LOOMING RECESSION

We have been talking about the impending slow down in India and the lack of strength of recovery in US coupled with the turbulence being generated in EU nation right from the Mar-Apr-11. The non stop rise of rate hikes continued and the RBI is willing to sacrifice the growth .That time published that the State Assembly Election in the 5 states are holding and we expected some policy decisions that can prop the Index but not the economic growth. 

Now Thanks to ET covered in detail.

22 AUG, 2011, 10.10AM IST, 

Global economy is dangerously close to recession

Concerns over the wavering US economy and Eurozone debt crisis has put world markets in turmoil and most of them witnessed massive sell-offs in the past week. Excerpts from a Morgan Stanley research report dated 17 August 2011. 

Recent economic events in the US and Europe have been disappointing. Europe's insufficient response to the sovereign crisis and the events around lifting the US debt ceiling have negatively impacted the financial markets and substantially eroded business and consumer confidence. In the first half of 2011, US GDP grew by an annual average rate of less than 1%, which shows brittleness of the US recovery in the face of external shocks (oil, Japan earthquake) despite ongoing fiscal stimulus. 

On the other hand, Europe's past rate hikes, the sovereign crisis and the fiscal policy tightening will take a toll on its growth. The euro area GDP is likely to stagnate later this year and in early 2012. Because of such developments, Morgan Stanley has reduced its global growth forecasts to 3.9% from 4.2% for 2011 and from 4.5% to 3.8% for 2012. The report also lists the outlook for various regions. 

United States: The growth expectations are downgraded because of expected slower pace of income and spending growth. Also, there are concerns regarding the willingness of businesses to hire and invest. 

Euro area: The GDP growth estimates are reduced by a full percentage point for this year and the next year owing to softening domestic demand in the core countries. This could affect the euro area as a whole, slowdown in global trade momentum marked by deceleration in manufacturing indicators, difficulties faced by banks in accessing term funding at reasonable rates and likelihood of increased funding costs that could impact investment projects. 

United Kingdom: UK will follow a pattern of weak (but positive) growth. Its export led recovery is likely to be hit due to global slowdown. Also, lack of spare capacity and pressure from global inflation will make 2012 another uncomfortable year for the Bank of England. 

Japan: Morgan Stanley has reduced the country's economic prospects due to weakening global economy, a delay in post-quake reconstruction activities and tighter electricity demand-supply conditions over the medium-to-long term. The main downside risks are deflation, concerns regarding fiscal resources and higher taxes. 

Australia: There are growing signs of weakness across the non-mining related sectors due to restrictive monetary and fiscal policy and adverse wealth effects as house prices are falling. Also, consumer sentiment has deteriorated significantly in recent months, which could raise the prospects of higher unemployment. 

Asia (ex-Japan): The report has reduced the GDP growth estimates for the region to 7.6% in 2011 and 7.3% in 2012, from 7.7% and 7.8%, respectively. The region is likely to decelerate due to a significant slowdown in the developed world growth. 

According to the report, countries which are more externally oriented, such as Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand, will see a greater adjustment in their growth outlook compared with the economies with higher dependence on domestic demand, such as China, India and Indonesia. 

WE ARE BUILDING THE GROWTH & SAFETY.....

Emerging markets can drive global recovery

2 Hours ago
The emerging market economies will remain key to global recovery and will continue to display the resilience they exhibited during the global meltdown……ET covered

'India can lend stability to world'

BS Reporter / New Delhi August 30, 2011, 0:19 IST

Finance minister says sustained high growth requires nimble, transparent, coordinated responses, allowing non-state actors to shoulder much more….. BS covered today.

In my previous article posted we discussed the same and the opinion being circled among others mind also

PEOPLE WIN but not markets!!!!

The US sovereign debt might have got rerated on the grounds of slowing economy.  The cues from the Fed Chairman Ben Bernake are crucial for markets across the globe at this juncture. The QE-3, Quantitative Easing may prop up the sagging economy and may correct it in due course of time. The extra funding from Govt may give opportunity to US industrial houses to generate employment opportunities there by spending more to propel the recovery in economy. 

In this current scenario the foreign brokerage firms are putting India on watch, down grading the the SENSEX targets. The CLSA has down graded from 19,500 to 18,200 and Morgan Stanly has brought down the target from 22,750 to 18,850 for 2011. These firms have down graded India due to the global linkages and dependence that has increased from 2008 to current situation. The share prices likely to get de-rated depending on the emerging global scenario.

“There is a good reason to hope that the crisis is over in two to three years’ time”, European Financial stability Facility (EFSF) Chief Klaus Regling quoted while mentioning about the need for collaborative cooperative effort needed among the member countries to support for reforms and sorting their budgets. So the severity is sustained for next 6-9 months for sure. The markets across the globe will find only technical bounce rather than rallies in equities. The Switzerland banks are trimming their teams so banking professionals close to 10,000 will get their pink slips. The Euro zone crisis will have short-term impact on the markets across the globe but the de-coupling will emerge especially in India may be from pre budget rally in Feb-2012. The Europe and US debt crisis gets solution by fiscal stimulus is the remedy for foreign markets and policy liberalization is for our markets.

A positive note on inflation is from Goldman Sachs which predicts that the inflation may recede to 6% by March of 2012. The RBI has used 11 times rate hikes since Mar-10, to curb inflation but the petrol price hike coupled with product input cost rise on global front spiraled the inflation above 9%. The capital inflows to emerging markets like India will increase as the search for growth and safety intensifies.So we can expect trend reversal of rate cuts to boost the economy. The short week likely to close on positive news from the US and the Nifty may close above 4850 level and may wait for US president Obama announcement on 5^th which is may the main reason for Bernanke non committal at Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The DOW and S&P of US are going to be listed from Monday on the NSE. In order to encourage participation, NSE is offering no transaction charges till 29 of Feb-2012.

ANNA HAZARE UNITED ALL: Anna Hazare who united Indian middle class who got severely being affected but scattered, to raise voice against ever talked and less addressed deep rooted corruption issue. Anna made the over whelming crowd at Ramaleela maidan to cheer on the achievements by forcing the central government to accept the JAN LOKPAL discussed in parliament. He ended fasting on13^th day, asking people to become ANNA by following and leading spotless character and sacrifice to fellow being. The media helped to highlight the issue and the common man voices were aired. The 74 yr old dedicated Gandhian follower maintained fasting for 12 days. He says next agenda is ready for electoral reforms agitation. His fight would be for “Right to Recall” and “Right to Reject”. The good beginning shall bear fruitful results.

Steve Jobs resigned: In any body’s life disease is curable but the death is not. The despair put’s immense pressure on the mind, when it becomes incurable leading to death. The Apple chief Steve Job, who built an empire against all odds, succumbing to such pressure, finds joy in living with incurable pancreas disease. He is a visionary, traversed India for enlightenment in Uttarakhand but could cleanse his soul found the strength to establish Apple Inc. with his friend Steve Woznaik, also a college dropout like him. Both sold their beloved goods and could gather $ 1300 dollars to kick-start the company in a garage. His skills and vision shaped “Mac” computer but Apple Inc became super rich with the success of it’s incredible products like iPod, iPhone and iPad that changed the mobile world, now under the leadership of Tim Cook, the then COO of Apple. He built an empire bigger than many countries reserve, with 100 billion dollar business growing at scorching pace, now the new management to take it forward to nest level. 

Critical times… troubled waters…

The growth in our economy is not contracted but we are making it to grow slow to control spiraling inflation. The growth will have no significance unless the inflation is controlled. The Nifty is now adjusting to the future earnings. The world economy especially the EU is cracking like in 2008. The world over growth now has become a big challenge as the developed nations like US are at negative growth coupled with high un-employment, low productivity are at stagflation stage.

In this emerging scenario the export dependant, driven countries will depend on their local markets for sales that creates a situation of glut will will create and aggravate economic problems where in the production cuts will become the order of the day. The classic examples of de-rating will happen on most developed sovereign nations. The markets will react to a situation to grind it lower to lower level. In India, the Govt. is grappling with many issues related to corruption and governance. The last 3-6 months the policy measures for triggering the markets are at bay.

Now our situation is forcing us to think twice, whether to continue our tight monitoring policy or encourage the economy to open for growth. The production cuts are happening in auto mobile and now in stainless steel. The iron ore production has reduced that forced steel companies production cuts. The coal shortage due to floods in coal mine areas in Australia spiraled in cost but the India situation is not seriously effected with Coal India support. The Jharkhand pollution control Board has given notices to Coal India for closure of Mines due to environmental issues. The situation may create another shortage problem to power and steel industries. The ripple effect will have cascading effect that can derail the growth estimates. The next five year plans starts from 2012 to grow above 9% will become a big challenge that topple and crumble the foundations made so far.

The Nifty has exhibited great support at 5200 level was not easily broken but three time support has built retail investor participation but not left anything special. The situation now has changed gradually to touch a level of 4700. The fall from the reasonable bullish zone above 5850-5800 to 4700 is more than 1000 points. The Reliance, DLF, Tata motors, Tatasteel, Hindalco, STER, Sesa Goa ICICI, AXIS and SBI lost their shape and attractiveness. The deformed stocks will get a healthy look only when the Nifty crosses 5100. Now the news flow is against for blue-chips. The standouts will have very bright future along with these stocks. The midcaps will out perform only after one year or so. The fancy look is not available and the growth driven rose picture is not saleable in these market conditions.

The technical bounce back shall be used to off load the positions as they are not going to yield any significant results. The risk reward ratio for these stocks looks attractive on the face of it but the multi-baggers will emerge only after 2-3 years that to on selected counters. The world economy is a concern for now but the emerging markets will out-perform in the years to come.

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

26 AUG, 2011, 03.49AM IST, AHONA GHOSH,ET BUREAU 

Rakesh Jhunjhunwala: The fire of investing in stocks is still in me. I eat, sleep and live markets

An investor with the Midas touch, lover of the king-size life, a relatively recent family man, and now a budding philanthropist. ET attempts to unravel the multilayered world of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala 

July 5, 2010: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala (RJ) is celebrating his 50th birthday in Mauritius at the InterContinental hotel. He's flown in along with 250 friends who will partake of the festivities over three days. The birthday boy has also brought along 12 of his cooks to prepare special Marwari dishes for his guests; a part of the hotel has been cordoned off for this purpose. 

On the guest list, which includes some of Dalal Street's and India Inc's biggest movers and shakers, is Hiren Ved, a director and chief investment officer at the RJ-owned Alchemy Capital. Ved, who has known RJ for 17 years and fondly refers to him as bhaiya, still has one vivid image of the revelries etched in his mind, RJ on the dance floor. 

"He was dancing his heart out with this shirt tails out, least bothered what others thought of him," chuckles Ved. That's the credo India's first investor to make a billion dollars from the stock market, that's how much Forbes had estimated his net worth in 2008, swears by. And at 51, RJ still has the time and energy to work hard and party harder. 

"If we were partying in Hong Kong till 6 in the morning or gambling till 3 in the morning, he would be fully awake and on his screen tracking the Indian markets, which would open at 6.30 am Hong Kong time. The rest of us could barely keep our eyes open," recounts Ramesh Damani, a member of the Bombay Stock Exchange who has known RJ for the past 25 years. 

If RJ can do that, it's because he's still an investor with fire in the belly, sifting through a heap of stocks for tomorrow's multi-baggers. "I still eat, sleep and live markets," says the investor who was christened India's Warren Buffet for his penchant for, and success with, value investing. Sitting in his plush 15th floor office in South Mumbai's commercial hub Nariman Point, RJ's eyes light up when discussing stocks. 

A diamond ring sparkles on a finger of his right hand as he flicks the ash of an India Kings cigarette into a large marble ashtray. "Success is measured quantitatively by everyone including myself. Money matters but I enjoy the process more, and have never used unfair means to make wealth," says RJ. 

Markets are still at the core and the good life a natural corollary, but of late, RJ has widened his universe to include two ingredients, one that most people consider a given; and the other that most folks don't consider at all. 

OTHERS IN THE PICTURE 

Let's start with the first element: 

Family. In June 2004, after 17 years of marriage, RJ and his wife had their first child, daughter Nishtha who is eight years old now. Two-and-a-half years ago they had twin sons. "The greatest joy in life is having a child. I adjust to their timings now; they can't adjust to mine," says the proud father. 

The even newer constituent of RJ's life is perhaps more unlikely, the man who believes that greed is good also believes giving is good. Recently, he announced in a public forum his intention to pledge a fourth of his wealth by 2020, which he hopes will amount to a billion dollars, to charity. "Money is an outcome and not the purpose... As of now it is just a pledge. I have not given away the money but by God's grace I am sure it will happen," he says, adding he also wants to be involved in deciding the causes into which the money goes and in monitoring its deployment. 

A die-hard investor, lover of the good life, a relatively late family man, and now a wannabe philanthropist, is RJ for real, or is this just a well crafted image-building exercise? After all, as his detractors point out, and there are a few of them, RJ is just trying to mirror Buffett. After being put on the same pedestal as the Oracle of Omaha on the investing front, he wants to attain the same status with his philanthropic efforts. 

AN OPEN BOOK 

Others point out to some visible, if arguably superficial, contradictions in the man: his love of the tipple and everything else that goes with it don't quite sit well with his projection as a family man and as an enthusiastic philanthropist. 

To be sure, it's easy to be sceptical about RJ with all his inconsistencies. Yet, here's a man who has never attempted to hush up his lifestyle. "My biggest insecurity right now is my health. I eat at odd times, drink like a fish and smoke like a chimney. I need to change my habits. I want to live long not just for the kids but for myself," says the man who started taking yoga classes six months ago. 

Such transparency spans across his personal life to the professional. "When he bought Titan, the benchmark of his portfolio, he shared his ideas with friends. Unlike other traders who buy stocks secretly, he has always been transparent," says Damani. Today, RJ can look out of his duplex apartment in upscale Malabar Hill in South Mumbai and take in the sweeping view of the Queen's Necklace with a Cuban cigar in one hand and a scotch tumbler in the other. But he didn't get all this on a platter. 

The day this writer visits his home, she gets to see a totally different side to a man retail investors consider a god. The children are running around in the sprawling living room, a nanny is pandering to their needs, and at the other side of the room a barrage of hired help is busy dusting, polishing and sweeping the house. 

That's a typical Sunday morning at the Jhunjhunwala household. As RJ bids his yoga teacher farewell in the second living room, he sits back in his chair and starts describing his earlier days. He got married in 1987 and for the next two years, had his back to the wall. The luxury RJ enjoys today was a distant dream then. "The markets were bearish, there was no activity. I had no income and people would advise me to seek another career," says RJ as he dips a garlic toast into a cup of milk, his breakfast. 

BREATHING WORK 

In a short film made on RJ for his 50th birthday celebrations, longtime friend and investor Radhakrishnan Damani recollects their earlier days when they would spend hours discussing the market till the wee hours of the morning. 

One day, they were sitting on the streets of Nariman Point till 3 am when a police car drove past and ordered them to go home. "I went home, but Rakesh went to Delhi Darbar for biryani and came back to my house at 5 am with the day's newspapers to continue our discussion," grins Damani. 

In his heyday, RJ was known to put in 16-18 hours tracking and talking stocks. These days he has slowed down, although not by much. "Especially after his kids were born, he is making a lot of effort to spend time with his family and is looking after his health," says Ved. Shankar Sharma, cofounder of First Global, says: "I keep telling him to lose weight, forget about the markets, and that health is more important." Sharma and RJ have been involved in some spectacular faceoffs, but that's only because of their contrasting styles of investing, the former thinks macro and RJ's approach is bottom-up. Otherwise, they're perfectly comfortable meeting over a drink. 

"Rakesh always tells me that people will be surprised to find us sitting together," says Sharma. Perhaps with age both Sharma and RJ are more open to accepting each other's opinions, even if they are as forceful as they were in the past. As Ramesh Damani says: "He has reached a happy stage and has nothing to prove any more." 

Such a stage in life allows for room for new-found indulgences. Recently RJ bought eight racehorses, stallions and fillies in a three-way partnership with two businessmen. RJ is a 50% owner and says he spent around Rs 75 lakh on this purchase. Then, he has also forayed into Bollywood by teaming up with adman-turned-filmmaker R Balki to make a movie titled 'Hinglish English.' The film is about an Indian who goes to the US and learns English there. RJ is financing the project, he isn't saying how much he is sinking into it, that stars Sridevi and features Amitabh Bachchan in a small role. 

A NEW DIMENSION 

Beyond such treats, however, key events in RJ's life have triggered actions of more consequence. After his daughter was born, RJ had this dream of starting an orphanage. A year ago he did just that. He opened an orphanage in Panvel on the outskirts of Mumbai and has 80 children, between five and eight, enrolled. Over the next two years, he wants to increase the count to 384. His brother Rajesh, who is also a CA like RJ, manages the orphanage. 

"I have enrolled them in English-medium convent schools and local Marathi schools. I will further the education of those who are academically inclined, and those who are not, I will put into vocational training," says RJ, who spends Rs 3,500 per month on a child. "I spend 25% of my dividend income on charity," he adds. RJ is a firm believer in the virtuous cycle of greed and giving: "Making wealth and giving are two sides of the same coin. You can't give it unless you make it." He still wants to create wealth, perhaps now even from overseas. 

"I want to replicate in global markets what I have done in India," says RJ. "(For that) I need to build a team which I am trying to do now." But even such global ambitions may have to make way on the priority list for his children. Wife Rekha says that since their arrival, she has seen a 75% improvement in his behaviour. 

"(Earlier) he never had any set time to come home. Often he wouldn't come home till well past midnight," she says. These days, she adds, RJ rushes home from work by 7.30 pm to help Nishtha with her homework. Rekha also points out that the man famous for his erratic temper has calmed down over the years. 

RJ jokes: "During our 24 years of marriage I must have shouted 7,500 times at her and she has only once." Yet, some things just don't change. Rekha says sometimes she is embarrassed by her husband as he can never keep anything to himself. "There are many times when I don't tell him things because he doesn't think before speaking and you never know when he will say what," she says. But then again, RJ wouldn't be RJ without his individuality, his quirks, his forceful opinions, his sharp mind, and his unpredictability. 

THANKS TO ET

Apps designing: Entrepreneurs are making million

Kamya Jaiswal, ET Bureau

What you need: A unique idea. Little or no investment. A few hours. What you get: A global market of over 250 million smart phone and tablet users. A time share in 33,675 downloads a minute, or 17.7 billion a year. 

The trade off has never been so one-sided, in favour of entrepreneurs. Start with minimal investment (no cost is also possible) and access a market with no physical boundaries. What do you make? Mobile applications - bite-sized programs that make millionaires of entrepreneurs holed up in nondescript places, even tiny Udupi in Karnataka.

Apps based on new ideas with user-friendly presentation

Rohith Bhat, the 39-year-old Udupi-based app maker who boasts clients like Apple and addicts of his products like Prison Mayhem HD and WordsWorth in far-flung Europe, is one of India's little-known cache of star mobile app millionaires. They have the agility to keep up with the fast-moving technology and produce apps based on new ideas with user-friendly presentation choc-a-bloc with features. 

As app-making is an idea-intensive, not capital-intensive business, small outfits can make it big - a perfect fit for creative, tech-savvy but resource-constrained Indians. 

The opportunity is huge in both volume and value. A 2011 report by Gartner predicts annual worldwide mobile app downloads will reach 185 billion by 2014. Juniper Research says these clicks are likely to add up to over $25 billion in revenue.

Making money from freeware

The potential has never been higher. At the same time, the entry barriers have never been lower," says Kenny Mathers, Nokia's head of developer relations for Asia Pacific. He is not referring to the investment but the technology required to build an app. All major platforms, Google's Android, Apple's iOS and Nokia's Ovi, offer comprehensive software development kits (SDKs) online. Now, you may know nothing about coding and still put your app out there. 

So if not in-depth programming, what does it take to make it to be in Bhat's league? And is the road to their millionaire club as simple as it seems? To find out, ET spoke to the Indian app-preneurs with global hits in their kitty. 

They share some everyday challenges: lack of adequate talent. Some unique ones: making money from freeware. But collectively, they can't stop gushing about the hottest new business. And explaining why the next Angry Birds may come from their research labs. 

Where idea is king

"When the first iPhone was launched, it had no zoom function. We thought, why not create a digital zoom for its camera?" says Bhat. The app, one of the biggest hits of his company, Robosoft, recorded over 15 million downloads. There was no rocket science behind this success. It was just an idea that clicked. 

"We were into software development when the Apple app store went live. Robosoft developed five of the 200 launch titles. The numbers we notched up - it was shocking. We then knew we wanted more of this action," says Bhat. An idea is a cheap entry ticket into such a big business. But already, over 3 lakh apps are floating on various platforms.

Though there is room for many more, not all of them are downloaded a million times. Any less and the app doesn't make enough money. 

The idea must be a hit, and reach the magic number within one week to a month. "An app's life is one day. The downloads must start within hours of publishing it.

You have to be original

A hit app peaks in about a month," says Vishal Gondal, CEO of Indiagames, a company that builds gaming apps for iOS, Ovi and Android. The norm can be broken. Rovio, the Finnish company showed how by stretching the Angry Birds mega-success to over a year. The trick is to update the game regularly with new versions that keep the app fresh. 

To copy this formula, a company needs at least one big hit. The problem: you can make hundreds of apps and still not crack it. After all, the competition is the best from across the world. As the number of apps increase, the one unique idea has become difficult to find. "You have to be original and the novelty should be in-your-face. The app is designed for instant gratification. So it must entertain or give information in minutes," says Bhat. 

Most developers admit that making utility apps is easier than those with entertainment content. Games are considered to be most creatively challenging. However, it is this segment which is most popular among users. According to Juniper Research, games followed by media and entertainment apps will remain bestsellers till 2014.

What is the wellspring of a brilliant idea?

What is the wellspring of a brilliant idea? No one can say. It can emerge from a need, like Robosoft's zoom app. It can evolve from an existing craze: Indiagames creates a cricket game to coincide with every major tournament. The series has millions of loyal fans. Or it can be a whim. Another app-preneur, Rohit Singal, hit it big with Nightstand, an app that converts the smart phone into a bedside clock with a glowing dial. 

"Ideas rarely emerge from meetings and boardrooms. If they do, there is no guarantee they will succeed. I don't believe in analytics or software to generate and test ideas," says Singal. His company, Sourcebits, did not start as an app maker. "I was the typical guy-in-the-garage working on an open-source radiology imaging archive and communications software for a Bangalore-based medical school. We were just three people on board. Two years later, Apple launched its SDK. The idea of apps excited me and we were on. Today, our portfolio has over 300 apps across all categories," he says. 

Every developer has to devise his own way of overcoming creative challenges. Some like Gondal swear by analytics and user behaviour to test an idea. Others like Bhat have a feedback group spread across countries. 

Singal thinks "democracy is bad for creativity" and goes by the opinion of chosen few. Evaluated by outcome, all strategies have worked and helped build sustainable businesses. To each, his creative own.

Good looks matter too

Though indispensable, a good idea is not enough. A compelling design is equally critical. "Apps which are easy to use and beautiful to look at are killers. Indian developers make apps that can do everything, but rich features are not enough. 

The presentation must be world class," says Nokia's Mathers. This is why Nokia's training forums allocate two days to technology and half a day to design. 

"The Americans build user-friendly interfaces. The French make beautiful apps. If Indian developers can also learn the art, more global hits will come from here," he adds. 

Good design is not just about flamboyant colours and special effects. Its foundation is user-friendly engineering. From the number of menus you must go through to reach the main function to the ease of customisation and multi-tasking, all are part of an app design. "One of our earliest challenges was to fit the framework of the small screen size of a phone. 

Then came the usage: most frequent functions must be easy to operate with one hand. These little things matter because an app must at least be user-friendly," says Bhat. 

Developers agree that design is an Indian app weakness. Singal feels the lack of talent in this field crimps app makers: "We need more design schools. Our engineering colleges have done their bit. We need to marry technical skill with aesthetic sensibilities. This is not true of just mobile apps but all tech products." 

Gondal blames the software services mindset for this lacuna. "Most Indian companies don't want to innovate. Give them the idea, they make the product. Then American and European companies make millions from the app. We can be more than the technical back-end of developers abroad. We can make our own successful apps." he says.

Good Work=Great App

For this, nurturing creativity is not enough. Setting up a regular stream of revenue is important too. Making apps is like making movies. If one app is a runaway success, 99 other ideas turn out duds. Their short lifespan means you must dish out hits more regularly than a film production house. 

"The trick is to keep your quality benchmarks high. It sounds cliched, but good work always translates into a great app. We invested time to overcome technological barriers and to build in-house capability for game development across different platforms. 

This reduces the uncertainty inherent to the business," says Tarun Kumar, 39-year-old CEO of Arch Mobile Solutions, one of the six Indian app developers to have crossed 1 million downloads on the Ovi store. His first bestseller: Train Defender, a game in which users fight dacoits on the roof of a moving train with the mission to save the passengers. 

The trick is to keep your quality benchmarks high

Some companies hedge their bets by producing apps for other businesses or powering ideators with their technology. Mobisy is such a one-stop-solution app company. "Our technology platform called Mobitop creates apps for multiple platforms. This enabled us to specialise in building apps for other brands," says Lalit Bhise, CEO of the two-year-old company. Mobisy has worked with 25 companies till date and has built apps such as Spam Manager and Heart Beat Counter under its own banner. 

Bhise wanted to build more apps for end users. Twelve years in the handset and software development industry gave him a vantage point to predict that apps were the next big thing. But when he set up Mobisy, he discovered that end-user apps do not bring in enough money. 

"The monetisation channels are fragmented. On one hand, Apple and Google share 70% of an app's revenue with us. On the other, Indian operators demand as much as 80% of the profit. This forces a hike in price. Then, even if it is a great idea, the app loses its competitive edge," 

The revenue share for app developers in India is similar to the West

Dipesh Shah, VP of Samsung India's Software operations, doesn't agree: "The revenue share for app developers in India is similar to the West." But a quick poll among developers corroborates Bhise's view. "Verizon, AT&T and European operators follow the same revenue sharing model as the handset makers. Indian operators need to revise their revenue share not only to attract developers but also to compete with global handset manufacturers," says Kumar. 

Developers of Ovi, Apple and Android apps have no such complaints. You register on their website, upload the app and the money comes in at a monthly cycle. We couldn't confirm the payment gateway of Android, but Apple and Nokia follow a credit card-based billing system. In end-February, Nokia also added the option of operator billing. 

The friendliest platform though can't guarantee a hit. And till an app company gets one, it remains on the ventilator. According to Bhise, it takes one crore hits for an app to earn Rs 10,000 as in-app ad revenue. Even Robosoft and Sourcebits, companies with first-mover advantage, don't rely on ads for revenue. Paid subscriptions remain bread and butter with price per download ranging from Rs 50-250 for most apps (for iPad, the prices go up to Rs 500 or so). Says Singal: "At these rates, it takes at least 30,000 downloads to recover the cost of an app built over 9-10 months."

A new revenue stream for apps: monthly subscriptions

Thankfully, if you snag a hit, it can be milked in newer ways. In-app purchases are the latest find. These are tools that users must buy to kill the biggest dragon, crack strategy codes or read the final step in a recipe. "Our new games will have several virtual goods that users can buy. International brands have tried this successfully and we hope to do the same," says Singal. 

In February, Apple announced a new revenue stream for apps: monthly subscriptions. To begin with, they will apply to only newspaper, magazine apps and their ilk. These apps feed regular content to users who will pay for it just as on regular websites or offline. The platform will keep 30% of any new subscription routed through it. Some app developers think the cut is high. Nonetheless, it will make their monthly payouts fatter. 

Capital challenges

As big money chases these bite-size products, the app business is becoming complicated. Though the entry barriers are low, the price of staying in is increasing. For instance, a year ago, word-of-mouth was enough to push an app. Today, entrepreneurs have marketing budgets for their latest creations. "Ours is a very sharp marketing strategy: target popular app reviewing sites. If they rate you well, and the app cracks the top 100 list on the store, it makes money," says Singal. 

Maintaining a reputation is a must. So app makers don't think twice about dumping a finished product either, never mind the loss in man hours. "I have learnt not to fall in love with my apps. In fact, the junking process starts at the ideation table. Many concepts fall away in various stages of development. Having built a brand, we can't slip up now," says Bhat.

You need an appetite for rapid innovation

Another challenge is laying hands on good content and using it on multiple operating systems. "For app developers, access to the real copyright of characters, scripts and stories is important. So is the knowledge of chipset or OS platforms to build high-end gaming applications. These days apps need strong back end infrastructure. Without it the ability to innovate or scale up operations is limited for some local developers," says Samsung's Shah. 

This doesn't mean that app start-ups don't face small-company challenges. App entrepreneurs were equally impacted by the recession in 2008, suffered consequences of pinning all hopes on one app and have to match-up, if not pre-empt, every technological innovation. 

Shaheer Ahmed, CEO of LocationGuru, a company that specialises in location-based apps, sums up the requirements to be an app millionaire: "You need an appetite for rapid innovation, fast delivery capability, ability to sell to a fragmented marketplace, Plus, infinite patience. It is a road for the hobbyist, or the toughest, none in between."

THANKS TO  ET.

SAFETY IS NOT INBUILT????

THE STOCKMARKETS ARE NEVER CONSIDERED AS “INVESTMENT SAFETY” OPTION UNLESS WE UNDERSATND “THE INVESTMENT STRATEGY”.

The Gold is rising to new heights every day and it will rise to a level where it can match the conditions of euphoria similar to the silver when it touched Rs 75000 level. The commodity traders might remember the catastrophe emerged in the white metal trades over night.  The similar situation is not seen in GOLD as the sovereign involvement and cover is well fabricated for such a steep fall, so the fall cannot be averted but most of the countries prefer GOLD against Dollar.

The major equity markets across the globe except Germany are closed in Green but the problems are not solved but people accepted the facts with re-rating/de-rating. The Indian markets bounced from a low of 4800 level to 4900 level mainly supported by Reliance, ONGC Bharati and the banking names like SBI&ICICI. The auto sector fared well with advancement in T-Motors, BajajAuto and a stable advancement in Heromotocorp. The metal sector is doing well despite of shortages in supply of Iron ore and firm prices of coal. The Hindalco, Sterlite and Hind copper made some decent gains from their yearly lows. The Nifty is good and likely to see some advancement so long it trades above 4870-60 level. As of now the turn to North is not happened but the fall is arrested with the decent gains in the frontline stocks. The sugar secors has showed a marvelous exhibit with over 5-10 gains in the stocks. The major news tahta can trigger an up-move can be expected soon as the follow-on issues are pending and are lined-up. The SAIL, ONGC and SBI are bottomed with this news. The classic example will be ONGC. It has not breached the 270 level even after 10% fall in the Index.

THE WRITE UP FOR MORNING, BUT THE TRADING DAY COMPLETED 

 

Indian millionaires to see 405 pct rise in wealth by 2020: Delloite

AGENCIES

Posted: Thursday, Aug 18, 2011 at 0951 hrs IST

Mumbai: India is likely to experience a whopping 405 per cent growth in total millionaire wealth by 2020, mainly driven by new wealth generators such as investments, salary income, equity stakes and new business, according to research firm Delloite.

Emerging markets will see a significantly higher growth rate in millionaire households compared to developed markets with India likely to experience the largest growth in millionaire wealth (405 per cent) among the BRIC nations, Deloitte (India) Head Financial Services Sachin Sondhi said in a release here.

India will be followed by China, which is poised to see millionaire wealth grow at 394 per cent, followed by Brazil at 257 per cent and Russia at 241 per cent by 2020, he said. The four emerging markets make up the BRIC grouping.

"While some of the wealth creation in India will be continue to be driven by 'old wealth' drivers like real estate, family business, a.

sizeable portion is expected to come from the 'new wealth' drivers like investment, salary income, equity stakes, new business, etc," Sondhi said.

According to the report, the growth in millionaire wealth in India is expected to vary across different wealth cohorts.

The USD 5 million-30 million cohort will see the greatest growth at 161 per cent, while the USD 1 million-5 million cohort and USD 30 million-plus cohorts will follow closely with likely growth rates of 142 per cent and 115 per cent, respectively, over the next decade, Delloite said.

"India may have the lowest density ranking in 2020 with only 0.3 per cent of households holding more than USD 1 million in wealth, potentially followed by China and Poland. While India ranks lower than other BRIC nations in average density, the total estimated millionaire households are expected to be in the range of 0.69 million millionaire (MM)," Sondhi said.

Delloite, however opined that the explosive growth will impact the wealth ecosystem on both the demand and the supply side. "This would affect the service providers that directly serve the wealthy such as wealth managers, private bankers and financial planners and the players who depend on this population's spend proclivity such as luxury brand retailers, real estate developers and experiential travel and living providers," Sondhi said.

"Broadly, the big question for the ecosystem players is to determine where they should place their bets and how much of an influencing role they want to play in shaping the market.

It would be interesting to observe how these players accommodate the rural and semi-urban millionaire segment and also, how financial planning would and advice models change to cater to the needs of this new wealth segment and what investment and product options will be needed to address changing needs," he said.

Currently, top one per cent of Indian wealthy households have 35 per cent of their investment in residential real estate, the release said.

Death Cross rocks Wall Street

AGENCIES

Posted: Saturday, Aug 20, 2011 at 1300 hrs IST

New York: Before the stormy trading of August, many stock investors probably thought "death cross" was the name of some heavy metal band.

But after a period in which the S&P 500 plunged more than 15 per cent, daily trading volumes spiked by 70 per cent and the United States lost its vaunted 'triple-A' rating, a death cross and other technical analysis terms are something investors have had to become increasingly familiar with.

For chartists and market technicians, the death cross is a strong bearish signal that indicates a major shift in trading momentum.

In the case of the S&P 500, a death cross occurs when the 50-day average for the index sinks below, or crosses over, its 200-day average.

There was a time on Wall Street when many regarded technical analysis as something akin to voodoo economics, especially among stock pickers who specialized in fundamental research. But with algorithimic trading all the rage, it appears that cold and dispassionate technical market analysis is coming of age.

The recent market plunge which took the S&P 500 to about 1,100 is a prime of example of why more traders are looking to technical analysis for guidance. That's because many computer-driven trading programs are pegged to buy and sell stocks when certain market levels are breached.

"Computers fire off automatically; you don't have the time lag you'd have in normal decision making," says Marc Pado, US technical market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. "Clearly this is not stock picking (but) indiscriminate buying and selling."

Pado says the selling all started when the S&P 500 broke through the 200-day moving average and a support level of 1,250 on the index. He says, "that started the capitulation to the downside that we saw in the market overall."

The beauty (or flaw) of technical analysis is that it tells traders when to buy or sell without regard to corporate earnings or arguments over how to solve Europe's sovereign debt woes. So the silver lining of a precipitous drop in stocks is that it could be a signal for markets to go up.

"By selling off, the market is now discounting the bad news," said Carter Worth, chief market technician at Oppenheimer & Co in New York.

Another factor technical analysis focuses on is volatility and there has been a lot of that lately. In fact, one measure of volatility doubled in three days and on Aug. 8, when the S&P 500 fell 6.66 per cent, the volatility index closed at its highest level since the market bottomed in March 2009.

"It highlights how extreme, how one-sided it was," said Craig Peskin, co-head of technical analysis research at MF Global in New York, who noted that every stock in the S&P 500 declined on Aug. 8. "Everyone was treating everything equally."

Some likened what they were seeing in the market to last year's flash crash, when the Dow Jones Industrials plunged nearly 1,000 points in 20 minute. Except this time, it appears to be a flash crash in slow motion.

"We were moving over a three and a half day period like we were during the flash crash, just more orderly," Peskin said. "It was totally irrational."

In fact, the week of Aug. 8 was so extreme it even left some technical analysts scratching their heads at the unusual up and down trading. On Aug. 9, stocks roared back, with the S&P 500 gaining 4.74 per cent and almost wiping out the prior day's losses. Meanwhile, the Dow industrials would experience six days trading in swings of more than 400 points.

"I don't have an exact answer on how to label that pattern from a technical perspective because the volatility was so extreme," said MF Global's Peskin.

Many market participants say this volatility is not going to go away. It is a new normal that makes technical analysis a key rule of the game - even if some dismiss it as market astrology and don't want to play.

There are also new opportunities, if traders have the stomach and the correct analysis tools -- and know how to use them.

"High-frequency traders are moving the markets based on price action, based on momentum - they don't really care what they're trading," said Bill Stone, chief strategist for PNC Wealth Management.

"They don't care about intrinsic value, they care about some pattern. So you have days like last week where you get whipsawed 5 and 6 per cent from day to day," he said. "Those days can be scary, but they are also your opportunity because they are driving (lower) companies that have no reason to be falling so far."

THANKS TO ET FOR THE ARTICLES.

THE INDIAN MARKETS ARE LIKELY TO OUTPERFORM THE EM AND DEVELOPED MARKETS DUE TO THE TALENT POOL AND THE INFRASTRUCTURE BOOM. THE FDI WILL BE HUGE IN RETAIL MARKET AND CORPORATE FARMING. THE POLICY DECISIONS WILL FOLLOW SOON ONCE THE CORPORATE BANKING LICENSES ARE ISSUED. THE AGRO, RETAIL AND INFRASTRUCTURE WILL BECOME A BOON TO INVESTORS.

Prey and Praying is bottom fishing!!!!

THE WAIT IS SO LONG FOR THE AVERAGE INVESTORS TO PLACE BUY ORDERS BY MAKING AN ATTEMPT FOR BOTTOM FISHING IS JUST TO FILL THE CRAVE, BUT WILL BECOME A PREY, THEN STARTS PREYING THE GOD TO COME FOR RESCUE.

The "Prey and Praying" mind set is the culprit mainly exists in the retail investors helping the operators to make huge money from these so called intelligent investors. The relentless selling in Europe and US is tempting our retail investors to go for shopping. The Indian markets are better placed doesn’t mean to buy. The free fall in our markets is yet to start.

The  warning given buy the rating agencies to US govt. for that matter to the world markets fell on deaf ears, now suddenly realized the importance. The US rating agency Standard & Poor ultimately decided to put the event to a conclusion made the tail spin in the markets. The fear engulfed in the investors and recognized to cut their exposure to equity markets. The retail investors who follow stared at the events to come to halt and rise to the previous level where they could take a call never happened.

Now the Emerging Markets are becoming adobe of Growth avenues, especially in equity markets. These markets are flourishing with rich natural resources and untapped potential attracting the Global Investors. The average short-term investor gains at one time and loose four times, but remembers the success and put a side the failure to keep floating in the markets despite the turmoil and perils.

The sensible investing builds a portfolio based on growth opportunity for next 5-7 years where the stocks normally multiply by 4-5 times. The Nifty likely to test 4500 level and the mid caps and small caps will see a water fall slide in prices. The Indian Govt trying to sacrifice growth for inflation control. The tradeoff did not yield results so far but the authorities are confident to achieving the same. The planning commission is setting 9% growth targets which will definitely achieving with FDI and global opportunity. The global crisis will open once again out sourcing model to save money & the economy will benefit the EMs.