showcasing an array of transport designs created by the graduating class of 2008. In all, 18 students—including three PhD graduates—developed projects which dealt with the current issues of accessibility, aerodynamics, environmental impact, ergonomics, legislation, materials, production, safety, and technology, as well as the aesthetic principles of vehicle design.

 

It is quite interesting to see the designs that are basically extrapolations of the present state of automobile design into the future with each designer showing a certain leaning to some particular aspect of the experience of driving.

 

So you have designs that are energy efficient (an all too common concept today) to ones that try their hand on the customisation of the space to suit the rider.

Its also interesting to see how the current range of materials available are dictating the forms possible. Clearly, the limitations of sheet metal is being discarded to make way for the fluidity of plastic and glass derivatives

 

Another interesting concept is the issue of the driver’s interface with the vehicle. One of the concepts offers no windscreens but something of an electronic screen that relays the exterior environment to the rider inside. While the other has a complex system of pipes to generate the engine noise that drivers instinctively identify the vehicle’s movement with (and which, with the advent of silent engines will be a thing of the past). Then there’s the vehicle that has essentially a formless interior with a flowing strips of plastic forming waves that respond to the user’s body and mould themselves (a hyper sophisticated form of a bean bag)

 

It is my personal view that automobiles like footwear are at the forefront of design evolution in the manner they are evolving and responding to the change in design and material. They then become the initiators of a style language that is then picked up by the other fields (eg architecture being amongst the laziest of the lot)

 

From newyorker.com

(karthik.rao@multiplex.biz) saw this on newyorker.com and thought you'd like to see it.

A very nice article on Buckminster Fuller - the ideosyncratic inventor of the Geodesic dome

Click here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/09/080609fa_fact_kolbert/

Computerworld - Storing every life memory in a surrogate brain

Computerworld - Storing every life memory in a surrogate brain

A good concept.

About emotions and decision making

It is a great asset to be able to separate the influence of extreme emotions from the decision making. Easy said than done right. Yes it is but that can change. I have come to some realisation as I have gone about things. Certain situations would fluster me to the point of paralysis but if a friend comes to me for help on the same issue, my recommendations will be to the point to almost ruthless levels and devoid of any emotions. The difference I realise here is of the influence of extreme emotions in the decision making process. So here are a few points I have been pondering about this issue:

• Emotions have the habit of contaminating the facts surrounding an issue. It is important to judge facts on their merit alone. This requires a certain ruthlessness as its human nature to classify facts based on the emotion they generate. This requires practice. To shut out how you feel about an object or a situation without actuallu classifying it as good or bad is very difficult. The mind behaves like a large database system, the moment a new situation comes up, it looks to classify it based on certain known attributes. The trouble is that this can often be done before dilligent examination has been completed.Adding to that, almost everybody has his mind tuned to a certain threshold which determines the ratings we give to each situation. If your mind is set to negative settings/safe settings, it will colour the situation with a likewise rating. so sometimes the key is to just reset the threshold.
• Look at facts from a third person's point of view. Look at any situation as if it was not happening to you but to another person and you have to provide an impartial solution to it.
• Facts themselves are never positive or negative, its what we make of it that is positive or negative. This is something I am increasingly realising these days. A stock market crash can be a highly negative occurance or a highly positive opportunity depending on where you are looking at it. So it is important to be fanatically positive. Would you ever go into a battle with faulty weapons, never right? A fact when looked as opportunity will change the way you look at the situation. Whats more you will turn the situation which could have been potentially loaded with negative emotions into one with positive ones driven by possibilities and opportunities.

I like the word "opportunity". Its got such a positive vibe about it. It motivates you to think ahead, work towards a goal you can see and achieve. The best part is that often one opportunity's fulfillment leads to the opening of a newer, higher level, refined one. and best of all its there, everywhere around you. Anything you touch see or feel is some form of opportunity. One just has to identify and make the start. All of a sudden, the whole world resembles an amusement park with you at the gates. Wherever you go, a host of new enriching experiences await you.