ANOTHER OF THOSE "YELLOW ARTICLES" FROM THE ECONOMIC TIMES WHICH HAS A MOTIVATED HEADLINE TARGETING SOME GROUPS POSSIBLY!!

IT companies jittery on sluggish US growth, EU debt crisis: Assocham

DELHI: Major IT and BPO companies in the country are jittery amid fears of another economic slump in the US and a debt crisis in Europe, according to industry body Assocham.

[Is this what Assocham said? Or it only focussed about the hiring in the IT sector? Why does a section of the domestic and international media was to install unnecessary fear on the minds of people?]

About 55 per cent respondents said that while the sector is unfazed from S&P's downgrade of the US credit rating and that the slowdown is temporary, it would surely hamper the hiring activity across the sector.

[So how does the "FAULTY HEADLINE" of this highly padded article, justify, when the majority said, "The sector is UNFAZED and the slowdown is TEMPORARY"? During the time of slowdown, is it prudent to hire more people and increase the salary pressure or it is prudent to use the best in the persons (employees) and cut the salary expenditure? Also, does meaningless hiring and expansion has any real value: ICICI Bank and Mr.Kamat and now Ms.Chandra Kochcher, is  a glaring example of the same...]

"Downgrade of US debt rating and debt crisis in Euro zone will impact recruitments in the Indian IT sector and hiring is expected to go down by about 30 per cent during the course of next few months," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said.

[This is what actually Assocham said......how is it related to growth? Growth of a company is possible even without fresh recruitment, by (increasing the) optimization of labour, capital and machinery....isn't it?]

The downgrade by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's in August had triggered concerns that the $ 60 billion software services industry - which gets more than 60 per cent revenues from the US market - would be hit.

[Who raised the concerns and on what basis? Economic Times should have given the names of the persons who raised such concerns. Moreover, what has downgrade of credit rating to do with the future of IT spending? This credit rating agency is not infallible and I have ample records to attest the same. Why does the Economic Times want to spread wrong message? Is it in collusion with some Bear Cartel to manipulate share price of IT companies....today J P Morgan gave a buy call after 5 days, I gave a buy call on the same sector....now J P Morgan, says, it would be better if one purchases Wipro Ltd at Rs.950.........Huh!!..........the reason is obvious......just look how motivated these kinds of brokerage houses are.......]

IT industry body Nasscom, along with top players, had however, exuded confidence that the sector will "sail through" the crisis.

[So, why does the Economic Times use the word, "Jittery" in the headlines?]

Assocham interacted with about 140 representatives, directors, CEOs, CFOs, Chairmen and MDs of companies offering IT/ITes and BPO, BTO, KPO services in various domains like pharmaceuticals, Banking, Financial Services and Insurance, auto, FMCG and manufacturing.

The study was carried out across Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, National Capital Region (Gurgaon and Noida), Hyderabad and Pune.

[Why was Kolkata (Calcutta) left out.....when there is already an IT hub there....?]

"The US and Europe account for over 80 per cent of India's $ 60 billion IT industry and macro-economic uncertainty in these parts of the world are bound to make the market gloomy," Rawat said.

[Is the whole of Europe in trouble or only some parts of Europe is in trouble? Can Mr.Rawat, spell out what is our business volume/turnover with countries like Portugal, Ireland (whose economy is improving), Greece, etc before coming up with blanket statement on whole of Europe? What about Germany, UK, France, Switzerland, etc. Also if a country wants to take austerity measures (like Greece, Ireland, Italy and Spain) then the best thing they can or should do is to send jobs to India, China or Vietnam or South Korea or Philippines, etc, where the labour cost is very cheap. So how will India be affected? In fact India and some such economies could gain from such a move.....Isn't it?]

About 25 per cent of respondents said the current round of global economic crisis won't have much of an impact on India, considering the strong domestic demand of goods and services together with their exposure to other avenues like Asia-Pacific and other parts of the world.

[So why does Economic Times want to create unnecessary panic among the market participants? That is why I said: "Is it in hand and globe with some bear cartel"? SEBI should investigate this vital matter immediately. Off-late, some sections of Indian media has become spokesman of individuals or groups, for the reasons best known to all....]

Nearly 20 per cent of the respondents said Indian firms may report sluggish business during the course of next few months due to the slowdown.

[Only 20% said, and so what about the rest 80%? Why is Economic Times deliberately trying to spread doom and gloom in a sector which is thought  to benefit at least 10% from the INR--USD equation.

Besides, the industry is already reeling under high interest costs, high inflation and the stock market is also in a sombre mood, the study added.

[At the present moment the Interest Rate Cycle is at the peak, and certain studies have shown that this is one of the best time to invest in stocks to build a portfolio for the short to medium term. Is the stock market in a sombre mood or it is made to look gloomy deliberately, by such motivated writings?]

Apart from slowdown in foreign direct investment (FDI), growth in exports and domestic private consumption might also slump, Rawat said.

[There is no end of speculation, isn't it? "The constant efforts of the Government of India in making the country an investor friendly destination are reaping dividends. Alongside the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) ranking India at second place in global foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2010, in its report titled, 'World Investment Prospects Survey 2009-2012' has added to the initiative to a great extent . The report further forecasts, India to be among the top five attractive destinations for international investors during 2010-12. FDI inflow rose by more than 100 per cent to US$ 4.66 billion in May 2011, which is the highest monthly inflow in 39 months, while the cumulative amount of FDI equity inflows from April 2000 to May 2011 stood at US$ 205.96 billion, according to the latest data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP). The service (including financial and non-financial) sectors attracted highest FDI equity inflows during April-May 2011-12 at US$ 910 million. India received maximum FDI from countries like Mauritius, Singapore, and the US at US$ 56.31 billion, US$ 13.25 billion and US$ 9.71 billion, respectively, during April 2000-May 2011.

India's foreign exchange (Forex) reserves have increased by US$ 2.29 billion for the week ended July 22, 2011, according to the weekly statistical bulletin released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). In the week under consideration, foreign currency assets went up by US$ 2.23 billion to US$ 284.53 billion.

Furthermore, India may emerge as US Export –Import Bank's (Ex-Im) largest market in next 12-18 months. “During the last nine months, we have approved 173 transactions involving 100 companies and US$ 1.4 billion in financing of US exports to India,” as per Fred P Hochberg, the bank's Chairman and President."--IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation) in its July, 2011 report.  

Moreover, if there is a slowdown in domestic consumption story, then why is the inflation so high even after 12 rate hikes?]