Global Slowdown Caused Slump in Growth Rate of the Demat Accounts

Despite the blistering pace kept by the equities market in the past 10 months, the rise in the number of new retail investors has slowed down.

According to the data from National Securities and Depositories Limited, the growth rate of demat accounts has declined to 6 per cent, compared with 13 per cent last year.

Experts attribute this to the overall slowdown in the economy.

As per experts a prolonged, dull phase in 2008 made investors jittery about investing in the equities market.

Also, as many individuals were scared of losing their jobs, so they did not intend to invest more.

There has been an average growth of 14.75 per cent in investors opening demat accounts till 2008.

Financial intermediaries such as broking companies, whose fortunes are directly linked to the markets, have witnessed subdued sentiments in the equity space from retail investors.

Experts cited 2008 market crash and the global financial meltdown as the reason for this negative development.

Moreover recession of last year had demotivated and scared the retail investors good enough to drive them away from the further investing.

This caused enormous loss for Financial intermediaries and most of the brokerage houses had to shut shop and retrench many staff too.

“The confidence of the retail investors is yet to be restored. Even in the case of new initial public offerings, only the institutional part is getting oversubscribed,” said Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head of research at SMC Capitals.

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

'Futures trading in rice, sugar and pulses should be banned'

‘Futures trading in rice, sugar and pulses should be banned’:

A parliamentary panel today suggested that futures trading should be banned in case of wheat, rice, sugar and some pulses till the country becomes self sufficient in these food items.

The Estimates Committee asked the government to bring a new legislation to control the retail prices of essential commodities like rice,wheat, pulses, edible oils, sugar, milk and vegetables.

On futures trading, the report said: “Since food security of the country is at the stake, the Committee recommends that futures trading in wheat, rice, tur dal, urad dal and sugar should be banned till the country achieves self-sufficiency in the production of these items on a continuous basis”.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see exports of Spice declining and on the other hand price of pulses rising up 80% in a year time.

Spice exports decline 1.3% in April-October:

Exports of spices fell 1.3 per cent in volume and 1.6 per cent in value during the April-October period of the current financial year.

According to the latest estimates of Spices Board, total exports in the period were 280,885 tonnes valued at Rs 3,031.59 crore against 284,560 tonnes valued at 3,080.25 crore in the same period last year.

Pepper exports suffered a serious setback as the figures dropped to 11,500 tonnes valued at Rs 179.16 crore as against 14,750 tonnes valued at Rs 246. 70 crore in the same period last year.

Export of chilli also declined to 100,500 tonnes valued at Rs 706.50 crore as against 121,500 tonnes valued at Rs 660.17 crore.

Coriander exports had a better performance at 25,250 tonnes valued at Rs 128.12 crore against 17,100 tonnes valued at Rs 116.80 crore.

Pulse prices rise up to 80 per cent in one year:

The government today said prices of pulses have surged by up to 80 per cent in the national capital over the last one year.

While prices of tur have gone up by 80 per cent in the last one year to Rs 90 a kg, that of moong dal surged 74 per cent to Rs 82, according to the data presented by Food and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.

Even import of about 16 lakh tonnes of pulses between April and October has not eased pressure on the prices, the data showed.

Not just pulses, prices of sugar have almost doubled to Rs 38 a kg.

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Verkopen van Kinderopvang hoe doe je dat?

Nu een paar weken geleden is de verkoop rondgekomen van de Kinderopvang van Combiwel Amsterdam. Tot die tijd een brede welzijnsinstelling waar ruim 1.100 mensen werkten. Vanuit het perspectief van lid van de Raad van Toezicht is dat een bijzonder proces. In de rol van toezichthouder sta je op afstand, maar is het onmogelijk om afstandelijk te opereren. Na een intensief jaar waarin tussen toezichthouder en bestuurder is gesproken over de koers van de Combiwel is in de zomer de knoop doorgehakt: verkoop van de kinderopvang. Reden van de verkoop is de strategische koerswijziging als gevolg van een fundamentele discussie over rol en positie van een brede welzijnsinstelling.

De bestuurder Hans Zuiver verwoordt het als volgt: ‘We willen ons volledig richten op welzijnswerk nieuwe stijl. Daarbij focussen we op twee pijlers: wijk- en buurtwerk en de brede school. Aan de ene kant gaat het om participatie, zorg en wonen in de wijk, aan de andere kant om ontwikkeling, opvoeding en onderwijs rond de brede school.” Daarbinnen past kinderopvang in grote volumes niet meer. Wel kinderopvang in bijvoorbeeld brede scholen waarbij een duidelijke inhoudelijke en welzijnscomponent aan de orde is. Bovendien is een belangrijke overweging geweest om klaar te zijn voor de barre tijden die de komende jaren gaan neerdalen op welzijnsinstellingen in het kader van de bezuinigingen. De kunst is om in tijden van heroverweging, kerntakendiscussie, uit- en inbesteden, aanbesteden en wat dies meer zij de bedrijfsvoering op orde te hebben en een financiële buffer op te bouwen. Dit om niet bij het minste geringste te hoeven inleveren op de inhoudelijke kwaliteit die je wil bieden.

Nadat het besluit is genomen komt er een ‘circus’ op gang waar ik me hooglijk over heb verbaasd. De Angelsaksische invloed op dergelijke verkoopprocessen wordt wel heel duidelijk. Allereerst komen er zogenaamde ‘mergers & acquisition’ adviseurs om de hoek kijken: specialisten in fusies en overnames. Vervolgens wordt er een ‘bidbook’ opgesteld waarin staat wat er te koop wordt aangeboden. Vervolgens komen er kopers in beeld die al of niet gefinancierd zijn met behulp van ‘private equity’. Dan begint het proces van ‘due diligence’ waarbij geïnteresseerde kopers precies gaan kijken wat er nu te koop is. Dan komt het proces van onderhandelen waarbij je met een of meerder partijen onderhandelt over de verkoopprijs en de voorwaarden. Kom je daar uit dan kom je in de buurt van de zogenaamde ‘closure’ het daadwerkelijk sluiten van de ‘deal’. Dat alles gaat in een moordend tempo en vraagt veel van de medewerkers op de afdelingen administratie en financiën. Als toezichthouder gaat het er om de belangen van de achterblijvende organisatie te bewaken en zorgvuldigheid in overgang van het personeel te waarborgen. Want bij dit alles lijk je haast te vergeten dat het gaat over 400 betrokken medewerkers die van werkgever veranderen en nog veel meer kinderen en ouders die bij een andere kinderopvangorganisatie terecht komen. De strategische vraagstukken en keuzes hebben altijd gevolgen voor de werkpraktijk. De strategische keuzes kunnen naar mijn stellige overtuiging ook alleen maar gemaakt worden met het oog op de gevolgen in de dag dagelijkse praktijk van medewerkers en klanten

We have been given some exclusive coverage on the recent developments in special purpose acquisition companies and blank check companies from SPACupdate.com this morning.

Exceed Co. (NASDAQ: EDS), the Chinese apparel maker brought public through 2020 ChinaCap Acquiro, announced that it will accept warrants in exchange for shares on a 3.96:1 basis. The deal offers warrant holders a quick, guaranteed option into the company’s shares and to Exceed execs, to them it offers a quick chance to curb dilution. The offer begins Nov. 30, and will continue for 20 business days after; at the end of the offer, Exceed warrants’ old rules revert back into place.

Next week’s deal has Tremisis Energy Acquisition II (AMEX: TGY) looking to bring public Asiana IDT, a Korean information technology firm, on Dec. 1. The SPAC is one of two that were redirected by Sang Chul-Kim when the Korean businessman assumed control; North Shore Acquisition (OTC: NSAQ) is his other buyout vehicle. That SPAC has until Dec. 5 to complete its merger, although it aims to extend that until March 2010.

Camden Learning (OTC: CAEL) completed its deal to buy National American University, an online college operator. The SPAC’s success came on an $8 million forward contract with an unnamed investor; it looks as if there is another player in the blank check market looking to fill Victory Park Capital Advisors’ shoes.

For more on these mergers and other deal votes, please visit www.SPACupdate.com.

RIL See Retail Sector as an Major Value Creator : Ambani

Reliance Industries has identified retail sector as an important component of its five-platform roadmap for value creation.

The other value creators include conventional and renewable energy space, innovation and rural transformation, RIL chairman Mukesh Ambani said.

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Reliance’s efforts would be on expanding the edifice created by Reliance Retail at the customer end and reinforcing supply chain and logistics,” the chairman said.

Ambani added that Reliance Retail would expand to new cities, markets and form strategic alliances.

This would be done through nearly 1,000 stores, while it has 900 stores across 86 cities.

The retail company has run up losses over Rs 450 crore in last fiscal.

Ambani said RIL would diversity its conventional energy space with new accumulations in three years.

RIL proposes to accelerate their campaign in the Krishna-Godavari basin,as per the chairman.

Meanwhile, the gas production levels have crossed six billion cubic metres and the D6 field is slated for plateau production by the second half of the year 2010.

Oil production from the D26 field has 2.8 million barrels with daily peak production expected by the end of the year.

With current cash balance of nearly Rs 19,420 crore, the company expects to be debt free in 21 months, Ambani said.

Even in difficult economic environment, RIL’s capital expenditure was Rs 24,713 crore ($4.9 billion).

However, the stock market was not enthused.

On the BSE, RIL stock saw a marginal drop of 0.65 per cent to close at Rs 2,133.75 per share.

“Whatever Mr Ambani has said is old. There is nothing to cheer investors.However, overall sentiment is positive.”

Jagannadham Thunuguntla, head, SMC Capital, and other market analysts feels so.

Private equity group KKR reported third-quarter results recently, the first time as a listed company. Despite rising profits and assets under management, details on the valuations of some of its largest company holdings didn’t make for particularly pleasant reading.

Stakes in hospital operator HCA and discount retailer Dollar General were valued above their initial costs, but investments in 11 other portfolio companies remained underwater. With time, many of these investments may pay off. But now that KKR must answer to outside shareholders, it will need to make a special effort to preach patience on the US$14bn it has yet to invest.

SEBI Allows Auctions for QIBs in FPOs

Market regulator, SEBI has introduced a significant change in the way institutional bidders invest in follow-on public offers by allowing allotments through auctions.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has amended the Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements Regulations (ICDR) to allow pure auctions for qualified institutional investors (QIBs) in follow-on public offerings to begin with.

The method may be later extended to initial public offerings.

Under the new method, bidders will be free to bid at any price above the floor price.

At present, allotments are made at the floor price.

Retail investors, however , will be allotted shares at the floor price.

The board also decided that the issuer is free to place a cap either in terms of the number of shares or percentage to issued capital of the company so that a single bidder does not garner all the shares on offer, ensuring a wider distribution of shareholding.

Jagannadham Thunuguntla, Equity Head,  SMC Capitals, said this means an institutional investor can continue to bid above the floor price and the QIB allotment will be made to the highest bidder.

“The intent is to enable companies to mop up more funds. Earlier, even when there were huge subscriptions and huge demand for an issue, the company could not get more money. This becomes more relevant in the context of the recently announced divestment plans and FPOs by the government for public sector units,” he said.

Auction for QIBs is welcome as it would allow risk-taking entities and not just the promoters to be a part of the price discovery process, other analyst said.

A SEBI release issued after the board meeting also said the minimum market capitalisation required by listed firms to sell shares in follow-on offerings has been halved to Rs.5,000 crores  from Rs 10,000 crore.

Moreover, the market regulator has also made it a mandatory that all listed companies would have to furnish audited or un-audited balance sheets on a half-yearly basis within 45 days from the end of the quarter instead of the current yearly basis.

This would imply that Indian companies will be required to disclose balance sheet items.

Shareholders would be able to access the statement of assets and liabilities of the company and its solvency position on a half-yearly basis.

Shareholders would receive immense help in making informed investment decisions now and would be in better position to assess the financial health of the companies, with the implementation of this SEBI regulation of mandating frequent disclosure of the asset-liability position of companies by companies.

 

Gold buying cools off after new records

Gold demand declined as prices struck a fresh high, after a slight pick-up seen in off take in the previous session.

However, the most-traded December gold contract hit a fresh record high at 17,284 rupees per 10 grams, before trading 0.12% higher at 17,251 rupees tracking overseas leads.

Meanwhile, it is said that traders were stationed on the sidelines seeking lower prices to stock for the ongoing wedding season while the business of dealers declined by about 50% on year as high prices dented demand.

On the other hand, jewelery demand in India decreased 42% to 111.6 tonnes in Q3 to September, while total demand, which comprises jewellery and retail investment demand, fell 49% to 137.6 tonnes.

Govt Not to Impose Restrictions on Foreign Borrowings

The government ruled out limiting companies from borrowing money from overseas market stating that the rise in foreign money is not a matter of concern at present and there is no such proposal.

However, companies are permitted to raise $500 million annually under the automatic route while infrastructure firms under the approval route can remit up to $100 million for rupee expenditure and for other companies the cap on approval route remittance is set at $50 million.

Meanwhile, capital inflows reached record levels as investors borrow cheap from advanced countries and invest in high-yielding assets in developing countries while this led to speculations that government may put in place a system of auctioning ECBs.

In India, foreign inflows through foreign institutional investors (FIIs), ECBs and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) have been on the rise, while FDI is not picking up as fast.

On the other hand, on a quarterly basis, the funds raised through ECBs and FCCBs increased by 70% in the September quarter to $4.61 billion while FIIs have put in a record over Rs 71,900 crore in the equities market.

while global private equity funds work to establish funds valued in chinese currency to maintain a competitive edge – china moves to create more private equity funds of it’s own .  blackstone recently inked a $732M fund denominated in the yuan to best position themselves to take advantage of the new wealth in china.

quite clearly, china is still a communist country, with the government at it’s fore, but that government has noticed the millions of dollars lost in global private equity deals.  global private equity firms were circumventing chinese restructions by forming offshore entities and a listing on a foreign exchange. in 2006, beijing began to further tighten those opportunities and chinese private equity firms have begun to sprout in  cities like beijing and shanghai.

as the chinese government establishes an onshore private equity industry, chinese entrepreneurs will have increasingly more choices. choosing a global private equity fund may prove less efficient than a local renminbi fund (RMB fund) especially when a listing on the chinext exchange can prove just as profitable.

Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein and his largest investor, The Wizard of Omaha, Warren Buffett , descended from the mystical heights of Valhalla with some startling news.  They were bearing a new mythical golden ring.  As they held the ring aloft they made a bold proclamation.  They would embark on one of the grandest social entrepreneurial programs of all time by offering some of the rings precious power, about $500 million worth, to capital starved small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs).  The 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative will distribute $100 million per year over the next five years to SMEs through Community Development Financial Institutions.

These lords of commerce have heard the cries from endangered SMEs.  In their infinite wisdom Blankfein and Buffet understand that the real economy needs to resuscitate and incubate the critical SME segment as an absolute prerequisite to a vibrant economic recovery.    The buzz about this news in the marketplace ranged from cynical suspicion at one extreme to puzzled bemusement and  ecstatic aplomb at the other.

What motivated Goldman to announce this initiative is an interesting question.  Was it guilt, greed or a sense of corporate social responsibility?  Some suggest it is a master PR move to counter a growing public perception that Goldman Sachs,  the poster child of government favoritism and bailout largess,  has leveraged its unfair advantage to achieve historic levels of profitability.  Thus enabling management to pay obscene bonuses to company employees.  But capital has no psyche,  and half a billion dollars is a tall bill to underwrite absolution for some phantom form of guilt.  True to its nature, capital always  seeks a place where it will find its greatest return.  Goldman and Buffett are casting some major bread on the receding waters of a distressed economy.  As its foretold in the Good Book , doing God’s work will produce a tenfold return.  If the Bible’s math is correct, thats a lot of manna that will rain down from heaven for the shareholders of Goldman Sachs and Berkshire Hathaway.  Looks like our modern day version of Moses and Aaron have done it again.  Leading their investors across the dangerous waters of the global economy to live in the promised land of happy shareholders.

As one of the world’s preeminent investment banks and purveyor of capitalist virtues,  company shareholders must be questioning how Goldman’s managers will realize a return on this investment?  Has management examined the potential corporate and societal moral hazards surrounding the program?  Surely shareholders have asked when they expect to be compensated for this significant outlay of capital.   The desire to realize gain is a more plausible motivator and makes more sense for an enterprise like Goldman and the storied investment Wizard from Omaha.

Its wise to ascribe the best intentions and virtuous motivations to actions that we may not fully understand.  This program should be viewed as a seminal event in the history of corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship.  Its important to understand that institutions that practice corporate social responsibility do not engage it solely as a philanthropic  endeavor.  Indeed, the benefits of good corporate citizenship pays multidimensional dividends.  All ultimately accrue to the benefit of company shareholders and the larger community of corporate stakeholders.

Goldman’s  move to walk the point of a capital formation initiative for SMEs seeks to mitigate macroeconomic risk factors that are prolonging the recession and pressuring Goldman’s business.   Goldman needs a vibrant US economy if it is to sustain its profitability,  long term growth and global competitiveness.  Goldman needs a strong regional and local banking sector to support its securitization, investment banking and corporate finance business units.   Healthy SMEs are a critical component to a healthy commercial banking sector.  Goldman recent chartering as an FDIC bank holding company may also be a factor to consider.  This SME lending initiative will provide interesting insights into the dynamics of a market space and potential lines of business that are relatively new to Goldman Sachs.  This initiative might presage a community banking acquisition program by Goldman.  At the very least the community banking sector is plagued with over capacity is in dire need of rationalization.  Goldman’s crack team of corporate finance and M&A professionals expertise would be put to good use here.

Goldman’s action to finance SMEs will also serve to incubate a new class of High Net Worth (HNW) investors.  Flush with cash from successful entrepreneurial endeavors, the nouveau riche will be eager to deploy excess capital into equities and bonds, hedge funds and private equity partnerships.  Healthy equity markets and a growing Alternative Investment Management  market is key to a healthy Goldman business franchise.

Community banks, principal lenders to SMEs are  still reeling from the credit crisis are concerned about troubled assets on their balance sheets.  Bankers can’t afford more write downs on non-performing loans and remain highly risk adverse to credit default exposures.  Local banks have responded by drastically reducing credit risk to SMEs by curtailing new lending activity.  The strain of a two-year recession and limited credit access has taking its toll on SMEs.  The recession has hurt sales growth across all market segments causing SMEs to layoff employees or shut down driving unemployment rates ever higher.  Access to this sector would boost Goldman’s securitization and restructuring advisory businesses positioning it to deepen its participation in the PPIP and TALF programs.

The financial condition of commercial and regional banks are expected to remain stressed for the foreseeable future.  Community banks have large credit exposures to SME and local commercial real estate.  Consumer credit woes and high unemployment rates will generate continued losses from credit cards and auto loans.  Losses from commercial real estate loans due to high vacancy rates are expected to create significant losses for the sector.

Reduced revenue, protracted softness in the business cycle and closed credit channels are creating perfect storm conditions for SME’s. Bank’s reluctance to lend and the high cost of capital from other alternative credit channels coupled with weak cash flows from declining sales are creating liquidity problems for many SMEs.   Its a growing contagion of financial distress.  This contagion could infect Goldman and would have a profound impact on the company’s financial health.

The 10,000 Businesses  initiative will strengthen the free flow of investment capital to finance national economic development and empower SMEs.  It strengthens free market capitalism and has the potential to pool, unleash and focus investment capital into a strategic market segment that has no access to public equity and curtailed lines of traditional bank credit. The 10,000 Businesses initiative  will encourage wider participation by banking and private equity funds.  In the aggregate, this will help to achieve strategic objectives, build wealth and realize broader goals to assure sustainable growth and global competitiveness.  All to the benefit of Goldman Sachs’ shareholders and it global investment banking franchise.

Goldman Sach’s has always been a market leader.  We salute Goldman Sachs’ initiative and welcome its success.

In  September of 2008,  Sum2 announced The Hamilton Plan calling for the founding of an SME Development Bank (SDB).  The SDB would serve as an aggregator of capital from numerous stakeholders to focus capital investment for SME manufactures.   More on the Hamilton Plan can be read here: SME Development Bank.

Risk:  SME, bank, recession, unemployment, credit, private equity

You Tube Music: 10,000 Manaics, Natalie Merchant: Dust Bowl

This was an important week for investment guru and billionaire watchers to see which gurus were holding which stocks.  The full public equity holdings of Warren Buffett via Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A) were particularly of note, particularly with those B shares under “BRK-B” soon to split and giving a chance for even the less astute ranks of Joe Public to own a piece of the Berkshire dream.  Obviously the huge change is via the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. (NYSE: BNI) buyout.  As part of this deal, Buffett is exiting Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP) and exiting Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) stakes of about $600 million and $100 million, respectively, to avoid duplication and internal competition.  The rail transport play now accounts for about one-quarter of the total Berkshire Hathaway entity upon closing. But the less obvious position in that Warren Buffett in 2009 has made it clear that there will be a simpler and probably less “stock-hound” version of Berkshire Hathaway ahead.

Buffett has gone higher up the food chain and is likely to be a creditor now inside or to large institutions.  We have seen this during the crisis.  Buffett negotiated a better deal for Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) than the US Government was able to get.  Buffett’s preferred stock in Goldman Sachs has a dividend of 10% and is callable at any time at a 10% premium; but Buffett also got warrants to purchase $5 billion of common stock with a strike price of $115.00 per share, exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now), and Buffett would effectively get to pocket $61 per share if he exercised those all today at the market (and with a $2.6 billion warrant profit alone).

The General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) stake was listed only as 7.77 million shares of common stock (about $125 million now), the same as it has been for quarters.  Yet last year Buffett came to the rescue with a $3 billion of perpetual preferred stock in a private offering with a dividend of 10% and warrants to purchase $3 billion of common stock.  The preferred is callable after 3-years (2 years now) at a 10% premium; the warrants have a strike price of $22.25 and are exercisable for a five-year term (4 years now).

Two other investments in preferred or note offerings made in the last year during the financial crunch were in Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) in February via 10% senior notes and in Harley-Davidson, Inc. (NYSE: HOG) with a 15% rate.  Neither of these are in the Buffett equity holdings.

Buffett increased his holdings in Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT) to 37.8 million shares versus 19.9 million shares.  This could easily be hiked from about $1.9 billion today to almost infinity with its $208 billion market cap.  With over 10% officially unemployed in the U.S., Wal-Mart has become the shopping destination of millions more of Americans and that value and thrift trend is not likely to end any time soon.

Then there is the ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) bet that Buffett got his timing very wrong on.  He cut his stake again here to 57.4 million shares versus almost 62.5 million shares and still has the tax benefit for selling.  He added Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) with a 1.27 million share stake.  As Exxon is the largest company by market cap at $357 billion, this is much easier for Buffett to invest into rather than $79 billion market cap today in ConocoPhillips.

The Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) stake which he grew yet again is worth over $8.7 billion, and Buffett could probably insert more money there through time if it gets cheap again.  Then there is the new Republic Services Inc. (NYSE: RSG) position of 3.625 million shares ($100 million today) where Buffett is just investing alongside buddy Bill Gates now that Gates’ entity has a board seat there and a huge stake.

Then there are the overseas bets, and these are just some:

• $2.5 billion into diversified Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd.
• $4 billion to buy control of Iscar Metalworking in Israel
• $230 million for a 10% stake in BYD for electric batteries in China
• $144 million or so stake in Nestle

Buffett lent $4.4 billion to Mars for the Wrigley buyout.  He also lent Dow Chemical (NYSE: DOW) $3 billion for part of the Rohm & Haas deal. As noted earlier, Buffett is going higher up the food chain.  In fact, he is almost becoming the default alternative investment bank.  And he has cut down and exiting equity positions as well.

Eaton Corp. (NYSE: ETN), in power management, and WABCO Holdings (NYSE: WBC), in parts and systems for mostly commercial vehicles, were dropped entirely this last quarter.  It seems as though Buffett is also systematically exiting the Moody’s Corp. (NYSE: MCO) position now that the business model has changed.  He still holds too much there, but maybe better late than never.

Buffett is also not betting against the Obama health care plan as he cut his stakes in both Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) and UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). It will be interesting to see if Buffett hangs on to those drug company stakes in GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK), at 1.51 million shares, and Sanofi Aventis (NYSE: SNY), of more than 3.9 million shares.

Then when considering Buffett’s comments about the poor future of print media, you have to wonder if the Oracle of Omaha just won’t take his licks in Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) worth only about $39 million today and Washington Post Co. (NYSE: WPO) worth $730 million today.

It still seems obvious that Buffett would like to hold a large utility as a wholly owned subsidiary.  That may be his next ‘whale of a deal’ after he builds his cash back up over $20 billion.  Buffett got burned on his dollar bet before, but he is active internationally.  The BNSF deal is arguably a China-coal bet rather than an “all-in bet on the future of America,” assuming that is not symbiotic.  This now makes Berkshire Hathaway even more of a financial and transport operation, with far less emphasis on public common stock bets.  And he is going higher on the food chain. It will alsways be interesting to see how Buffett invests the Berkshire Hathaway fortune.  But what is obvious is that he is starting to get out of the way of some bets and make more concentrated bets elsewhere.  The new Berkshire Hathaway is more of a financial and transportation operator now… more than ever… that is also acting as private investment banker.  The investment changes over the last year are showing more of a penchant for debt and being higher up the food chain than just common stock in the U.S.

This all acts to make Berkshire Hathaway more predictable in operations and even more of a true conglomerate.  And it makes the passive investments a bit more opaque.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, key analyst calls, and more.

Again, here is the full list of Buffett & Berkshire Hathaway US public stock holdings.

JON C. OGG
November 19, 2009

Hello Friends here we come up with the Latest Agri Commodities updates from various parts of the country.

 

After 20 Years, India to Import Rice

After 20 years, India to import rice:

India, a traditional rice exporter, will import the grain for the first time in 20 years to meet a projected shortfall of the crop hit by drought and floods, government said yesterday.

The government estimates that there would be a shortfall of over 15 million tonnes in the 2009-10 Kharif (summer) season due to drought and floods in several states.

Thailand’s Foreign Trade department announced that the world’s biggest rice exporter is expected to release part of its huge stock of almost six million tonnes of rice stockpile to India, besides eight other countries, through g-to-g sales programmes.

In Other major Commodities Updates we can see that the demand-supply gap for natural rubber in the country is set widen.

Demand-supply gap for rubber stretches:

The demand-supply gap for natural rubber in the country is set widen as production is expected to fall and demand set to rise above earlier stimates.

Rubber production for April-October period was 9.4 per cent lower at 4,35,125 tonnes against 4,80,230 tonnes last year.

Consumption grewn three per cent to 5,36,100 tonnes (5,20,375 tonnes).

The production-consumption mismatch resulted in a sharp rise in imports and a corresponding fall in exports.

Imports increased 133 per cent to 1,26,472 tonnes (54,283 tonnes), while exports plunged 92 per cent to 3,859 tonnes (34,000 tonnes), sources in the Rubber Board said.

The Rubber Board has scaled down the production target for the current fiscal by 2.8 per cent to 8.40 lakh tonnes from the earlier estimates of 8.67 lakh tonnes announced in April.

The forward estimates of production has moved up 6.8 per cent to 9.31 lakh tonnes from the earlier estimate of 8.81 lakh tonnes.

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Three sales canceled, carried over, increased stakes and quick QIPs instead of IPOs, no one’s playing to the basement anymore..Wanted to sell, couldn’t get my price so bought some more. Whacky, emulating personal shopping habits of people more than corporate board tussles of the 1990s.

KKR now owns 80% of Aricent (79), WNS will still have Warburg and Axis bank is happy with $720 million where it could have easily absorbed another tranche of the same amount. And this is in the faster growing market of India that we have these white elephants

In fact the 2007 majority view of these all private equity investments and tinny tiny private sector banks being as unproductive as the public sector white elephants may still be true. However, all these three companies should have spiffy new management in place soon.KKR, CPP Investment Buy Flextronics’ Pie In Aricent For $255M TEAM VCC
Global private equity biggie Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. has increased its investment in Aricent, following the completion of an agreement between KKR and CPP Investment Board with Flextronics to purchase certain securities. The transaction, valued at $255 million, closed on September 16, 2009.Original Link:

WNS Halts Talks On Majority Stake Sale- MADHAV A CHANCHANI
Outsourcing firm WNS (Holdings) Ltd has said that it will not pursue any further talks regarding the sale of majoity stake in the firm. Private equity major Warburg Pincus, which holds over 50% stake in the NYSE-listed firm, had put its stake on the block and was in discussion with other PE players and outsourcing firms.

Axis Bank Raises $720 Mn Via QIP, GDR- MADHAV A CHANCHANI
The Indian QIP party, which kicked off with the real estate sector, has now assumed a diverse flavour. Private sector lender Axis Bank has raised $720 million throught its QIP (qualified institutional placement) and GDR (global depository reciepts) issue.

via VC Circle

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We have been given some exclusive coverage on the recent developments in special purpose acquisition companies and blank check companies from SPACupdate.com this morning.  Stream Global Services (AMEX: SGS), the business outsourcer brought public through SPAC Global BPO Services Co., has launched an offer to buy back its warrants from its blank check merger. As more than a dozen SPAC targets have leaped past their blank check’s IPO value, it is expected that investors will clamor to buy up warrants that offer big discounts on rising stock and that the companies affiliated with those blank checks will set out to curb dilution through buybacks.

Friday, China Holdings Acquisition Co. (AMEX: HOL) will have its deal vote to bring ceramic tile maker Jinjiang Hengda Ceramics Co., Ltd. The SPAC, earlier this week, entered into an agreement with forward contract champ Victory Park Capital Advisors to buy back 4 million shares at a small premium. The $150 million SPAC joins a long list of successful blank checks from this fall—among them, REIT-targeting vehicles Enterprise Acquisition Co. (AMEX: EST)—that used forward contracts to get their deals done.

New SPACs are headed to the market: 57th St. General Acquisition Co., using Morgan Joseph as its bookrunner, filed paperwork this week with regulators stating the intent to bring a $57 million blank check public. The SPAC, like GSME Acquisition Co., has a redemption threshold above the 80% mark. Warrant buyers should take note of the improved odds for a deal’s completion when making investment decisions, when both of these SPACs price. Both SPACs will trade OTC on the Bulletin Board.

Last week, it was revealed that Asia Special Situation Acquisition Co. (AMEX: CIO) lost not just its deal to buy an energy company, but its CEO as well, who resigned. The SPAC still has a few months to complete its deal, but the exit of its leadership and its one-time target spurning its offer to instead accept a $100 million investment elsewhere certainly does not bode well for the blank check.

Prospect Acquisition Co. (AMEX: PAX) completed its deal to buy California REIT Kennedy-Wilson Inc. last week. The SPAC’s merger was helped along, once again, by Victory Park Capital Advisors. China MediaExpress (AMEX: TMI) bought back almost $2 million in warrants, the SPAC revealed, in an effort to curb dilution. And China Fundamental Acquisition Co. (OTC: CFQCF) found a merger partner and might try to extend its deal deadline.

For more on these mergers and other deal votes, please visit www.SPACupdate.com.

In deal generation, organizing around sectors marks a PE firm as a serious player, putting it in regular contact with key people in the industry, increasing the volume and quality of deal flow. In due diligence, sector specialization can speed a firm’s ability to identify good deals and screen out bad ones, and can bring to bear proprietary insights and credibility with the targets’ promoters and managers, giving the firm an edge in competition.

Firms that specialize around sectors begin by identifying high-potential sectors in play, defining them clearly but keeping them broad enough to ensure they will yield a healthy stream of investment opportunities within a reasonable time frame. They select sectors by weighing their ease of entry, size, rate of growth, competitive dynamics, and availability of acquisition targets.

A firm needs to evaluate whether it will be able to genuinely add value in a given sector before pursuing it. It should also assess whether the investment opportunities in each sector suits its deal preferences. For example, many PE firms shy away from acquiring stakes in businesses characterized by fast-changing technology and high cyclicality.

They also mobilize sector teams to gather unbiased information from the field by interviewing customers, suppliers, competitors and creditors who help identify impending shifts in relative market share, earnings volatility, profit pools and other industry-shaping trends. They translate observed sector trends and dynamics into investment themes and flesh out concrete investment theses.

Details: Live Mint