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May 2010

Wow ! Napolean Bonaparte’s Preserved Penis worth US $ 100000

Leave a Comment / Blogs, Chuckle !, Classic Quotations, Controversies, Interesting News Sightings, Investing Themes, INVESTOR MISTAKES, Reflections, VALUATION, When My Mind Meanders... / By

Paulo ‘The Alchemist’ Coelho fascinates me….”If you chase your dreams,your dreams will chase you”…Wow !

love visiting his blog…he’s embarking on a spiritual retreat from tomorrow for a few days and will have access to the internet for only 20 minutes everyday…uncanny coincidence !…because I too am doing the same later this week !

Caught my eye was this link on his blog  on Napoleon’s penis…what an Investment !…unique,exclusive and cannot be recreated or replicated !…Holding History,literally and figuratively, in your Hands !

http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2010/05/30/5-sec-read-napoleons-penis/comment-page-1/#comment-561486

Allegedly cut off in 1821 by Napoleon’s Doctor during the autopsy and not well preserved through the years,the Penis was purchased by a New Jersey Urologist in 1977 for US $ 3000…he kept it under his bed!…his daughter has now inherited this ‘relic’ and has been offered US $ 100000

‘Time’ magazine lists the Penis in the Top 10 List of Famous Stolen Body Parts …the List is as below

  1. Maori Heads
  2. Santa Claus’ Bones
  3. Geronimo’s Skull
  4. Anne Boleyn’s Heart
  5. Benito Mussolini’s Brain
  6. Napoleon’s Penis
  7. Remains of Thomas Paine
  8. St. Francis Xavier’s Toe
  9. The Head of King Badu Bonsu II
  10. The Purloined African

Read : http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1988719_1988728_1988720,00.html

Just Imagine  a similar hypothetical Indian Top Ten List of Famous Departed Souls !…wonder whose body part would be a good investment !…or is this a sacrilegious thought !

I’ve categorised this blog under both ‘Investing Themes’ and ‘INVESTOR MISTAKES’ ….depends on whether you think it’s a sacrilegious investment or not !

Cheers !

Standard Chartered Bank INDIAN DEPOSITORY RECEIPT…Looking Beyond the Financials…At the Exchange Risk Involved…What if the Rupee Appreciates !?

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I’m Looking Beyond the Financials here…..at the Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) INDIAN DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS (IDRs) Issue….am not inclined to recommend Investment,although the Pricing looks reasonable and it will not form part of the Overseas Investment Annual Limit of US $ 200k per Indian Citizen….probably a contrarion here as all seem to be recommending the IDR….I’m a bit worried about the Exchange Rate Risk involved…in that the Rupee may appreciate and as the underlying SCB Share is quoted in Pence and HK $ it would impact the Rupee Quote on BSE and NSE….Is my thinking conceptually flawed on this risk ?…do let me know 

I’ll let the IDR List and take a call on it as a Secondary Market Investment

Standard Chartered Bank,that is the sponsor of the Mumbai Marathon since it’s inception a few years ago,has just launched INDIAN DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS (IDRs) in India

The IDR Issue Specifics

The IDRs have been priced in the range of Rs 100 to Rs 115 with 10 IDRs equivalent to one SCB Share of US $ 0.50 Face Value…240 Million IDRs are on offer,with QIB reservation at 50%,Non Institutional at 20% and Retail at 30%…The Issue Opened on May 25,2010 and shall close on May 28,2010

Issue Price Range is at Relatively Reasonable Valuations on both Earnings and Assets basis 

Assets Basis

At December 31,2009,SCB had a Consolidated Networth ,net of Minority Interests of US $ 27340 Million,with Equity at US $ 1013 Million ( FV US $ 0.50) and Reserves at US $ 26327 million…That’s US $ 13.50/share or Rs 635/share (US $=Rs 47)….With 10 IDRs=One Share,it translates to Issue Price of Rs 1050/share,assuming the Pricing is finalised at Rs 105….That’s a Price to BV of just 1.65….The Networth should move towards US  $ 31000 million at December 31,2010 with Profits net of dividend of @ US $ 3000 million and IDR Proceeds of @ US $ 536 million (assuming Rs 105 pricing and Exchange rate of Rs 47 to the Dollar)…Equity will move up marginally to US $ 1025 million.The Book Value/Share would be @ US $ 15/share or Rs 705…The FY 10 P/BV would then drop to 1.5….   This is a shade lower than even the 1.6 projected for FY 11 March ending for  ICICI Bank and State Bank of India…and significantly lower than the over 2 times projected for Axis bank,HDFC Bank and Yes Bank…It’s more on less equal to that projected for overseas Banks like Westpac and National Australian Bank in Australia and even those in Hong Kong ….so the IDR is not priced  high on Assets basis read more

Sad Saturday…India wakes up to an Air India Tragedy at Mangalore….We will survive Sensex crashes everytime…but How do we survive such Air Tragedies…even when we’re not aboard!

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At @ 6 am this morning as I was getting up to a Saturday Life, 166 aboard an Air India Flight from Dubai to Managalore in South India were Landing to their Death !

…Apparently the Plane overshot the Tricky 8000 feet Table Top Runway atop a Hill and cracked up after landing a went up in flames as it descented into the Valley….. As I blog this late afternoon, bodies were yet being pulled out, many charred beyond recognition…. Miraculously seems eight have cheated Death and survived… some have been recounting the crashlanding on media channels…. how, because the plane broke up, gaping holes were created, through which they jumped out!

You can survive Sensex Crashes time and again… but how does one survive such Air Tragedies, even when one is not even aboard !…. I feel helpless….. can only pray for the souls of all those who perished… Why God !?… even Infants who were too young to even Dream !… but whose parents dreamt for them !

My Wife was shocked and immediately brought alive her own apprehensions whenever she used to land at Mangalore Airport enroute to audit of one of India’s major PSU Bank that is headquartered there… she always used to tell me that the runway was atop a hill and the Plane would land and come to a halt beyond which one could see the surrounding Valley

…It has to be a precision landing… initial media reports suggest the pilot miscalculated and landed 2000 feet beyond actual Touchdown Landing Point… this would mean he had less distance to bring the Plane to a Complete Halt… having realised this he may have tried to abort landing… lost control… and this led to the Tragedy… the real reason will unfold during the Investigations that have already commenced

Life is Precious… every Moment of it… so Live it well and joyously… Tragedies,beyond your control or choice, like these makes you acutely aware of this… and this is the irony and paradox… that a tragedy inspires you to intensify your sensibilities and treasure the Treasure that Life is !

Share the Grief of all those who lost their near and dear ones in this Tragedy…. May the Souls of those who died, rest in peace

S & P’s Sovereign Rating of USA remains at Top ‘AAA’….Amusing!

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One often gets wise after the Event…. but what if one does not !… does not deliberately want to actually!

I don’t want to get into the game of Bashing up the Rating Agencies… but was curious to see how Standard and Poors have rated USA on long term and short term sovereign domestic and fx currency obligations

For Long Term Ratings,Top of the Line is AAA… it indicates extreme strength in meeting obligations…. BBB indicates adequate protection parameters but economic adversity and changing circumstances can weaken the capacity to meet obligations… anything below BBB is speculative in nature

For Short Term Ratings, the highest is A-1 …. while A-3 indicates adequate protection parameters but changing circumstances can weaken the capacity to meet obligations… B onwards are speculative in nature 

As of May 17, 2010, USA retains a Top Rating of ‘AAA’ on long term obligations on both domestic and fx curriencies… the outlook is ‘Stable’, indicating that there should not be any ratings revision in the next six months atleast….on short term obligations,yet again USA has retained the top A-1 Rating

It’s Western Ally, United Kingdom has similar ratings… only the outlook here is marked ‘Negative’…. indicating the rating could be revised downward

Amusing really !… Methinks S & P lacks the spunk to downgrade USA…. USA’s Debts and Deficits are larger and more scary going forward than even those of some of the ‘PIIIGS’ Nations in Europe….. and S & P has rated these European nations on Long Term from a High of AA (Spain) to a Low of BB + (Greece) and on the Short Term from a High of A-1(Italy, Ireland & Spain) to a Low of B (Greece) 

India has got a S & P Sovereign Rating on Long Term Obligations of BBB- and on Short Term of A-3…with Outlook marked as Stable…… just one rank above being classified as Speculative in nature !…..Really !……we’re more or less been rated on par with Hungary,Iceland,Morroco and Egypt 

Just to jog your memories…S & P had continued to rate Lehman Brothers at A+ in early 2008…in March 2008 they merely changed Outlook to ‘Negative’….then beginning June 2008,they actually downgraded Lehman to A from A+….Even in early September 2008,they warned of a downgrade but did not actually make one stating “we continue to view Lehman’s near-term liquidity as satisfactory….”… Lehman collapsed in the same month later in September 2008… yet S & P defended their ‘A’ rating asserting “  We believe the downfall of Lehman reflected escalating fears that led to a loss of confidence — ultimately becoming a real threat to Lehman’s viability in a way that fundamental credit analysis could not have anticipated with greater levels of certainty,” read more

Your Family is being Dictated by Another that’s Living with you !

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There’s another Family that’s Living with you and dictating your Life…Your eFamily

TV is the Husband & Father…..Computer is the Wife and Mother…..CellPhone is the Elder Child……and the IPod is the younger sibling

And they’re all dictating your Life

…..your upbringing is full of moral convictions,no expletives and curses,ban or restrictions  on alcohol and tobacco and total taboo on drugs and sex talk and viewing

….and these Conflict with this Other eFamily…..this virtual world that you’re living in with this Electronic Family of yours is influencing you 24*7….It pays scant respect to your morals…and brings alive all taboos as if to say ” Wake Up and Smell the Shoe!…this is Real Life !”….You have begun to question the Distinction between Good and Bad….this has become blurred from a simple ‘Black and White’ to Grey

…..the saving grace is that your eFamily transports you,often live, to Nature and Sporting Events and Global News…enhancing your knowledge on Politics,Current Affairs,Arts & Culture,Literature, History,Geography and the Sciences and a host of other Areas

……sadly it’s also loudly ‘sssshushing’ Family Life….how often does the Father or Mother move away to another room because the children are glued to ‘Friends’….each Family member has individually different Meal times….the Mother is glued to Daily Soaps,hurled upon your senses one after the other over various channels….the Father has to beg to watch the News or a Business Channel  

A Reflection of the Times we live in…and 3G will bring in full convergence….your mobile will become your TV,your Computer and your Internet Browser…. in effect it will be all your senses !…so in a sense you will become senseless! 

In a way you can say that the Family is on the Move !

Your parents were brought up by their parents but you are being brought up by your eFamily !…the Role of Instructors has shifted from Parents to the eFamily….often you will find it rebukes the values of your parents,scoffs at their traditional views,seduces you with blatantly suggestive ideas that would embarrass moralities 

Your Family has become Strangers…and your eFamily has become Family !

Welcome to the 21st Century….Welcome back to Slavery !….the only difference being that  Humans are increasingly in bondage with Non Humans !…the Paradox or Irony is that we cannot Live without being such Slaves ! read more

‘Tainted’ Telecom Minister A Raja ! ? The Conviction grows stronger…for his deliberately ‘gifting’ the 2G Licenses on a First Come First basis for just Rs 1000+ crs when the current auction of 3G Licenses has fetched over Rs 16000 crs!

1 Comment / Controversies, Corporate Governance, Insider Trading, Interesting News Sightings, INVESTOR MISTAKES, Reflections, Telecom, VALUATION / By

In November 2008,I had covered in two blogs,what our Telecom Minister,A Raja had blatantly done….he had gifted 2G Licenses to vested interests at a pittance…just over Rs 1000 crs,when he could have got ten times more for the Government

Today, after a 34 days auction process it has been announced that the 3G Licenses auction has fetched the government over Rs 16000 crs !…..the 2G Licenses Question that has always been asked of A Raja now becomes really rhetoric !  

Yet A Raja continues to be supported by the PM and remains the Minister in the UPA Government….CBI even has some telephone voice recordings of leading TV News Hosts discussing with Ministers and Power Brokers in the Capital on how to favour D Maran or A Raja as the Telecom Minister…Bloody Shame ! The Government and therefore We,the People of India have been deprived of Thousands of Crores for the 2G Licenses

These were my earlier Blogs on this  2G Telecom Scam

Ctrl.Alt.Del….We need to Re-Boot November 17,2008…I had linked Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s Telecom Scam expose in the Asian Age on this…but find Asian Age has since removed this link

Conspiracy of Silence : The Officially sanctioned loot of Rs 60000 crs in the Telecom Sector ! November 4,2008….I have referred to V Kapoor’s Telecom Scam expose in ‘the Afternoon’

It’s ostensibly Coalition Politics Blackmail at it’s worst !

Sad !….just saw a smug A Raja on TV…he’s probably taking credit for 3G,having deliberately wasted the 2G opportunity….and he’s not being made accountable for it ! 

But what 3G Auctions has done is got Rs 70000 crs for our FM…he had provisioned for Rs 35000 crs…but has got twice the amount !…it’s been a spectacular auction

 

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