Mergers and acquisitions

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are both aspects of strategic management, corporate finance and management dealing with the buying, selling, dividing and combining of different companies and similar entities that can help an enterprise grow rapidly in its sector or location of origin, or a new field or new location, without creating a subsidiary, other child entity or using a joint venture.
M&A can be defined as a type of restructuring in that they result in some entity reorganization with the aim to provide growth or positive value. Consolidation of an industry or sector occurs when widespread M&A activity concentrates the resources of many small companies into a few larger ones, such as occurred with the automotive industry between 1910 and 1940.
The distinction between a "merger" and an "acquisition" has become increasingly blurred in various respects (particularly in terms of the ultimate economic outcome), although it has not completely disappeared in all situations. From a legal point of view, a merger is a legal consolidation of two companies into one entity, whereas an acquisition occurs when one company takes over another and completely establishes itself as the new owner (in which case the target company still exists as an independent legal entity controlled by the acquirer). Either structure can result in the economic and financial consolidation of the two entities. In practice, a deal that is an acquisition for legal purposes may be euphemistically called a "merger of equals" if both CEOs agree that joining together is in the best interest of both of their companies, while when the deal is unfriendly (that is, when the target company does not want to be purchased) it is almost always regarded as an "acquisition".

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Liquidity and Liquidity Risks

DEFINITION of 'Liquidity'
1. The degree to which an asset or security can be bought or sold in the market without affecting the asset's price. Liquidity is characterized by a high level of trading activity. Assets that can be easily bought or sold are known as liquid assets.
2. The ability to convert an asset to cash quickly. Also known as "marketability."
There is no specific liquidity formula; however, liquidity is often calculated by using liquidity ratios.
 It is safer to invest in liquid assets than illiquid ones because it is easier for an investor to get his/her money out of the investment.
 Examples of assets that are easily converted into cash include blue chip and money market securities.

DEFINITION of 'Liquidity Risk'
The risk stemming from the lack of marketability of an investment that cannot be bought or sold quickly enough to prevent or minimize a loss. Liquidity risk is typically reflected in unusually wide bid-ask spreads or large price movements (especially to the downside). The rule of thumb is that the smaller the size of the security or its issuer, the larger the liquidity risk.

 

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BIS - Bank of International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS)  is an international organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks".

The BIS carries out its work through subcommittees, the secretariats it hosts and through an annual general meeting of all member banks. It also provides banking services, but only to central banks and other international organizations. It is based in Basel, Switzerland, with representative offices in Hong Kong and Mexico City.

BIS also stands for Bureau of Indian Standards as well as Bureau of Industry and Services

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What is meant by RBI intervention?

• Direct Intervention: In case of any currency movement, a country’s central bank can directly intervene to either push the currency up, as India has been doing, or to keep it artificially low, as the Chinese central bank does. To push up a currency, a central bank can sell dollars, which is the global reserve currency, or the currency against which all others are measured. When it needs to keep its currency lower, it can buy dollars, as the Chinese do, to the point where they are the largest holders of dollar-backed US Treasury paper.

• Indirect Intervention: A central bank can also intervene indirectly by regulatory action, as the RBI has done in the past few weeks. The banking regulator has relaxed caps on the interest rates for foreign currency non-resident deposits (FCNR) in the hope that this will attract depositors to put more dollars into such accounts. It has also allowed banks to self-regulate export credit limits. On May 10, it asked exporters to cut by half their dollar holdings in exchange earners foreign currency (EEFC) accounts in an attempt to release more dollars into the system.

• Why Intervene: The RBI has been intervening in the currency markets because a weaker currency pushes up the country’s import bill – you pay more rupees for the same amount of dollars – and contributes to the current account deficit. It is also indicative of a country’s economic health and a weaker currency is a signal to investors that the economy is not being well-managed. India has a huge import bill largely because it buys almost 80 per cent of its oil from abroad, and a weak rupee can wreak havoc with the government’s finances. On Wednesday, RBI deputy governor KC Chakrabarty said that the market would decide the value of the rupee and that the central bank would only intervene to halt volatile currency movements caused by speculative trades.

• Dollar sales: The Reserve Bank of India has been intervening in the forex market since December 2011, when the rupee hit a record low, to stabilize the currency. Over the past couple of weeks, it has stepped up its dollar sales to stem the rupee’s slide. On Monday, the RBI injected $500 million into the currency markets, but that has been offset by high, bunched-up import demand.

• Intervention Impact: The reason that the rupee has continued to fall is because the RBI is caught in a cycle where it has to battle inflation, liquidity crunch and a falling rupee at the same time. Unfortunately, any action it takes to tackle one could be negated by the others. Inflation is already at a high level of 7.23 per cent, higher than expected. To tackle inflation, the RBI must keep rates high and liquidity tight, but that can stifle economic growth and push the currency down. If it sells dollars to support the currency, that too sucks liquidity out, choking growth. Slower growth makes India an unattractive destination for foreign investors, which in turn leads to drying up of dollar flow. But if it releases too much liquidity into the system, inflation could go into double digits and push the value of the rupee down, completing the vicious cycle. Clearly, the RBI at this time has very limited options.

• Fiscal Deficit: This is the 800-pound financial gorilla in the room. India’s fiscal deficit for 2012-13 is projected at 5.1 per cent of GDP. A large part of this is driven by India’s trade deficit, or when imports are higher than exports. A high trade deficit contributes to the fiscal deficit, which the government needs to cover. A weak currency will only drive the import bill higher, expanding the fiscal deficit. In such a case, the government will need to borrow more from the RBI, leaving less money for growth

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Do you know which is the biggest market in the world??

What Is Forex?
The foreign exchange market is the "place" where currencies are traded. Currencies are important to most people around the world, whether they realize it or not, because currencies need to be exchanged in order to conduct foreign trade and business. If you are living in the U.S. and want to buy cheese from France, either you or the company that you buy the cheese from has to pay the French for the cheese in euros (EUR). This means that the U.S. importer would have to exchange the equivalent value of U.S. dollars (USD) into euros. The same goes for traveling. A French tourist in Egypt can't pay in euros to see the pyramids because it's not the locally accepted currency. As such, the tourist has to exchange the euros for the local currency, in this case the Egyptian pound, at the current exchange rate.
The need to exchange currencies is the primary reason why the forex market is the largest, most liquid financial market in the world. It dwarfs other markets in size, even the stock market, with an average traded value of around U.S. $2,000 billion per day. (The total volume changes all the time, but as of August 2012, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) reported that the forex market traded in excess of U.S. $4.9 trillion per day.)

One unique aspect of this international market is that there is no central marketplace for foreign exchange. Rather, currency trading is conducted electronically over-the-counter (OTC), which means that all transactions occur via computer networks between traders around the world, rather than on one centralized exchange. The market is open 24 hours a day, five and a half days a week, and currencies are traded worldwide in the major financial centers of London, New York, Tokyo, Zurich, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Singapore, Paris and Sydney - across almost every time zone. This means that when the trading day in the U.S. ends, the forex market begins anew in Tokyo and Hong Kong. As such, the forex market can be extremely active any time of the day, with price quotes changing constantly.

Spot Market and the Forwards and Futures Markets
There are actually three ways that institutions, corporations and individuals trade forex: the spot market, the forwards market and the futures market. The forex trading in the spot market always has been the largest market because it is the "underlying" real asset that the forwards and futures markets are based on. In the past, the futures market was the most popular venue for traders because it was available to individual investors for a longer period of time. However, with the advent of electronic trading, the spot market has witnessed a huge surge in activity and now surpasses the futures market as the preferred trading market for individual investors and speculators. When people refer to the forex market, they usually are referring to the spot market. The forwards and futures markets tend to be more popular with companies that need to hedge their foreign exchange risks out to a specific date in the future.
What is the spot market?
More specifically, the spot market is where currencies are bought and sold according to the current price. That price, determined by supply and demand, is a reflection of many things, including current interest rates, economic performance, sentiment towards ongoing political situations (both locally and internationally), as well as the perception of the future performance of one currency against another. When a deal is finalized, this is known as a "spot deal". It is a bilateral transaction by which one party delivers an agreed-upon currency amount to the counter party and receives a specified amount of another currency at the agreed-upon exchange rate value. After a position is closed, the settlement is in cash. Although the spot market is commonly known as one that deals with transactions in the present (rather than the future), these trades actually take two days for settlement.

What are the forwards and futures markets?
Unlike the spot market, the forwards and futures markets do not trade actual currencies. Instead they deal in contracts that represent claims to a certain currency type, a specific price per unit and a future date for settlement.

In the forwards market, contracts are bought and sold OTC between two parties, who determine the terms of the agreement between themselves.

In the futures market, futures contracts are bought and sold based upon a standard size and settlement date on public commodities markets, such as the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In the U.S., the National Futures Association regulates the futures market. Futures contracts have specific details, including the number of units being traded, delivery and settlement dates, and minimum price increments that cannot be customized. The exchange acts as a counterpart to the trader, providing clearance and settlement.

Both types of contracts are binding and are typically settled for cash for the exchange in question upon expiry, although contracts can also be bought and sold before they expire. The forwards and futures markets can offer protection against risk when trading currencies. Usually, big international corporations use these markets in order to hedge against future exchange rate fluctuations, but speculators take part in these markets as well.

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Depreciation

DEFINITION of 'Depreciation'
1. A method of allocating the cost of a tangible asset over its useful life. Businesses depreciate long-term assets for both tax and accounting purposes.
2. A decrease in an asset's value caused by unfavorable market conditions.

For accounting purposes, depreciation indicates how much of an asset's value has been used up. For tax purposes, businesses can deduct the cost of the tangible assets they purchase as business expenses; however, businesses must depreciate these assets in accordance with IRS rules about how and when the deduction may be taken based on what the asset is and how long it will last.

Depreciation is used in accounting to try to match the expense of an asset to the income that the asset helps the company earn. For example, if a company buys a piece of equipment for $1 million and expects it to have a useful life of 10 years, it will be depreciated over 10 years. Every accounting year, the company will expense $100,000 (assuming straight-line depreciation), which will be matched with the money that the equipment helps to make each year.

Currency and real estate are two examples of assets that can depreciate or lose value. During the infamous Russian ruble crisis in 1998, the ruble lost 25% of its value in one day. During the housing crisis of 2008, homeowners in the hardest-hit areas, such as Las Vegas, saw the value of their homes depreciate by as much as 50%.

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Why the NSE and BSE are surging- Things you should know

FII money:  FII inflows into equity and debt in 2014 will top $40 billion according to sources – the highest ever. Of this, the greater proportion (60 percent) has gone into debt. These may abate with the fall in interests. Once they do, FIIs could shift money from debt to equity, but this process will not happen all of a sudden. Also, if rates fall, that is a reason to invest in equity.

The government, the reforms,the stability: As long as Modi and the BJP keep winning various state elections, confidence in reforms and governance will keep improving. It is obvious that the big shift in investor and corporate mood after mid-2013 came with the prospect of a change in government in May 2014. With the onset of benign and lucrative business environment, increasing FII’s, and governments reforms to increase FDI in public sectors as railways and defense,  the government has given a conducive environment for both domestic and foreign investors. 
Inflation: Both wholesale price inflation and retail  inflation are trending down, the former more than the latter, because of benign global commodity prices and moderated food procurement price increases, among other things.

The RBI’s role: The central bank under Raghuram Rajan has been a pillar of strength for the Indian economy because he has not been stampeded into cutting rates prematurely. Nor has he allowed the rupee to appreciate wantonly. Given the volume of FII flows, the rupee should have appreciated to 57-59 to the US dollar, but it is at around 61.75 (as in mid-morning trades 24 November). Rajan’s RBI has prevented a rupee spike by buying dollars – and the forex reserves (over $315 billion as of 14 November) reflect this. Rajan’s policy is driven by two objectives: preventing an exchange rate shock by keeping the rupee depreciating steadily just in case the US starts raising interest rates and capital flows temporarily reverse (the rupee’s normal depreciation rate is about 5-7 percent per annum). The second objective is to keep returns on debt positive with relatively high rates. This ensures that FII investments in debt remain attractive even while promising lower inflation. Rajan has ensured that there will be no sudden exit of FII money in the foreseeable future – which means up to mid-2015 at least – no matter what the US Fed does.

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What is deregulation and why it is important?

What is deregulation of petrol or oil mean?

Decontrolling or deregulating the petrol prices mean that, the government will no longer be subsidizing petrol prices and the prices will be purely linked to the international crude prices. In the case of diesel, though, it will be only partially regulated – the reason being an attempt to avoid sudden spike in inflation.

Why deregulation?
As all of us know, petrol (or Gasoline) is produced out of crude oil which is a natural resource that’s available in limited quantity. It is a matter of a few years before the crude gets totally exhausted. Although, there have been several crude discoveries in India, we are still dependent on the OPEC (Oil Producing and Exporting Countries) to import crude and refine it to produce petrol, LPG, diesel, aviation fuel, kerosene etc.
The following additional taxes should also be inculcated:

Excise duty
Education tax
VAT
Distribution and transportation cost
Dealer commission

Impact

The deregulation of petrol prices will definitely increase the rate of inflation in short term. Virtually there will be immediate price rise in commodities and other consumables. However, for long term I think it is a good move because at the end it will definitely reduce our long term debt and fiscal deficit. Our overall economy will get stabler in this case.
Secondly, this measure will be a boost to the oil producing and marketing companies to recover their losses immediately. Remember, lakhs of people work in these huge companies and they need a life too. Moreover, the government run oil companies will be candidates for disinvestment which means that the government can lower their fiscal deficits further with additional income.
The other advantage is that the inflation, at the moment, is a fake figure. You will get to know the actual inflation and variation of commodity prices only when the petrol prices move according to the international crude prices.
This will also bring in big private players (e.g. Reliance) into the petrol marketing game. Remember that companies like Shell and Reliance used to provide excellent quality of petrol and service until Reliance pumps were forced to close down due to government regulations. This kind of competition will eventually bring in good service, good quality and in the future competitive pricing as well. The immediate woes will be compensated in the mid term – that’s my strong belief.
The government, in the meantime, should try to reduce the excise duties and restructure the VAT to minimize the impact of immediate fuel price rise on inflation and the poor people.

There are possibilities of under sea pipes (just like the one we were planning with Iran for gas sourcing) from the vendor nation to India to reduce shipping cost. This has a very good long term positive impact though initial cost of incorporation is high.
The oil refining companies sourcing and storing mechanism needs to be optimized in a way that when the crude prices are low, we are able to store more. I am not sure, how much of optimization is done in this regard. Since we keep getting new and new governments every few years, they may not go for a long term plan for the same. Please remember that not too long back, the crude prices were at $35 or so per barrel.
There is a scope for improving the internal distribution system as well. Though, India has a huge geographical region, we can still have oil distribution pipes from refineries directly to the regional distribution centers. This needs long term planning.

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VAT- Value Added Tax

DEFINITION of 'Value-Added Tax - VAT'

A type of consumption tax that is placed on a product whenever value is added at a stage of production and at final sale. Value-added tax (VAT) is most often used in the European Union. The amount of value-added tax that the user pays is the cost of the product, less any of the costs of materials used in the product that have already been taxed.

For example when a television is built by a company in Europe the manufacturer is charged a value-added tax on all of the supplies they purchase for producing the television. Once the television reaches the shelf, the consumer who purchases it must pay the value-added tax that applies to him or her.

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What is FII's?

DEFINITION of 'Foreign Institutional Investor - FII'

An investor or investment fund that is from or registered in a country outside of the one in which it is currently investing. Institutional investors include hedge funds, insurance companies, pension funds and mutual funds. The term is used most commonly in India to refer to outside companies investing in the financial markets of India. International institutional investors must register with the Securities and Exchange Board of India to participate in the market. One of the major market regulations pertaining to FIIs involves placing limits on FII ownership in Indian companies.

These investment proposals by the FIIs are made on behalf of sub accounts, which may include foreign corporates, individuals, funds etcetera. In order to act as a banker to the FIIs, the RBI has designated banks that are authorised to deal with them. The biggest source through which FIIs invest is the issuance of Participatory Notes (P-Notes), which are also known as Offshore Derivatives.
Yes, FIIs can invest in the stocks and debentures of the Indian companies. In order to invest in the primary and secondary capital markets in India, they have to venture through the portfolio investment scheme (PIS). According to RBI regulations, the ceiling for overall investment for FIIs is 24% of the paid up capital of the Indian company. The limit is 20% of the paid up capital in the case of public sector banks. However, if the board and the general body approves and passes a special resolution, then the ceiling of 24% for FII investment can be raised up to sectoral cap for that particular segment. In fact, recently Sebi allowed FIIs to invest in unlisted exchanges as well, which means both BSE and NSE (the unlisted bourses) can now allot shares to FIIs also.

There is a long list of entities that are eligible to get registered as FIIs such as pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, investment trusts, banks, university funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and charitable trusts. In fact, asset management companies, investment managers, advisors or institutional portfolio managers set up and/or owned by NRIs are also eligible to be registered as FIIs. The nodal point for FII registrations is Sebi and hence all FIIs must register themselves with Sebi and should also comply with the exchange control regulations of the central bank. Apart from being allowed to invest in securities in primary and secondary markets, FIIs can also invest in mutual funds, dated government securities, derivatives traded on a recognised stock exchange and commercial papers.

Why are FIIs important for Indian mkts?
FIIs are among the major sources of liquidity for the Indian markets. If FIIs are investing huge amounts in the Indian stock exchanges then it reflects their high confidence and a healthy investor sentiment for our markets. But with the current global financial turmoil and a liquidity and credit freeze in the international markets, FIIs have become net sellers (on a day to day basis). The entry of FIIs in India has brought mixed consequences for our markets, on one hand they have improved the breadth and depth of Indian markets and on the other hand they have also become the major sources of speculation in testing times like these

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How a young engineer hoodwinked an entire nation

The story of 27-year-old Arun P Vijayakumar is a story about courage and sheer machismo. He has proven to the world that there is no limit to imagination.
Arun, a native of Manimala in Kottayam district in Kerala, made the entire nation proud when he said that he had been accepted as a research scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the US, according to this report in The Hindu.
As he came from a family with financial problems, Arun obviously got a lot of attention from the media, as all 'Zero to Hero' stories frequently do. The poor, struggling Arun had always been interested in research-based work, artificial intelligence and the search for extraterrestrial life. Such nobility!
As if his NASA achievement was not enough, the very honest Arun also said that he is a doctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) doing research under Dr Barbara Lesko in learning theory. Like a cool scientist from Independence Day, Arun also proclaimed that he would be working with US scientists for the search of extraterrestrial life, adding that he would even get his own workstation. And thus, Arun would go to the US and become a scientist studying aliens and live happily ever after.
The minor problem, however, is that this entire fairytale narrated by Satyavadi Arun was a blatant lie. According to this report in the Deccan Chronicle, the entire story of NASA, MIT scientist studying aliens so beautifully constructed by Arun was revealed to be a hoax by a senior police officer after he got an input from 'Netizen police', a Facebook initiative by the police.
Crossing all limits of shamelessness, Arun had even claimed that he had been congratulated by PM Narendra Modi himself and had even talked to former President APJ Abdul Kalam about his 'projects'. This heroic claim was also revealed to be a lie.
In The Hindu report, Arun had said, "I am informed that I will be assigned to the study of Geo-intelligence framework for Astro biological research, a subject that I closely worked during my research proposals." One cannot help but wonder whether Honest Arun even knew the meaning of the words 'geo-intelligence framework' and 'atro biological research'.
Even Arun's parents admitted that their son was not associated with NASA, according to this Manorama Online report. By claiming that his passport was in the US before his mother later herself produced his passport along with other documents to the police, Arun taught the world how not to make your family proud.
The most shocking part of Arun's story, however, is his motive. Police claim his motive was just to get fame. In other words, Arun cooked up this entire story may be to just be cool in front of girls and tell them that he was a NASA super-scientist who was going to save the world from aliens!
Even after all this drama, Arun has still stuck to his claim and said that he would return to the US next month, despite having never been to the US in the first place. This man has clearly shown the limitlessness of human imagination as he successfully managed to hoodwink an entire country into believing his beautiful lie.

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Ponzi Scheme and Saradha Scam

Definition

A fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. This scam actually yields the promised returns to earlier investors, as long as there are more new investors. These schemes usually collapse on themselves when the new investments stop.
The Ponzi scam is named after Charles Ponzi, a clerk in Boston who first orchestrated such a scheme in 1919.
A Ponzi scheme is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based on using new investors' funds to pay the earlier backers. One difference between the two schemes is that the Ponzi mastermind gathers all relevant funds from new investors and then distributes them. Pyramid schemes, on the other hand, allow each investor to directly benefit depending on how many new investors are recruited. In this case, the person on the top of the pyramid does not at any point have access to all the money in the system.
The Ponzi scam is named after Charles Ponzi, a clerk in Boston who first orchestrated such a scheme in 1919.
A Ponzi scheme is similar to a pyramid scheme in that both are based on using new investors' funds to pay the earlier backers. One difference between the two schemes is that the Ponzi mastermind gathers all relevant funds from new investors and then distributes them. Pyramid schemes, on the other hand, allow each investor to directly benefit depending on how many new investors are recruited. In this case, the person on the top of the pyramid does not at any point have access to all the money in the system.

Saradha Scam

As a multi-agency probe continues in Saradha scam, findings of one official investigation suggests that the group floated at least 279 companies to channelise money collected from gullible investors as part of a vast 'ponzi' network.

Most of these firms have been found to be 'in-operational' and were utilised for the sole purpose of multi-routing of funds to hide the money trail, while close to Rs. 2,500 crore were raised by just four companies.

The probe, conducted by the Corporate Affairs Ministry's white-collar crime investigation agency Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), also found that these four companies collected 96 per cent money from small investors who deposited less than Rs. 50,000 each. The money was mobilised through a vast network of nearly 3 lakh agents, sources said citing an over 500-page SFIO probe report.

The scam, wherein lakhs of investors in West Bengal and neighbouring states were lured into illegal money pooling activities, came to light early last year amid allegations that a section of Trinamool Congress leaders were involved.

Initially, it came out to be known as 'Saradha chit fund scam' although none of Saradha group entities were registered as 'chit funds'. However, it has become the first major case in India to officially get a 'ponzi' tag after submission of final probe report of the SFIO to the government.

Like a typical ponzi scheme, Saradha was found to be paying returns to older investors from money collected from newer subscribers to its 'bonds and policies'.

Such activities came to be known as ponzi schemes after Charles Ponzi, who became notorious in the US in the 1920s for deploying this technique while promising 50 per cent return on investments in 45 days and 100 per cent within 90 days.

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"India's Mangalyaan among top inventions of 2014" - Times Magazine

India’s Mars satellite is among Time’s list of top inventions of 2014 that includes levitating skateboards, superbananas that prevent blindness, Ebola fighting filter, and a tablet that translates sign language.

Dubbing it the supersmart spacecraft, Time said: “Nobody gets Mars right on the first try. The US didn’t, Russia didn’t, the Europeans didn’t. But on 24 September, India did.”

It further said that at $74 million, Mangalyaan is equipped with five instruments that allow it to do simple tasks like measure Martian methane and surface composition. “More important, however, it allows India to flex its interplanetary muscles, which portends great things for the country’s space programme—and for science in general,” it added.

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Crony Capitalism

What is Crony Capitalism??

A description of capitalist society as being based on the close relationships between businessmen and the state. Instead of success being determined by a free market and the rule of law, the success of a business is dependent on the favoritism that is shown to it by the ruling government in the form of tax breaks, government grants and other incentives.

Why Crony Capitalism??

Both socialists and capitalists have been at odds with each other over assigning blame to the opposite group for the rise of crony capitalism. Socialists believe that crony capitalism is the inevitable result of pure capitalism. This belief is supported by their claims that people in power, whether business or government, look to stay in power and the only way to do this is to create networks between government and business that support each other.
On the other hand, capitalists believe that crony capitalism arises from the need of socialist governments to control the state. This requires businesses to operate closely with the government to achieve the greatest success.
Crony Capitalism in the news

 SBI had on the sidelines of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia, signed a pact sanctioning $1 billion loan to Adani group's coal project in that country.

Amid controversy over sanctioning a $1 billion loan to Adani group, SBI on Thursday said it has only signed a preliminary MoU and will disburse the money only after proper due diligence.

"We clarify that this is a memorandum of understanding. This is not a loan sanction that we have given. It will go through proper due diligence both on the credit side as well as on the viability side," SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya said here.

"So all of that will be done. The board will take a call and then only loan will be given," she said.

"We have checked to see that there is no environmental issue, checked to see that the cost of coal. The cost is also currently around USD 42 FOB which is much better than the current prices in the international market," she said.

Asked about the exposure of SBI if its board approves the loan, Bhattacharya said the net exposure would be to the tune of $200 million as there are some repayments also from the company.

Congress on Thursday questioned the decision of State Bank of India to give $1 billion loan to Adani group for the development of Carmichael coal mine during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's just concluded visit to Australia.

"What was the propriety of the SBI giving the loan to Adani, who was sitting next to Prime Minister during the visit, at a time when some five foreign banks have denied credit to the group for the project?" party general secretary Ajay Maken told reporters.

He alleged that the Prime Minister appeared taking keen interest in "promoting" Adani in getting the loan worth Rs 6,200 crore during the visit in which the SBI chairman was also present.

Questioning the logic behind the huge loan to the Adani, Maken wondered why the SBI was not showing the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Adanis for the project.

"When five top foreign banks have already declined to fund Adani's project, what was the need and the sense in giving such a huge loan to him from the hard-earned money deposited by the common people?

"Did the SBI do the due diligence? If it did so why it is not declaring the MoU? On what conditions it was done? And what was the liability?" Maken, who is also chairman of the AICC media department, said.

He also saw contradictions in the Prime Minister's thrust on the coal mining in Australia and the coal minister Piyush Goyal's statement that India will be able to stop import of coal in the next two years.
 

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John D Rockfeller and the Standard Oil Monopoly

John D Rockfeller and Monopoly
John Davison Rockefeller, Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry, and along with other key contemporary industrialists such as Andrew Carnegie, defined the structure of modern philanthropy. In 1870, he co-founded Standard Oil Company and actively ran it until he officially retired in 1897.

Rockefeller founded Standard Oil as an Ohio partnership with his brother William along with Henry Flagler, Jabez A. Bostwick, chemist Samuel Andrews, and a silent partner, Stephen V. Harkness. As kerosene and gasoline grew in importance, Rockefeller's wealth soared and he became the world's richest man and the first American worth more than a billion dollars, controlling 90% of all oil in the United States at his peak. Adjusting for inflation, his fortune upon his death in 1937 stood at $336 billion, accounting for more than 1.5% of the national economy, making him the richest person in history.

Rockefeller spent the last 40 years of his life in retirement at his estate, Kykuit, in Westchester County, New York. His fortune was mainly used to create the modern systematic approach of targeted philanthropy. He was able to do this through the creation of foundations that had a major effect on medicine, education and scientific research. His foundations pioneered the development of medical research and were instrumental in the eradication of hookworm and yellow fever.

Rockefeller was also the founder of both the University of Chicago and Rockefeller University and funded the establishment of Central Philippine University in the Philippines.
Standard Oil gradually gained almost complete control of oil refining and marketing in the United States through horizontal integration. In the kerosene industry, Standard Oil replaced the old distribution system with its own vertical system. It supplied kerosene by tank cars that brought the fuel to local markets, and tank wagons then delivered to retail customers, thus bypassing the existing network of wholesale jobbers.
In business, horizontal integration is a strategy where a company creates or acquires production units for outputs which are alike - either complementary or competitive. One example would be when a company acquires competitors in the same industry doing the same stage of production for the creation of a monopoly. Another example is the management of a group of products which are alike, yet at different price points, complexities, and qualities. This strategy may reduce competition and increase market share by using economies of scale. For example, a car manufacturer acquiring its competitor who does exactly the same thing.

Horizontal integration is the opposite to vertical integration, where companies integrate multiple stages of production of a small number of production units.
Benefits of horizontal integration to both the firm and society may include economies of scale and economies of scope. For the firm, horizontal integration may provide a strengthened presence in the reference market. It may also allow the horizontally integrated firm to engage in monopoly pricing, which is disadvantageous to society as a whole and which may cause regulators to ban or constrain horizontal integration.

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Berkshire Hathaway to aquire Duracell

Berkshire Hathaway to acquire Duracell battery from Procter & Gamble in $4.7 billion stock deal

Berkshire Hathaway agreed to buy the Duracell battery business from Procter & Gamble in chairman Warren Buffett's latest stock swap. Berkshire will turn over $4.7 billion of P&G shares held by Buffett's Omaha, Nebraska-based company, according to a Business Wire statement on Thursday.

Duracell will have about $1.7 billion in cash when the deal is completed, which is expected in the second half of next year, according to the statementThe exchange may help Berkshire cut its holding in Cincinnati-based P&G without incurring the tax costs of selling shares in the open market.

Buffett became one of P&G's biggest shareholders through an investment in Gillette. P&G bought the razor maker in 2005 in a $57-billion deal that the Berkshire chairman supported.

Berkshire held more than 100 million shares as recently as 2008 and cut the stake several times since then as the company faltered under previous CEO Bob McDonald. "I have always been impressed by Duracell, as a consumer and as a long-term investor in P&G and Gillette," Buffett said in the statement.

P&G announced last month that it would divest Duracell. CEO AG Lafley has been streamlining the company, cutting expenses and selling noncore businessesP&G sold its pet-food business and has said it will jettison up to 100 of its slower-selling brands. Paying with shares would mirror two of Buffett's transactions in the past year, when he swapped stock that had appreciated for operating businesses.

He handed over a holding in Phillips 66 in February in exchange for its pipeline-flowimprover unit. In July, he swapped a stake in former Washington Post publisher, Graham Holdings , for cash, a Miami TV station and Berkshire stock that Graham held. Buffett had about 52 million P&G shares at the end of last year, a stake worth more than $4 billion.

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Renminbi

The Renminbi is the official currency of the People's Republic of China. The name  literally means "people's currency".
The (sign: ¥) is the basic unit of the renminbi, but is also used to refer to the Chinese currency generally, especially in international contexts. The distinction between the terms "renminbi" and "yuan" is similar to that between sterling and pound, which respectively refer to the British currency and its primary unit.
The ISO code for renminbi (which may also be used for the yuan) is CNY (an abbreviation for "Chinese yuan"), or also CNH when traded in Hong Kong. The currency is often abbreviated RMB, or indicated by the yuan sign ¥. The latter may be written CN¥ to distinguish it from other currencies with same symbol (such as the Japanese yen).In Chinese texts the currency may also be indicated with the Chinese character for the yuan.
The renminbi is legal tender in mainland China, but not in Hong Kong or Macau. Renminbi is sometimes accepted in Hong Kong and Macau, and are easily exchanged in the two territories, with banks in Hong Kong allowing people to maintain accounts in RMB. The currency is issued by the People's Bank of China, the monetary authority of China.
Until 2005, the value of the renminbi was pegged to the U.S. dollar. As China pursued its historical transition from central planning to a market economy, and increased its participation in foreign trade, the renminbi was devalued to increase the competitiveness of Chinese industry. It has previously been claimed that the renminbi's official exchange rate was undervalued by as much as 37.5% against its purchasing power parity (see below). More recently, however, appreciation actions by the Chinese government, as well as quantitative easing measures taken by the Federal Reserve and other major central banks, have caused the renminbi to be within as little as 8% of its equilibrium value by the second half of 2012.

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G Force

G Force
 g force (with g from gravitational) is a measurement of the type of acceleration that is caused by mechanical contact-forces between object surfaces, and that indirectly causes weight. Despite the name, it is incorrect to consider g-force a force, as "g-force" (lower case character) is a type of acceleration that can be measured with an accelerometer. Since g-force accelerations indirectly produce weight, any g-force can be described as a "weight per unit mass" (see the synonym specific weight). When the g-force acceleration is produced by the surface of one object being pushed by the surface of another object, the reaction-force to this push produces an equal and opposite weight for every unit of an object's mass. The types of forces involved are transmitted through objects by interior mechanical stresses. The g-force acceleration (save for certain electromagnetic force influences) is the cause of an object's acceleration in relation to free-fall.
The g-force acceleration experienced by an object is due to the vector sum of all non-gravitational and non-electromagnetic forces acting on an object's freedom to move. In practice, as noted, these are surface-contact forces between objects. Such forces cause stresses and strains on objects, since they must be transmitted from an object surface. Because of these strains, large g-forces may be destructive.
Gravitation acting alone does not produce a g-force, even though g-forces are expressed in multiples of the acceleration of a standard gravity. Thus, the standard gravitational acceleration at the Earth's surface produces g-force only indirectly, as a result of resistance to it by mechanical forces. These mechanical forces actually produce the g-force acceleration on a mass. For example, the 1 g force on an object sitting on the Earth's surface is caused by mechanical force exerted in the upward direction by the ground, keeping the object from going into free-fall. The upward contact-force from the ground ensures that an object at rest on the Earth's surface is accelerating relative to the free-fall condition (Free fall is the path that the object would follow when falling freely toward the Earth's center). Stress inside the object is ensured from the fact that the ground contact forces are transmitted only from the point of contact with the ground.

The top-fuel dragster can accelerate from zero to 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph) in 0.86 seconds. This is a horizontal acceleration of 5.3 g. Combined with the vertical g-force in the stationary case the Pythagorean theorem yields a g force of 5.4 g.

This acrobatic airplane is pulling up in a +g maneuver; the pilot is experiencing several gees of inertial acceleration in addition to the force of gravity. The cumulative vertical axis forces acting upon his body make him momentarily 'weigh' many times more than normal
Aircraft pilots (in particular) sustain g-forces along the axis aligned with the spine. This causes significant variation in blood pressure along the length of the subject's body, which limits the maximum g-forces that can be tolerated.
Positive, or "upward" g, drives blood downward to the feet of a seated or standing person (more naturally, the feet and body may be seen as being driven by the upward force of the floor and seat, upward around the blood). Resistance to positive g varies. A typical person can handle about 5 g0 (49 m/s2) (meaning some people might pass out when riding a higher-g roller coaster, which in some cases exceeds this point) before losing consciousness, but through the combination of special g-suits and efforts to strain muscles—both of which act to force blood back into the brain—modern pilots can typically handle a sustained 9 g0 (88 m/s2) (see High-G training)

In aircraft particularly, vertical g-forces are often positive (force blood towards the feet and away from the head); this causes problems with the eyes and brain in particular. As positive vertical g-force is progressively increased (such as in a centrifuge) the following symptoms may be experienced:
• Grey-out, where the vision loses hue, easily reversible on levelling out.
• Tunnel vision, where peripheral vision is progressively lost.
• Blackout, a loss of vision while consciousness is maintained, caused by a lack of blood to the head.
• G-LOC a loss of consciousness ("LOC" stands for "Loss Of Consciousness").
• Death, if g-forces are not quickly reduced, death can occur.

Resistance to "negative" or "downward" g, which drives blood to the head, is much lower. This limit is
A g-suit, or the more accurately named anti-g suit, is a flight suit worn by aviators and astronauts who are subject to high levels of acceleration force (g). It is designed to prevent a black-out and g-LOC (g-induced loss of consciousness) caused by the blood pooling in the lower part of the body when under acceleration, thus depriving the brain of blood. Black-out and g-LOC has caused a number of fatal aircraft accidents.

typically in the −2 to −3 g0 (−20 to −29 m/s2) range. This condition is sometimes referred to as red out where vision is literally reddened  due to the blood laden lower eyelid being pulled into the field of vision  Negative g is generally unpleasant and can cause damage. Blood vessels in the eyes or brain may swell or burst under the increased blood pressure, resulting in degraded sight or even blindness.

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Know these Corporate Super Powers

Intamin- International Amusements Installments
Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an abbreviation for: INTernational AMusement INstallations. The company distributes approximately 5–7 roller coasters from their workshops in Switzerland and Glen Burnie each year.

ICBC
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd is the largest bank in the world by total assets and market capitalization. It is one of China's 'Big Four' state-owned commercial banks (the other three being the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank). It was founded as a limited company on January 1, 1984. As of March 2010, it had assets of RMB 12.55 trillion (US$1.9 trillion), with over 18,000 outlets including 106 overseas branches and agents globally. In 2013, it ranked number 1 on Forbes Global 2000 list of the world's biggest public companies, and number 1 in The Banker's Top 1000 World Banks ranking - the first time ever for a Chinese bank,[7] remaining top in 2014.
ICBC was simultaneously listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange on 27 October 2006. It was the world's largest IPO at that time valued at US$21.9 billion, surpassing the previous record US$18.4 billion IPO by Japan's NTT DoCoMo in 1998.[14] In 2010, AgBank broke ICBC's IPO record when it raised $22.1 billion. China's largest commercial bank was also the first company to debut simultaneously on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges.

ICBC raised at least US$14 billion in Hong Kong (H-shares) and another US$5.1 billion in Shanghai (A-shares). Due to heavy subscriptions, the greenshoe (i.e. over-allotment) placements were exercised and ICBC's take rose to US$21.9 billion (17% of ICBC's market value before the IPO), divided in US$16 billion in Hong Kong and US$5.9 billion in Shanghai. Following the global offering, the free float of shares was 22.14% of the market capitalization.
At the end of its first day of trading, the bank's shares closed up almost 15% at HK$3.52 in Hong Kong, compared with the listing price of HK$3.07, which was set at the top of the indicative range due to the strong demand. According to Bloomberg, ICBC's market capitalisation at the end of trade based on its Hong Kong shares was US$156.3 billion, making its equity the world's fifth highest among banks, just behind JPMorgan Chase. Meanwhile, ICBC's Shanghai-listed A-shares recorded more modest gains and ended up 5.1% from the offering price of RMB 3.12.



BNP Paribas is a French bank and financial services company with headquarters in Paris, and a global headquarters in London. It was formed through the merger of Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) and Paribas in 2000 and is one of the largest banks in the world. Based on 2012 information BNP Paribas was ranked as the third-largest bank in the world, as measured by total assets, by Bloomberg and Forbes.

BNP Paribas escaped the 2007–09 credit crisis relatively unscathed reporting a €3 billion net profit for the year of 2008, and €5.8 billion for 2009, both years boosted by profits from trading in its Corporate and Investment Banking division. BNP Paribas has one of the highest credit ratings in its peer group with the long term debt of the group currently ranked A+ by S&P, A2 by Moody's and A+ by Fitch.
The firm is a universal bank split into three strategic business units: Retail Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking and Investment Solutions (which includes Asset Management, custodial banking, and real estate services). BNP Paribas's four domestic markets are France, Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg. It also has significant retail operations in the United States, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine, and North Africa, as well as large-scale investment banking operations in New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore.


 Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom is the largest extractor of natural gas in the world and one of the world's largest companies. Its name is a contraction of the Russian words Gazovaya Promyshlennost. Its headquarters are in Moscow.

Gazprom was created in 1989 when the Soviet Ministry of Gas Industry converted to a corporation, retaining all its assets. The company was later partly privatised, although the Russian government currently holds a majority stake. In 2011, the company produced about 513.2 billion cubic metres (18.12 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas, amounting to more than 17% of worldwide gas production. In addition, Gazprom produced about 32.3 million tons of crude oil and nearly 12.1 million tons of gas condensate. Gazprom's activities accounted for 8% of Russia's gross domestic product in 2011.

Gazprom's major production fields are located around the Gulf of Ob in Western Siberia, and the Yamal Peninsula is expected to become the company's main gas producing region in the future. Gazprom possesses the largest gas transport system in the world, with approximately 158,200 kilometres of gas trunk lines. Major new pipeline projects include Nord Stream and South Stream. The company has a number of subsidiaries in various industrial sectors, including finance, media and aviation, as well as majority stakes in various companies.



Nestlé S.A. is a Swiss multinational food and beverage company headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland. It is the largest food company in the world measured by revenues.
Nestlé’s products include baby food, bottled water, breakfast cereals, coffee and tea, confectionery, dairy products, ice cream, frozen food, pet foods, and snacks. Twenty-nine of Nestlé’s brands have annual sales of over CHF1 billion (about US$1.1 billion), including Nespresso, Nescafé, Kit Kat, Smarties, Nesquik, Stouffer’s, Vittel, and Maggi. Nestlé has 447 factories, operates in 194 countries, and employs around 333,000 people. It is one of the main shareholders of L’Oreal, the world’s largest cosmetics company.


Exxon Mobil Corp., or ExxonMobil, is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas, United States. It is a direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil company, and was formed on November 30, 1999, by the merger of Exxon and Mobil (formerly Standard Oil of New Jersey and Standard Oil of New York). It is affiliated with Imperial Oil which operates in Canada.

The world's largest company by revenue, ExxonMobil is also the second largest publicly traded company by market capitalization. The company was ranked No. 5 globally in Forbes Global 2000 list in 2013. ExxonMobil's reserves were 25.2 billion BOE (barrels of oil equivalent) at the end of 2013 and the 2007 rates of production were expected to last more than 14 years. With 37 oil refineries in 21 countries constituting a combined daily refining capacity of 6.3 million barrels (1,000,000 m3), ExxonMobil is the largest refiner in the world, a title that was also associated with Standard Oil since its incorporation in 1870.

ExxonMobil is the largest of the world's supermajors with daily production of 3.921 million BOE. In 2008, this was approximately 3 percent of world production, which is less than several of the largest state-owned petroleum companies. When ranked by oil and gas reserves, it is 14th in the world—with less than 1 percent of the total.

ExxonMobil has been subject to numerous criticisms, including the lack of speed during its cleanup efforts after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, widely considered to be one of the world's worst oil spills in terms of damage to the environment. ExxonMobil has drawn criticism for funding organizations that are skeptical of the scientific opinion that global warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels. Questions have been raised about the legality of the company’s foreign business practices. Critics note that ExxonMobil increasingly drills in terrains leased by dictatorships. The company has also been the target of accusations of improperly dealing with human rights issues, influence on American foreign policy, and its impact on the future of nations.

Northern TrustThe Northern Trust Corporation is an American international financial services company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It provides investment management, asset and fund administration, fiduciary and banking services through a network of 85 offices in 18 U.S. states and 20 international offices in North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. As of June 30, 2014, Northern Trust Corporation had $106 billion in banking assets, $6.0 trillion in assets under custody and $924.4 billion in assets under management. In March 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked Northern Trust as the world's most admired company in the "Superregional Banks" category.


Goldman SachsThe Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is an American multinational investment banking firm that engages in global investment banking, securities, investment management, and other financial services primarily with institutional clients.
Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869 and is headquartered at 200 West Street in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City, with additional offices in international financial centers. The firm provides mergers and acquisitions advice, underwriting services, asset management, and prime brokerage to its clients, which include corporations, governments and individuals. The firm also engages in market making and private equity deals, and is a primary dealer in the United States Treasury security market. It is recognized as one of the premier investment banks in the world, but has sparked a great deal of controversy over its alleged improper practices, including the loosening of financial industry underwriting guidelines which had been intact since the 1930s,[4] and in particular its actions since the 2007–2012 global financial crisis.
 

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Why India needs to revise its IPR policy

The US will push India into giving adequate protection to intellectual property regime (IPR), a major bone of contention between the two countries. A top state department diplomat said on Friday that if there is one thing that investors from the US would continue to seek from India is transparency in policy, especially related to intellectual property rights.

When an American investor approaches any market, he is going to look for at least a presence of transparency , predictability and rule of law," Charles Rivkin, assistant secretary of state for economic and business affairs, US said in Mumbai. "And in rule of law, IPR law is critical, and I believe that we could do better working with our friends in India to improve it."

In his first visit to India, Rivkin said he will be initiating a dialogue with Indian government and companies on how to improve trade between both the countries, and protection of intellectual property would be an important part of that discussion.

Rivkin said that Prime Minister Modi, during his visit to the United States, has set an extraordinary tone and is perceived as someone who engages with bureaucrats to get work done. "It is perceived by the American business community that the new administration is very business friendly. We still have obstacles to overcome in order to maximise the trade relation, but there are so many opportunities for American business to explore," Rivkin added.

India-US business relations have experienced a major pinprick on the issue of India's intellectual property regime. The US companies consider India as being weak in protecting product rightsThe impasse was triggered when India's court refused to grant patents, and in some cases also revoked patents by using the compulsory licence regime, which is permitted under the Trade Related Intellectual Property agreement. Post the Modi's visit to the US, both the countries decided to set up a high-level intellectual property committee to look into this issue, this committee would for the first time meet in Delhi next week.

When asked if US was arm-twisting India to change its IP regime despite the country being compliant with the World Trade Organisation rules, Rivkin said it was not arm twisting, but in the interest of India to have stronger IP regime. "India needs to protect its own interest, when it creates something that changes the world, doesn't it make sense to protect it"? he asked

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China trains Pakistan rangers along LOC

 The Chinese troops are training Pakistani army personnel right

 across the India-Pakistan border in Jammu and Kashmir, a report

said on Friday.

·         This comes as a major worrying factor for India.

·         As per a report submitted by the Border Security Force intelligence wing, the Chinese troops have been seen training Pakistani Armymen in "weapon handling" techniques bang opposite Rajouri sector of International border.

·         The report, accessed by a news agency, said these military manoeuvres were being conducted at forward defence locations of Pakistan which are usually manned by border guarding personnel-- the Pakistan Rangers.

·         Preliminary inputs analysed by BSF also showed some Pakistan Army units have taken over paramilitary posts of Rangers opposite Sriganganagar sector.

·         BSF also found a handful of new observation towers have also been set up by Pakistan in recent past along Abohar and Gurdaspur sectors in Punjab.

·         The BSF intelligence reported that phone intercepts along the border indicate that Pakistan Army and Rangers are planning to deploy snipers and sharp shooters at strategic locations and posts to target Indian soldiers and assets.

·         The Border Security Force intelligence also reported that a special squad of Pakistani Army commandos have been placed at select locations along the IB and LoC, which may attempt to carry out raids and Border Action Team (BAT)-sponsored attacks into the Indian territory.

·         It also said a large grouping of terrorists has been detected along Sialkot area in Pakistan which may be planning to infiltrate into Jammu and Kashmir at a time when Assembly polls are scheduled in the state.

·         It also said agencies have detected a few launch pads for terrorists to infiltrate along either the International Border (IB) or the Line of Control (LoC).

·         The Indo-Pak border, which has been witnessing a series of ceasefire violations in the last few months is peaceful but tense, in the last few days, the report said. The BSF report said that along the Indo-Pak border in the Sir Creek area near Gujarat about 25 Indian fishing boats and 155 fishermen had been apprehended by Pakistani maritime authorities in the current fishing season.

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G20 Summit

The "Group of Twenty" represents two-thirds of the world's population, 85% of global GDP and over 75% of global trade.
It began in 1999 as an annual meeting for finance ministers and central bank governors following the Asian financial crisis, before evolving to also include a summit for countries' leaders in 2008, after the global financial crisis.
G20 meetings are aimed at deepening economic co-operation and strengthening the global economy.
It comprises 19 countries and the European Union.

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The Warren Buffet Indiactor signals imminent RECESSION

It is only a matter of time before the stock market plunges by 50% or more, according to several reputable experts.

Stocks Pundits doesn’t hesitate to put the blame squarely on President Obama’s big-government policies and the Federal Reserve’s risky low-rate policies, which, he says, “penalize the income earners, the savers who save, your parents — why should your parents be forced to speculate in stocks and in real estate and everything under the sun?”

Billion-dollar investor Warren Buffett is rumored to be preparing for a crash as well. The “Warren Buffett Indicator,” also known as the “Total Market Cap to GDP Ratio,” is breaching sell-alert status and a collapse may happen at any moment.

So with an inevitable crash looming, what are Main Street investors to do? One option is to sell all your stocks and stuff your money under the mattress, and another option is to risk everything and ride out the storm.

But according to Sean Hyman, founder of Absolute Profits, there is a third option.

“There are specific sectors of the market that are all but guaranteed to perform well during the next few months,” Hyman explains. “Getting out of stocks now could be costly.”

How can Hyman be so sure?

He has access to a secret Wall Street calendar that has beaten the overall market by 250% since 1968. This calendar simply lists 19 investments (based on sectors of the market) and 38 dates to buy and sell them, and by doing so, one could turn $1,000 into as much as $178,000 in a 20-year time frame.

“But this calendar is just one part of my investment system,” Hyman adds. “I have also designed a Crash Alert System that is designed to warn investors before a major correction as well.”

(The Crash Alert System was actually programmed by one of the individuals who coded nuclear missile flight patterns during the Cold War so that it could be as close to 100% accurate as possible).

Hyman explains that if the market starts to plunge, the Crash Alert System will signal a sell signal warning investors to go to cash.

“You would have been able to completely avoid the 2000 and 2008 collapses if you were using this system based on our back-testing,” Hyman explains. “Imagine how much more money you would have if you had avoided those horrific sell-offs.”

One might think Sean is being too confident, but he has proven himself correct in front of millions of people time and time again.

In a 2012 interview on Bloomberg Television, Hyman correctly predicted that Best Buy would drop down to $11 a share and then it would rally back up to $40 a share over the next few months. The stock did exactly what Hyman predicted.

Then, during a Fox Business interview with Gerri Willis in early 2013, he forecast that the market would rally to new highs of 15,000 despite the massive sell-off that was haunting investors. The stock market almost immediately rebounded and hit Hyman’s targets.

“A lot of people think I am lucky,” Hyman said. “But it has nothing to do with luck. It has everything to do with certain tools I use. Tools like the secret Wall Street calendar and my Crash Alert System.”

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Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational banking and financial services holding company which is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with "hubquarters" throughout the country. It is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home mortgage servicing, and debit cards. In 2011, Wells Fargo was the 23rd largest company in the United States.
In 2007 it was the only bank in the United States to be rated AAA by S&P, though its rating has since been lowered to AA- in light of the financial crisis of 2007–08. The firm's primary U.S. operating subsidiary is national bank Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., which designates its main office as Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Wells Fargo in its present form is a result of a merger between San Francisco–based Wells Fargo & Company and Minneapolis-based Norwest Corporation in 1998 and the subsequent 2008 acquisition of Charlotte-based Wachovia. Following the mergers, the company transferred its headquarters to Wells Fargo's headquarters in San Francisco and merged its operating subsidiary with Wells Fargo's operating subsidiary in Sioux Falls.
Wells Fargo is one of the "Big Four banks" of the United States, along with JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup—its main competitors. The company operates across 35 countries and has over 70 million customers globally. In 2012, it had more than 9,000 retail branches and over 12,000 automated teller machines in 39 states and the District of Columbia. As of July 12, 2013, Wells Fargo became the world's biggest bank by market capitalization, worth $236 billion, beating ICBC.
In February 2014 Wells Fargo was named the world's most valuable bank brand for the second year running  in The Banker and Brand Finance study of the top 500 banking brands.

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IB and RAW- What's the difference??

It is important to know that although both IB and RAW are Indian intelligence agencies, there is difference between them. IB is the Intelligence Bureau of India and is India’s internal intelligence agency. RAW is the Research and Analysis Wing of India and is India’s external intelligence agency. This is one of the main differences between IB and RAW.

IB is regarded as the oldest intelligence agency in the world. It originally started in 1947 as Central Intelligence Bureau. It is under the governance of the Ministry of Home Affairs. RAW on the contrary was started in 1968, placed directly under the India Prime Minister’s office. RAW came as a consequence of two wars that India faced in the 1960s, namely, Sino-Indian war in 1962 and Indo-Pakistan war in 1965.

The main responsibility of IB is to acquire intelligence from within India and carry out tasks related to counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence. The responsibility of RAW on the other hand is to gather external intelligence and perform tasks related to counter-terrorism. One of its primary functions is covert operations. It also has a good amount of contribution in Indian foreign policy making.

IB has employees from the Indian Police Service and the military. Its staff is mostly from law enforcement agencies. RAW in the beginning depended on the services of trained intelligence officers. Later candidates from police, military and other services too were also recruited by RAW. The employees of RAW fall under four important designations, namely, senior field officer, field officer, deputy field officer and assistant field officer. It is important to note that RAW has its own service cadre called the Research and Analysis Service (RAS).

As a matter of fact IB passes on intelligence between other Indian intelligence agencies and the police as well. The IB is given the power to conduct wiretapping even without warrant. RAW consists in the collection of intelligence via espionage, psychological warfare, subversion and sabotage.

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RAW Top Ten Classified Operations

10. Amalgamation of Sikkim
 Bordered by Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan and West Bengal in the Eastern Himalayas, Sikkim was ruled right from Indian Independence by a Maharaja. The Indian Government had recognized the title of Chogyal (Dharma Raja) for the Maharaja of Sikkim. In 1972, RAW was authorized by Indira Gandhi to install a pro-Indian democratic government there. In less than three years, Sikkim became the 22nd State of the Indian Union, on April 26, 1975.

9. Operation Smiling Buddha
 Operation Smiling Buddha was the name given to India’s nuclear Programme. The task to keep it under tight wraps for security was given to RAW. This was the first time that RAW was involved in a project inside India. On 18 May 1974, India detonated a 15-kiloton plutonium device at Pokhran and became a member of the nuclear club. All international intelligence agencies remained in dark about Indian nuclear weapons programs until then.

8. Special Operations
 After successfully, separating Bangladesh from Pakistan, RAW tried to destabilize Pakistan and separate Baluchistan from it. In the mid 1980’s, RAW set up two covert groups, Counterintelligence Team-X (CIT-X) and Counterintelligence Team-J (CIT-J), the first directed at Pakistan and the second at Khalistani groups(funded by ISI to separate Punjab from India). Rabinder Singh, the RAW double agent who defected to the United States in 2004, helped run CIT-J in its early years. Both these covert groups used the services of cross-border traffickers to ferry weapons and funds across the border, much as their ISI counterparts were doing. According to former RAW official and noted security analyst B. Raman, the Indian counter-campaign yielded results. “The role of our cover action capability in putting an end to the ISI’s interference in Punjab”, he wrote in 2002, “by making such interference prohibitively costly is little known and understood.” These covert operations were discontinued during the tenure of IK Gujral and were never restarted. B Raman the former RAW cabinet secretary, such covert operations were successful in keeping a check on ISI and were “responsible for ending the Khalistani insurgency.” He also notes that a lack of such covert capabilities, since they were closed down in 1997, has left the country even more vulnerable than before and says that developing covert capabilities is the need of the hour.

7. Snatch operations with IB
 In late 2009, investigative journal, The Week ran a cover story on one of India’s major clandestine operations that the R&AW ran with Intelligence Bureau to nab terrorists infiltrating India via Nepal and other neighboring countries. In order to bypass the lengthy extradition process, RAW conducts snatch operations to nab suspects from various foreign countries. The suspect is brought to India, interrogated and is usually produced before a court. With emergence of Nepal as a terror transit point, RAW and the IB (Intelligence Bureau) started closely monitoring the movement of suspected terrorists in Nepal. According to The Week in last decade there has been close to 400 successful snatch operations conducted by RAW and/or IB in Nepal, Bangladesh and other countries. Some famous snatch netted Bhupinder Singh Bhuda of the Khalistan Commando Force, Lashkar militant Tariq Mehmood, Sheikh Abdul Khwaja, one of the handlers of the 26/11 attacks, etc. Most of the suspects are kept at Tihar Jail.

6. Intelligence on 2008 Mumbai Attacks
 About two to six months before 26/11 Mumbai attacks, R&AW had intercepted several telephone calls through SIGINT, which pointed at impending attacks on Mumbai Hotels by Pakistan based terrorists, however there was a coordination failure and no follow up action was taken. Few hours before the attacks, R&AW technician monitoring satellite transmissions picked up conversations between attackers and handlers, as the attackers were sailing toward Mumbai. The technician flagged the conversations as being suspicious and passed them on to his superiors. RAW believed that they were worrying and immediately alerted the office of the National Security Advisor. However the intelligence was ignored. Later, just after the terrorists had attacked Mumbai, RAW technicians started monitoring the six phones used by the terrorists and recorded conversations between the terrorists and their handlers. On January 15, 2010, in a successful snatch operation, RAW agents nabbed Sheikh Abdul Khwaja, one of the handlers of the 26/11 attacks, chief of HuJI India operations and a most wanted terror suspect in India, from Colombo, Sri Lanka and brought them over to Hyderabad, India for formal arrest.

5. Operation Leech
 Surrounded by Arakans and dense forest, Myanmar because of its Military Dictatorship had always been a worrisome point for Indian intelligence. As the major player in the area, India has sought to promote democracy and install friendly governments in the region. To these ends, RAW cultivated Burmese rebel groups and pro-democracy coalitions, especially the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). India allowed the KIA to carry a limited trade in jade (ornamental stone) and precious stones using Indian Territory and even supplied them with weapons. It is further alleged that KIA chief Maran Brang Seng met the R&AW chief in Delhi twice. However, when the KIA became the main source of training and weapons for all northeastern Indian rebel groups, RAW initiated an operation, code named Operation Leech, to assassinate the leaders of RAW trained Burmese rebels to set an example to other groups. Six top rebel leaders, including military wing chief of National Unity Party of Arakans (NUPA), Khaing Raza, were shot dead and 34 Arakanese guerrillas were arrested and charged with gunrunning.

4. Operation Chanakya
Operation Chanakya was the RAW operation in the Kashmir to infiltrate various ISI-backed Kashmiri separatist groups and restore peace in the Kashmir valley. R&AW operatives infiltrated the area, collected military intelligence, and provided evidence about ISI’s involvement in training and funding Kashmiri separatist groups. RAW was successful not only in unearthing the links between the ISI and the separatist groups, but also in infiltrating and neutralizing the militancy in the Kashmir valley. RAW is also credited for creating a split in the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen. Operation Chanakya also marked the creation of pro-Indian groups in Kashmir like the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen, Muslim Mujahideen, etc. These counter-insurgencies consist of ex-militants and relatives of those slain in the conflict. Ikhwan-ul-Muslimeen leader Kokka Parrey was himself assassinated by separatists.

3. Sri Lanka
 RAW started training, LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) to keep a check on Sri Lanka, which had helped Pakistan in the Indo-Pak War by allowing Pakistani ships to refuel at Sri Lankan ports. However, the LTTE created a lot of problems and complications and the then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi was forced to send the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 to restore normalcy in the region. The disastrous mission of the IPKF was blamed by many on the lack of coordination between the IPKF and RAW. Its most disastrous manifestation was the Helicopter assault on LTTE HQ in the Jaffna University campus in the opening stages of Operation Pawan. The site was chosen without any prior consultation with the RAW. The dropping paratroopers became easy targets for the LTTE. A number of soldiers were killed. The assassination of Rajiv Gandhi is also blamed as fallout of the failed RAW operation in Sri Lanka.

2. Creation of Bangladesh and Aftermath
 In the early 1970s, the army of Pakistan prosecuted a bloody military crackdown in response to the Bangladeshi independence movement. Nearly 10 million refugees fled to India. The R&AW’s Bangladeshi independence movement began in early 1970 by sowing discord among the disgruntled population of Bangladesh (then called East Pakistan), suffering repression by the Pakistani political establishment. This led to the creation of the Mukti Bahini (Liberation Army of Bengali resistance movement). RAW was responsible for supplying information and heavy ammunition to this organization that led to Bangladesh War, its independence and later self-governance within months. Even USA hasn’t been successful at achieving this in Afghanistan and Iraq. However, within months of independence of Bangladesh, Mujibur Rahman (First President) was assassinated at his residence. R&AW operatives claim that they had advance information about Mujib-ur-Rahman’s assassination, but he tragically ignored R&AW’s inputs. He was killed along with 40 members of his family. R&AW thus failed to prevent the assassination, which led to the loss of a charismatic leader who had a soft corner for India after all they had done for his country’s independence. However, R&AW has successfully thwarted plans of assassinating Sheikh Hasina Wazed, daughter of Mujibur Rahman, by Islamist extremists and the ISI.

1. Operation Kahuta
 Operation Kahuta is regarded by many as one of the most daring operation ever conducted by RAW. The only reason it failed was due to a grave blunder by an Indian Prime Minister. Kahuta is the site of the Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan’s main nuclear weapons laboratory as well as an emerging center for long-range missile development. The primary Pakistani fissile-material production facility is located at Kahuta, employing gas centrifuge enrichment technology to produce Highly Enriched Uranium (necessary for nuclear weapons). RAW first confirmed Pakistan’s nuclear programs by analyzing the hair samples of scientists snatched from the floor of barber shops near KRL; which showed that Pakistan had developed the ability to enrich uranium to weapons-grade quality. R&AW agents knew of Kahuta Research Laboratories from at least early 1978, when the then Indian Prime Minister, Morarji Desai stopped RAWs operations on Pakistan’s covert nuclear weapons program (because it was started by Indira Gandhi). In an indiscreet moment in a telephone conversation one day, Morarji Desai informed the then Pakistan President, Zia-ul-Haq, that India was aware of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. According to later reports, acting on this “tip-off”, Pakistani Intelligence eliminated RAW’s agents on Kahuta, leaving India in the dark about Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program from then on

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