May 25, 2008. An event (not much hyped by media, some didn't even bother to cover it) happened on the banks of Dal Lake in Srinagar, Kashmir. It is a bad luck of Indian citizen where media is always busy covering some rubbish, non-sense news such as Arushi double murder case in Noida these days. Some news channel are proudly saying that as much as 24 reporters are covering the case round the clock. But they don't have time to cover a news which is not so small (I hope most of us agree) in today's Indian perspective.
Junoon, a well known musical band from Pakistan has performed live in Srinagar despite threats from militant organization. It was the first musical concert in nearly 2 decades in the valley. This musical concert was not an small event as far as Kashmir is concern. It seems peace is coming at it's own peace. I really wish for it. It looks like a dawn is here and sunrise is about to happen in Jammu and Kashmir. I really wish and want to see a nice environment in J&K soon (at least before I die) where the markets are busy with lots of tourist (including me). They are roaming and enjoying the beauty of J&K and the people queuing for shikara near Dal lake.
Let's all of us pray to see that time soon!!!!
19.5.08
Corruption - It is omnipresent in India
I love my India. Not talking about the song from Pardes, but I really love my India. Long back I read a chapter in my course book (probably in V or VI std), "Unity in Diversity".I do not remember exactly what was the content of that chapter but must be talked about how the citizens of India are unite (in reality it is very hard to find) irrespective of the diversity in India. In the name of that chapter I want to urge the officials (responsible for selecting course material) that please add at least one paragraph (we can have a full text book though) in that chapter ("Unity in Diversity") about what truly unites India. Whether you go to petrol bunk, RTO, police station, hospital, electricity office, telephone office, post office, one thing will be common. Which really gives you a feel of being an Indian and you will be sure that you are witin the boundary of our great country India. Corruption!!!!
Yes it exist in every city, every department across the country. We always say that corruption in UP and Bihar is on high. Do you think that in Bangalore it does not exist. You are wrong, totally wrong. It is here, in the very heart of city namma Bengaluru (Bangalore). You know the best part I like of the corruption is that, the rates are almost common all over India. If you are caught by traffic police and do not have driving license pay Rs. 50, if you do not have a RC, or vehicle insurance, or pollution certificate Rs. 50. If you do not have all the things then you have to bargain. It will start from Rs 1000, but believe me Rs. 100 is OK.
Go to RTO. They are one step ahead as compare to traffic police. Traffic police will leave you if you have all the documents, but in RTO they will not take your application if you are directly going there (not going through Agents even you have all the required documents). I remember when I was in college, energetic and enthusiastic (dreaming to change the country as every young student does before meeting some harsh realities of real world) I went to RTO for my learning driving license. I filled the form and gave a written test in the morning. They called me in the evening to see the result. I was failed. I went there next morning and re-appeared in the test and after the test the responsible person shamelessly asked me "Why aren't you taking help of Agent? Come through them". "No", I replied firmly. Then he said, "OK. You are passed for now. But for driving license, please take care.".
We all are aware of the same situation in all the departments whether it is in so-called Hi-Tech cities e.g. namma Bengaluru, Hyderabad, amchi Mumbai or it is a far away village of UP, Bihar. I feel this is what makes India a truly unite country. We all are united for corruption to be exist. We stand united for this cause. This is what really "connecting India" not BSNL ("Connecting India" is a punchline of BSNL). Corruption is really a good example of being united as a country considering a highly diversified county India is. This topic really deserves a paragraph in the chapter "Unity in Diversity".
Yes it exist in every city, every department across the country. We always say that corruption in UP and Bihar is on high. Do you think that in Bangalore it does not exist. You are wrong, totally wrong. It is here, in the very heart of city namma Bengaluru (Bangalore). You know the best part I like of the corruption is that, the rates are almost common all over India. If you are caught by traffic police and do not have driving license pay Rs. 50, if you do not have a RC, or vehicle insurance, or pollution certificate Rs. 50. If you do not have all the things then you have to bargain. It will start from Rs 1000, but believe me Rs. 100 is OK.
Go to RTO. They are one step ahead as compare to traffic police. Traffic police will leave you if you have all the documents, but in RTO they will not take your application if you are directly going there (not going through Agents even you have all the required documents). I remember when I was in college, energetic and enthusiastic (dreaming to change the country as every young student does before meeting some harsh realities of real world) I went to RTO for my learning driving license. I filled the form and gave a written test in the morning. They called me in the evening to see the result. I was failed. I went there next morning and re-appeared in the test and after the test the responsible person shamelessly asked me "Why aren't you taking help of Agent? Come through them". "No", I replied firmly. Then he said, "OK. You are passed for now. But for driving license, please take care.".
We all are aware of the same situation in all the departments whether it is in so-called Hi-Tech cities e.g. namma Bengaluru, Hyderabad, amchi Mumbai or it is a far away village of UP, Bihar. I feel this is what makes India a truly unite country. We all are united for corruption to be exist. We stand united for this cause. This is what really "connecting India" not BSNL ("Connecting India" is a punchline of BSNL). Corruption is really a good example of being united as a country considering a highly diversified county India is. This topic really deserves a paragraph in the chapter "Unity in Diversity".
12.5.08
Share - The Market
As everyone has said (in our trading group) that we all are trying to recover from the situation we were in 2-3 months ago, I am too trying hard. I believe, we all earned good money before market saw Jan lows, and then suddenly market went into deep red and we lost not full but significant percentage of our portfolio. But from last month or so, market is in recovery process though we are still very low from Jan-08 highs. It is true that in some of the stocks we are in loss, but I'll be shocked if someone will say that they are in RED as far as there overall portfolio is concern. It should not be the case.
We all made some mistakes in stock market. I also did during my initial phase of trading (in fact still doing it but the number is less though). I do not want you guys to repeat it. So, I thought why don't I share some of my learnings with you guys. With that idea I'll try to share my ideas with you. It's totally up to you take it as a help or just ignore it and follow your own ideas and get the first hand experience.
1. Never buy or sell 100% in one shot: This was my first lesson I learnt way back in 2005. You might have heard several times from different people that don't put all your money in one shot in one company. Buy in steps to average out the price. What I want to say is not only while buying, but for selling too keep this theory in your mind. Never throw all the stocks of one company in one shot. Sell it in steps. I'll give you an example Diamond Cables. I bought 200 shares of it in Rs. 39 per share and sold it in Rs 62. The good news is I've made a decent profit. The bad news is recently it crossed 500 marks but still hovering around Rs. 400-450. You all are very good in Maths so leaving the calculation up to you. The problem is I made 60% but lost 1000% of the profit. True there is some level of risk involved. What would have happened if the stock might went down to Rs. 20 or so. That's hwy I am telling sell it in steps. I should have sold around 50 shares in Rs 62, then 50 shares at somewhere Rs. 80 and then 50 shares at Rs. 100. Then I could have save 50 shares just for my portfolio after getting good returns.
2. Buy when you see value: It's a recent lesson I learnt. Reliance Communication. I bought 10 shares of RELCOM at 505 two months back, because I felt that it is good buy I am getting. I also knew at that time that it could go down further. Within few days exactly the same had happened and it went to 485-490 levels, but I was happy that I bought shares at my comfort level. I was quite confident that it will go up very soon. It's just a matter of days. And within a week or two, it touched 575 levels. I didn't try to time the market rather bought it when I saw value in it. Might be in the process of timing the market I could had not bought even a single share and missed the rally. So, the choice is all yours.
3. There is nothing called long-term: Delete these lines from you mind. Some of us believe that in the market there is nothing called as long-term. The only way of making money is short-term. Due to which people try to time the market. There is one bad news for all of us and we should accept it that we are not the experts of trading market, but we pretend to be. Frankly speaking how many of us can read balance sheet and understand jargons of the share market. So to be on safe side why can't we leave timing the market and go for value-buying. One obvious benefit of trading long-term is, you can save 15% tax on the long-term profit which you have to pay in case of short-term investments. Even with the mix of big companies(large-cap) as well as growing companies (mid-cap) we can get some decent returns from the market. But some of my friends don't believe that 20% returns from the market is decent returns. They want to get at least 100% from it.
4. Friend's are here to help: I know that we follow our friend's recommendations and I believe this trend is going to stay. We can not just ignore our friend's recommendations. It's not that bad though. But try to find some simple information about the stocks before buying it. Anyways it won't take a toll for it. Rather it will always help you in increasing your knowledge, and involvement in the stock.
With all this bakwaas I'll end here and wish you all HAPPY TRADING!!!!
We all made some mistakes in stock market. I also did during my initial phase of trading (in fact still doing it but the number is less though). I do not want you guys to repeat it. So, I thought why don't I share some of my learnings with you guys. With that idea I'll try to share my ideas with you. It's totally up to you take it as a help or just ignore it and follow your own ideas and get the first hand experience.
1. Never buy or sell 100% in one shot: This was my first lesson I learnt way back in 2005. You might have heard several times from different people that don't put all your money in one shot in one company. Buy in steps to average out the price. What I want to say is not only while buying, but for selling too keep this theory in your mind. Never throw all the stocks of one company in one shot. Sell it in steps. I'll give you an example Diamond Cables. I bought 200 shares of it in Rs. 39 per share and sold it in Rs 62. The good news is I've made a decent profit. The bad news is recently it crossed 500 marks but still hovering around Rs. 400-450. You all are very good in Maths so leaving the calculation up to you. The problem is I made 60% but lost 1000% of the profit. True there is some level of risk involved. What would have happened if the stock might went down to Rs. 20 or so. That's hwy I am telling sell it in steps. I should have sold around 50 shares in Rs 62, then 50 shares at somewhere Rs. 80 and then 50 shares at Rs. 100. Then I could have save 50 shares just for my portfolio after getting good returns.
2. Buy when you see value: It's a recent lesson I learnt. Reliance Communication. I bought 10 shares of RELCOM at 505 two months back, because I felt that it is good buy I am getting. I also knew at that time that it could go down further. Within few days exactly the same had happened and it went to 485-490 levels, but I was happy that I bought shares at my comfort level. I was quite confident that it will go up very soon. It's just a matter of days. And within a week or two, it touched 575 levels. I didn't try to time the market rather bought it when I saw value in it. Might be in the process of timing the market I could had not bought even a single share and missed the rally. So, the choice is all yours.
3. There is nothing called long-term: Delete these lines from you mind. Some of us believe that in the market there is nothing called as long-term. The only way of making money is short-term. Due to which people try to time the market. There is one bad news for all of us and we should accept it that we are not the experts of trading market, but we pretend to be. Frankly speaking how many of us can read balance sheet and understand jargons of the share market. So to be on safe side why can't we leave timing the market and go for value-buying. One obvious benefit of trading long-term is, you can save 15% tax on the long-term profit which you have to pay in case of short-term investments. Even with the mix of big companies(large-cap) as well as growing companies (mid-cap) we can get some decent returns from the market. But some of my friends don't believe that 20% returns from the market is decent returns. They want to get at least 100% from it.
4. Friend's are here to help: I know that we follow our friend's recommendations and I believe this trend is going to stay. We can not just ignore our friend's recommendations. It's not that bad though. But try to find some simple information about the stocks before buying it. Anyways it won't take a toll for it. Rather it will always help you in increasing your knowledge, and involvement in the stock.
With all this bakwaas I'll end here and wish you all HAPPY TRADING!!!!
8.5.08
Logic - People does not seems to have it
As a computer science student, the first thing what I learnt in the college was the nice word "LOGIC". Everyone told that apply logic while writing programs etc. Today as a software engineer I am still supposed to put logic behind whatever I do in my professional life. [Though it's a different story whether I am doing it or not].
Coming to the point, every person working in IT (Information Technology) sector must put logic behind everything. Even to write a single line of code people ask for the logic behind it. And I hope many of them are also religiously putting logic behind every single line of code written (or even not written). So, if we are so good in using logic, why cannot we understand a very simple logic of not running behind money.
We all wait eagerly for the appraisals. It's not a bad thing. It is a reward for whatever we have done for last one year. But the problem is no one is satisfied with there appraisal. I am sure, after every appraisal some of us are planning to ask for more hike, some of us even planning for job change, some of us might have already done that to negotiate further.
Have we ever use our logic to think about where is the end of this rat race? Has God created us only to enjoy his resources and forget about it. We are only running behind money blindly without having any logic. Aren't we suppose to do something (in this earth) which can help others too e.g. entrepreneurship (by creating jobs for others), social services etc. Have we ever sit calmly and thought that what was the purpose of God when He was creating us? No, we have never done that. In fact most of us never though of it before. How many of us know their purpose in life? Answers will be few.
Food for thought: We can try to find out what is that bigger purpose for which God has sent each one of us in this earth rather than just running behind money.
Coming to the point, every person working in IT (Information Technology) sector must put logic behind everything. Even to write a single line of code people ask for the logic behind it. And I hope many of them are also religiously putting logic behind every single line of code written (or even not written). So, if we are so good in using logic, why cannot we understand a very simple logic of not running behind money.
We all wait eagerly for the appraisals. It's not a bad thing. It is a reward for whatever we have done for last one year. But the problem is no one is satisfied with there appraisal. I am sure, after every appraisal some of us are planning to ask for more hike, some of us even planning for job change, some of us might have already done that to negotiate further.
Have we ever use our logic to think about where is the end of this rat race? Has God created us only to enjoy his resources and forget about it. We are only running behind money blindly without having any logic. Aren't we suppose to do something (in this earth) which can help others too e.g. entrepreneurship (by creating jobs for others), social services etc. Have we ever sit calmly and thought that what was the purpose of God when He was creating us? No, we have never done that. In fact most of us never though of it before. How many of us know their purpose in life? Answers will be few.
Food for thought: We can try to find out what is that bigger purpose for which God has sent each one of us in this earth rather than just running behind money.
7.5.08
Politics - A bad word in India
Elections in Karnataka is just few days away from now. As always all political parties are publishing their manifesto before election. Janta Dal-Secular (JD-S) is last of three major parties (other two are congress and BJP) in Karnataka.
As most of middle class people does in present scenario, I do the same. I don't take much interest in politics. But as I am working for software company in Bangalore one news raised some curiosity in me.
JD-S has promised that they will give 30% reservations for Kannadigas in IT (Information Technology) and BT (Bio Technology) sectors. Reservation as such on the basis of cast/religion/area is controversial topic in India at least. So I am sorry in advance, if someone being hurt from my writing.
But sometimes I think, are these reservation really help those who really need that? Is it reaching to the people who cannot achieve anything in their life without it? In my various phase of life I've seen many guys getting benefit from reservations, but nowhere I've seen any poor person (who really need reservation in my perspective) from that cast/religion/area. I've seen people who are already good enough to pay there fee are getting fee rebate. Those who are able to buy books on market price they get extra library facilities. Aren't we spoiling our resources? Is it not the waste of resources, which can be more fruitful if invested in correct areas?
Personally I feel kannadigas, who are capable enough to be a part of software industry are already a part of it or going to be soon. I really don't see any need to give any kind of reservation in IT/BT for not even kannadigas but also for anyone. Anyways I know all these are just a publicity stunt before elections but somewhere it all creates a small feeling against reservation which in turn result in community bifurcation. I pray Bangalore will not follow the steps of whatever happened in Mumbai recently.
As most of middle class people does in present scenario, I do the same. I don't take much interest in politics. But as I am working for software company in Bangalore one news raised some curiosity in me.
JD-S has promised that they will give 30% reservations for Kannadigas in IT (Information Technology) and BT (Bio Technology) sectors. Reservation as such on the basis of cast/religion/area is controversial topic in India at least. So I am sorry in advance, if someone being hurt from my writing.
But sometimes I think, are these reservation really help those who really need that? Is it reaching to the people who cannot achieve anything in their life without it? In my various phase of life I've seen many guys getting benefit from reservations, but nowhere I've seen any poor person (who really need reservation in my perspective) from that cast/religion/area. I've seen people who are already good enough to pay there fee are getting fee rebate. Those who are able to buy books on market price they get extra library facilities. Aren't we spoiling our resources? Is it not the waste of resources, which can be more fruitful if invested in correct areas?
Personally I feel kannadigas, who are capable enough to be a part of software industry are already a part of it or going to be soon. I really don't see any need to give any kind of reservation in IT/BT for not even kannadigas but also for anyone. Anyways I know all these are just a publicity stunt before elections but somewhere it all creates a small feeling against reservation which in turn result in community bifurcation. I pray Bangalore will not follow the steps of whatever happened in Mumbai recently.
5.5.08
Team vs individual
We all know how Jaipur's Rajasthan Royals are performing in ongoing season of IPL. As of now they top the chart among eight good teams. There are some of the very big names in other teams as well which are not doing so well in the tournament. e.g. Hyderabad Deccan Chargers. It has Gilchrist, Gibbs, Symonds, Shahid Afridi, Rohit Sharma, and Laxman. They all have capabilities to win the match on their own. But the result is they are one of the bottom three teams in the tournament so far.
So, what is the conclusion. It's yet to come, but before then that you must be thinking why I am talking about cricket in this blog and gave the label "Management"? It's because I feel there are couple of management lessons which we can inherit from cricket.
1. You should be flexible to work in different areas. In our corporate life we all are a part of teams. We do not have existence beyond the team. So, team is always first not the individual. Never ever put aside team's interest for your personal interests. Take a example of Rahul Dravid. He played at all the positions (from 1st to 6th) for the benefit of the team. He had put keeper gloves for more than 1 year just to make the team balance right. Similarly, we all have strengths in some particular area and if we are assigned a work in some other area we generally don't accept it easily. But if the teams needs you to excel or work on some other area you should be more than eager to do that.
2. Better team is worth more than best individuals. Take an example of Rajasthan Royals. They don't have big names, which is indirectly helping them. They are performing good because they are playing as a team. On the other hand Deccan Chargers are struggling to win even their 2nd match inspite of having so many big names. In our corporates we should try to make a team with those people who must have team spirit not the very intelligent individuals without team spirit.
3. Leaders are very important in every field of the life. They have to lead the team by performing, not just by guiding them. Shane Warne is a leader at par right now. He is not only leading his team from front by taking some crucial wickets at crucial moments but also inculcating the team spirit in his team members. With some unknown names he created a team which is at top in the the chart. While, before the tournament started no one was betting on them to win even a single match in the tournament.
4. Make strategy before every task. Shane Warne is doing exactly the same. He is having strategy for each team and for each batsman. He is using his resources excellently. Whether it is selecting playing XI, or a decision on batting line-up or the bowling changes through the match. All the leaders must prepare the strategy for each task and moreover they have to be ready to change the same if needed.
So, what is the conclusion. It's yet to come, but before then that you must be thinking why I am talking about cricket in this blog and gave the label "Management"? It's because I feel there are couple of management lessons which we can inherit from cricket.
1. You should be flexible to work in different areas. In our corporate life we all are a part of teams. We do not have existence beyond the team. So, team is always first not the individual. Never ever put aside team's interest for your personal interests. Take a example of Rahul Dravid. He played at all the positions (from 1st to 6th) for the benefit of the team. He had put keeper gloves for more than 1 year just to make the team balance right. Similarly, we all have strengths in some particular area and if we are assigned a work in some other area we generally don't accept it easily. But if the teams needs you to excel or work on some other area you should be more than eager to do that.
2. Better team is worth more than best individuals. Take an example of Rajasthan Royals. They don't have big names, which is indirectly helping them. They are performing good because they are playing as a team. On the other hand Deccan Chargers are struggling to win even their 2nd match inspite of having so many big names. In our corporates we should try to make a team with those people who must have team spirit not the very intelligent individuals without team spirit.
3. Leaders are very important in every field of the life. They have to lead the team by performing, not just by guiding them. Shane Warne is a leader at par right now. He is not only leading his team from front by taking some crucial wickets at crucial moments but also inculcating the team spirit in his team members. With some unknown names he created a team which is at top in the the chart. While, before the tournament started no one was betting on them to win even a single match in the tournament.
4. Make strategy before every task. Shane Warne is doing exactly the same. He is having strategy for each team and for each batsman. He is using his resources excellently. Whether it is selecting playing XI, or a decision on batting line-up or the bowling changes through the match. All the leaders must prepare the strategy for each task and moreover they have to be ready to change the same if needed.
4.5.08
World's Current Food Crisis
From last couple of months rising inflation is a buzzword across the world. Everyone is talking about it. In Indian perspective all the political parties are playing a nice blame game with each other. Of' course they are champion of this game. But none of them are really serious in finding what is the root cause of the problem and what is the short/long term solution of the problem.
They all are blaming each other just to capitalize the issue to increase there vote bank. If we ask the current market price of some basic food grains to these politicians, I am sure hardly anyone will be able to speak about it.
Anyways, the major issue here is the way so called "developed" countries are behaving and commenting about the issue. Last week Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state US make the statement that improved diets in India and China is one of the major cause of current rise in food prices. Recently Bush also has joined the talk and make the remarks that rising prosperity in eating habits in India and China has caused this price rise.
I believe Bush's comments not only shows his attitude toward Asian Giants but also shows his lack of knowledge about current affairs. He said that 350 million middle class people in India is asking for better nutrition and better food due to increase in purchase power. This population of middle class in India in incidentally bigger than the whole America's population, he confirmed. I think US is certainly under pressure and doesn't know how to respond to the situation where Asian countries are challenging them.
But the various report shows that the per person consumption of food in US is more than 5 times in India. From African countries this is surely incomparable. The per person consumption in US has been increased since 2003, on the other hands it is more or less stable in India. Moreover, the decision of diversion of arable land for ethanol production is also questionable. Let me remind you Mr. Bush that we are a food exporter not a food importer.
This whole chapter shows the ignorant behaviour of US president. They have to first see their own way of living and then go and comment about others. I seriously don't know why these US people go and comment without there proper knowledge of history, geography and of' course world's current situation.
They all are blaming each other just to capitalize the issue to increase there vote bank. If we ask the current market price of some basic food grains to these politicians, I am sure hardly anyone will be able to speak about it.
Anyways, the major issue here is the way so called "developed" countries are behaving and commenting about the issue. Last week Condoleezza Rice, secretary of state US make the statement that improved diets in India and China is one of the major cause of current rise in food prices. Recently Bush also has joined the talk and make the remarks that rising prosperity in eating habits in India and China has caused this price rise.
I believe Bush's comments not only shows his attitude toward Asian Giants but also shows his lack of knowledge about current affairs. He said that 350 million middle class people in India is asking for better nutrition and better food due to increase in purchase power. This population of middle class in India in incidentally bigger than the whole America's population, he confirmed. I think US is certainly under pressure and doesn't know how to respond to the situation where Asian countries are challenging them.
But the various report shows that the per person consumption of food in US is more than 5 times in India. From African countries this is surely incomparable. The per person consumption in US has been increased since 2003, on the other hands it is more or less stable in India. Moreover, the decision of diversion of arable land for ethanol production is also questionable. Let me remind you Mr. Bush that we are a food exporter not a food importer.
This whole chapter shows the ignorant behaviour of US president. They have to first see their own way of living and then go and comment about others. I seriously don't know why these US people go and comment without there proper knowledge of history, geography and of' course world's current situation.
1.5.08
Cricket Mania in Bangalore
When cricket in India is on high with IPL, in bangalore we are also totally poured into cricket mania today. Can you believe we played for 40 overs in the scorching heat of Bangalore? But it was a nice experience and I am totally sorry for those who missed this action. Pankaj better luck next time. It was a 3-day test match which is still two days to go. Saturday and Sunday are the two remaining days.
It was 6:40 AM in the morning when I called everybody over phone for the cricket. By 8:00 AM more or less everyone was on the ground with high spirit. It was very nice to see people from GBPEC across batches, from 2001 to 2007. We won the toss elected batting first. Being Totally into test cricket mode we took very cautious and slow start to show our cricket "caliber". Finally in 20 overs we scored 73. Then they comes, our opponent. They played good cricket and with the help of some decent shots they managed to get 100.
yes they are leading with 27 runs, but with 40 overs to go, anything can happen. The game is still on guys. But it was as always a nice gathering. We got a chance to met guys across the batches. Added advantage is a nice health too.
It was 6:40 AM in the morning when I called everybody over phone for the cricket. By 8:00 AM more or less everyone was on the ground with high spirit. It was very nice to see people from GBPEC across batches, from 2001 to 2007. We won the toss elected batting first. Being Totally into test cricket mode we took very cautious and slow start to show our cricket "caliber". Finally in 20 overs we scored 73. Then they comes, our opponent. They played good cricket and with the help of some decent shots they managed to get 100.
yes they are leading with 27 runs, but with 40 overs to go, anything can happen. The game is still on guys. But it was as always a nice gathering. We got a chance to met guys across the batches. Added advantage is a nice health too.
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