SumanSpeaks: The Information Super Highway

Venus Mysteries Blamed on Colossal Collision: Venus is made of the same stuff of Earth, but is bone-dry, hot enough to melt lead and has a chokingly thick atmosphere. It even spins backwards. Astronomers have spent decades trying to explain Venus' mysterious properties. Now one scientist thinks the planet's formation may explain all: Two huge, protoplanetary bodies collided head-on and merged to form our planetary neighbor, but obliterated nearly all water in the process. "The probability that two protoplanets collided to form Venus is not at all implausible," said John Huw Davies, a geodynamicist at Cardiff University in the U.K. who developed the idea. A majority of scientists think Earth's moon formed when a protoplanet about the size of Mars smacked into the planet at an angle. Davies thinks Venus was born of a far worse cosmic train wreck. "What if the moon-Earth collision isn't that big in planetary terms?" Davies told SPACE.com . "A he...

Bush, Fed Chief See No Recession Ahead Thursday February 28, 2008, Bush, Fed Chief See US Weathering Economic Storm; Recession Not Seen on the Horizon: WASHINGTON -- The economy is in turmoil, yet President Bush and Federal Reserve chief Ben B ernanke say the country will weather the storm. Neither sees a recession on the horizon. Both Bush and Bernanke are on the front lines of the government's efforts to right an economy that increasing numbers of economists fear is on the verge of its first recession since 2001, if it hasn't fallen into one already. The housing market's collapse, a credit crisis and galloping energy prices are crimping spending and investing. Those are mighty punches to a teetering economy that nearly stalled at the end of last year. Bush and Bernanke acknowledged the dangers Thursday. But Bush, at a White House news conference, and Bernanke, in congressional testimony, seemed to strike the same hopeful note that the economy should be able to surviv...

Kohinoor Broadcasting Corporation Ltd hit the Buyer Freeze with good vo lumes before cooling down at bit after the market went for a hair cut at the end. The company will go for high volatage Ad-campaign on Television Channels to popularise its channels according to some rumours. At Rs.9 it is available at dirt cheap. That the company is coming out of the T-Group which is a welcome sign: Today also, my recently recommended counters, Kernex Microsystems Ltd, SEL Manufacturing Ltd and Walchandnagar Industries Ltd hit the buyer freeze: Besides this my earlier recommended Rajoo Engineers Ltd, KRBL, Ion Exchange Ltd, Tips Industries Ltd, VBC Industries Ltd, Pioneer Embroiderires Ltd, Solitaire Machines Ltd etc. did well: CESC Ltd and Bombay Dyeing Lt also did well in the initial trade: Buy Phoenix International Ltd tomorrow at CMP of Rs.32-33 for some decent gains in the days to come. The company has started to get huge rental income from its properties in Chandigarh. The company is also ...

Today Morning Call on Kernex Microsytem Ltd saw it hit the buyer freeze. Stone India Ltd also hit the buyer freeze before cooling down a bi t. Both the companies are expected to get benefitted from the recent Railway Budget: Walchandnager Industries Ltd and Yesterday's "Quickie Call" Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd, hit another buyer freeze. Will it hit some more buyer freezes???! ! What to do??? This is for the Paid Group Members: Tea stocks did remarkably well. The following news was sent in the Sunday Report (24th February, 2008) about the tea companies: "Recently there are some news that tea productions has ebbed in Kenya, one of the major producers of tea. Hence the tea prices are expected to rise both in the International and domestic markets. Keep eye on Warren Tea Ltd, Assam Company Ltd (both Tea and Oil), Diana Tea (tea and real estate), Bombay Burma Trading Corporation Ltd, Goodricke Group Ltd(it was earlier recommended), Harrisons Malayalam Ltd, Mcleod Russel (In...

Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd, the "Quickie Call" for Monday (today) hit the Buyer Freeze in the Choppy Trade: My Recommended Reliance Power Ltd just a day be fore the declaration of the Bonus Issue, sizzles today on the announcement of the bonus ratio: My Recommended BNK Capital Markets Ltd, Walchandnagar Industries Ltd (today the name was mentioned in the Emergency Mail sent), SEL Manufacturing Ltd (mentioned a couple of days back in this blog), DMC International Ltd, FCS Software Ltd, Karuturi Network Ltd (in the Yesterday's Sunday Report), NCL Industries Ltd, Relaxo Footwear Ltd, either hit the buyer freeze or did well today: Ennore Coke Ltd hit the buyer freeze before going for sudden selling. This is a sure shot play like Kohinoor Broadcasting Corporation Ltd which almost hit the buyer freeze in the early trade before cooling down a bit. Many people forget that Kohinoor Broadcasting Corporation Ltd is a to be broadcasting company and is at present a content company catering t...

Zee TV narrows gap with Star Plus, but is Hindi GEC benefiting? February 25, 08 Noor Fathima Warsia The latest TAM week data has good news for Zee TV with the channel on almost equal ground with Star Plus. TAM Media Research shows that for the C&S 4+ in the Hindi speaking markets, where Star Plus had 291 GRPs, Zee TV had 287. Newcomer NDTV Imagine continues on its No. 3 position at 90 GRPs. Sony, SaharaOne and Star One follow with GRPs of 82, 65 and 57, respectively. 9X is at 48 GRPs this week, while Sab is at 31. Media an alysts aren’t too surprised with the situation, stating that the narrowing of the gap between Star Plus and Zee TV had been happening for over two years now, and the game was set to shift to first among equals than a clear leader in the genre. The likes of OMD’s Harish Shriyan are clear that Star Plus is still No. 1. Shriyan said, “Zee TV is really catching up and they are very close to Star Plus now, but Star Plus is still the leader and they have some shows...

Budget Wishlist: IBF gives its wish list to the Finance Ministry Noor Fathima Warsia Budget fever is setting in, and the Indian broadcasting industry is ready with its wish list for Budget 2008-09. An Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) delegation met senior officials of the Finance Ministry on February 19 and submitted a pre-Bud get memorandum to the Ministry, wherein it has taken up various points critical to the broadcasting industry. Exemption from Service TaxOne of the key points made is regarding service tax. The IBF has presented a case seeking exemption from service tax, as is the case in the print industry. The IBF has pointed out that the private Indian broadcasting industry is still at a nascent stage and is, therefore, “not in a position to take the burden of service tax”. The IBF has highlighted the “discrimination against broadcasting media, which has not been removed inspite of our repeated representations”. The broadcasters’ body has drawn a comparison that though...

Budget Wishlist: Print industry wants duties & taxes that impact newspaper production, and FBT to go: Abhijeet Mukherjee & Judy Franko Print industry is ready with its wishlist for the Finance Minister prior to the presentation of the Union Budget 2008-09. Among the industry’s demands are removal of the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT), lower taxes on the purchase and sale of newsprint, among others. A delegation of the Indian Newspaper Society (INS) has submitted a memorandum to the Finance Ministry, which broadly specifies: “Newspapers merit special fiscal treatment so as to maintain a vibrant and free press so vital for the survival of our democratic polity. Newspapers are referred as the Fourth Estate and the Indian Constitution itself states that State Governments shall not tax the sale and purchase of newspapers, that there should be no sales tax, excise duty or VAT on newspaper sale. In keeping with the spirit of the Constitutional provisions, it is necessary to ensure that d...

Asian Stocks Rise on Bond Insurer Rescue Plan; Financials Jump: February, 25, 2008-- Asian stocks rose, led by financial companies, on speculation a plan to help U.S. bond insurers keep their credit ratings will limit further losses related to subprime-mortgage d efaults. National Australia Bank Ltd., the nation's No. 1 bank by assets, rose for the first time in four days. Aioi Insurance Co., a Japanese casualty insurer, was the biggest gainer on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index after forecasting a smaller-than-expected loss. Inpex Holdings Inc. advanced after the London-based Times newspaper said a Chinese state fund may buy a stake. The rescue plan ``boosts investors' confidence a chain reaction of subprime losses will be averted,'' said Yoshihiro Okumura, who helps oversee the equivalent of $365 million at Chiba-gin Asset Management Co. ``Actual losses at Japan's insurance companies are smaller than overseas counterparts, which encourages investors to pile back in to...

Kohinoor Broadcasting Corporation set to launch Hindi news Channel by mid-2008: Abhijit Mukherjee The Hindi news space is slated to get a new addition with the proposed launch of a 24x7 Hindi news channel, KBC News, by Chandigarh-based production house Kohinoor Broadcasting Corporation (KBC). The channel is expected to go on air by May-June, 2008. Vickram Bahl, Editor-in-Chief of Delhi-based production house ITMN, has been roped in as consultant for the new channel. KBC, a public listed company, is promoted by its Managing Director Harjinder Singh. As consultant, Bahl would be responsible for setting up KBC News. He would also be Chairperson of the advisory board of the Hindi news channel. “In addition to the Hindi news channel, KBC also has plans to come up with an entertainment channel, KBC Plus, after around two months of the launch of the news channel. Thereafter, the company would come up with KBC Profit, a business channel, and KBC Gold, which would showcase regional movies from...

Budget Expectations for the Media Sector: The advertising and media fraternity airs their views on how the Union Budget 2008 could be more industry-friendly. Madhukar Kamath, Managing Director & CEO, Mudra Group & President, AAAI: Overall, I look forward to a ‘developmental oriented’ budget with increased investments in the infrastructure sector. Any fillip given to boost consumer spending and encouraging consumption will not do just give the economy a good turn, but will also benefit all of us in the entertainment and media business. Rationalisation in the entertainment tax structure is needed. On a specific note, I look for greater clarity and rationalisation in the service tax norms. On a personal note, a raise in the exemption limit and the removal of surcharge in the personal income domain is my expectation. Ajay Chacko, Director, CNBC TV18 - Business Media : From a media perspective there are very little direct expectations except for some minor tinkering in import d...

Stimulus Plan Aids Buyers of High-Priced Homes: SAN FRANCISCO — Elizabeth and Ben Kilgore are back in the real estate market. All it took was a little-publicized section of the economic stimulus package President Bush signed into law last week that lowered the borrowing cost of buying a more expensive home. The Kilgores, who live in Tiburon, Calif., just north of San Francisco, are looking for a larger home in town for their growing family. Three years ago, when they bought their first home, they resigned themselves to buying a condominium because it meant taking out a mortgage they knew they could manage. “This will push us into a price range that’s now financially possible,” said Ms. Kilgore, a real estate agent in Marin County. And if the limit on loans backed by a government-backed housing finance entity like Fannie Mae is raised from $417,000 to the full $729,750 she has been hearing about, Ms. Kilgore said, “we will be able to get a 30-year fixed mortgage for less than what w...

Scientists Would Turn Greenhouse Gas Into Gasoline: If two scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are correct, people will still be driving gasoline -powered cars 50 years from now, churning out heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere — and yet that carbon dioxide will not contribute to global warming .In a proposal by two scientists, vehicle emissions would no longer contribute to global warming. The scientists, F. Jeffrey Martin and William L. Kubic Jr., are proposing a concept, which they have patriotically named Green Freedom, for removing carbon dioxide from the air and turning it back into gasoline. The idea is simple. Air would be blown over a liquid solution of potassium carbonate , which would absorb the carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide would then be extracted and subjected to chemical reactions that would turn it into fuel: methanol, gasoline or jet fuel. This process could transform carbon dioxide from an unwanted, climate-changing pollutant into a vast ...