Chronicle

Berkshire - on Management

2011-03-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

From Yr 2010 Results Review - http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/2010ltr.pdf
Partially offsetting our anchor of size are several important advantages we have. First, we possess a cadre of truly skilled managers who have an unusual commitment to their own operations and to Berkshire.
Many of our CEOs are independently wealthy and work only because they love what they do. They are volunteers, not mercenaries. Because no one can offer them a job they would enjoy more, they can’t be lured away.
At Berkshire, managers can focus on running their businesses: They are not subjected to meetings at headquarters nor financing worries nor Wall Street harassment. They simply get a letter from me every two years (it’s reproduced on pages 104-105) and call me when they wish. And their wishes do differ: There are managers to whom I have not talked in the last year, while there is one with whom I talk almost daily. Our trust is in people rather than process. A “hire well, manage little” code suits both them and me.
Berkshire’s CEOs come in many forms. Some have MBAs; others never finished college. Some use budgets and are by-the-book types; others operate by the seat of their pants. Our team resembles a baseball squad composed of all-stars having vastly different batting styles. Changes in our line-up are seldom required.

Availability has to be 99.999

2011-01-13T17:55:00.000-08:00

Wow... http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09digi.html?_r=1

Planning retirement in forties

2010-03-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

I read this article in business line. i liked it. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2010/02/07/stories/2010020751171300.htm

Steve Souders: "High Performance Web Sites: 14 Rules for Faster Pages"

2009-12-17T19:15:00.000-08:00

Steve Souders: "High Performance Web Sites: 14 Rules for Faster Pages" @ Yahoo! Video

performance of website

2009-12-17T19:04:00.001-08:00

http://yuiblog.com/blog/2006/11/28/performance-research-part-1/

Fast Website

2009-12-17T18:53:00.000-08:00

Nicole Sullivan: "Design Fast Websites" @ Yahoo! Video

Rupee appreciation has hurt the real economy - Rahul Bajaj - ET

2007-12-16T20:05:00.000-08:00

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/View_Point/Rupee_appreciation_has_hurt_the_real_economy/articleshow/2626837.cms
I read this article today and I seem to think, that Rupee is over valued because of capital inflows into the stock market. I had read atleast couple of articles in the same regard. Is it a good time to buy S/W stocks .... ?

SME Tool Kit India

2007-08-08T23:02:00.000-07:00

I stumbled across this site today...seems interesting...need to go thru it. This site is provides information on Starting up new businesses. http://india.smetoolkit.org/india/en/

Credit Scores in India ?

2007-08-08T22:31:00.000-07:00

Credit Scores in India coming soon. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/08/09/stories/2007080951890600.htm

Understanding monetary policy

2007-07-30T01:02:00.001-07:00

Macro Economic Policies affect the Markets to a large extent. Hence it is important to understand the policies. Here is an article which provides a bird's eye view of Macro Economic policies and the tools available for RBI to direct the economy. Understanding monetary policy http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/mentor/2007/07/30/stories/2007073050331200.htm

Dynamics of the rising rupee - Well Written aricle on Currencies

2007-06-25T21:31:00.001-07:00

After a long time I am posting again. Dynamics of the rising rupee This is well written article on the various types of currencies and also explains in simple terms why the RS has appreciated so much and How RBI intervenes.

Ram Charan

2007-04-24T21:37:00.000-07:00


How can you be dedicated like Ram Charan. I am amazed. 

Read the article. It is very inspiring.

The strange existence of Ram Charan by David Whitford, Fortune writer

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405482/index.htm?postversion=2007042409

Little History of Coimbatore

2007-04-05T01:41:00.000-07:00

http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2102/stories/20040130004511000.htm

Efficient Markets; Advantages of ETFs and Competition

2007-04-04T17:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/04/04/stories/2007040405340600.htm
I like this article, because it talk about Efficient Markets. In a developing market like BSE or NSE actively managed funds would perform better in short to medium term.
And also it talks about the advantages of ETFs, which are
ETFs are cheaper than index funds.
ETFs do not offer entry and exit
ETFs do not incur the cost of day-to-day liquidity management
Another important point to note is Competition reduces returns....as more and more people/instutional investors come in to the market, it will become hard to find value stocks.

Investment outlook for 2007 by HSBC Investments

2007-02-11T17:11:00.000-08:00

Check out the investment outlook for 2007 by HSBC Investments. They predict the $ to go down against the Asian currencies. Which i think makes sense when you consider $ 800 billion deficit in US. http://www.hsbcinvestments.co.in/amin/media/pdf/downloads/ii_january07.pdf

China's Growth is going to slowdown - For Good reasons

2007-01-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

This articles gives you an insight about China's economic growth.
Few things to note here is
1. Commodity prices are going to go down
2. Yuan is going to appreciate
Other thing is how inefficient is China's growth.
http://www.economist.com/daily/news/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8406955&top_story=1

Did you know, Namakkal is an Export hub for EGGS

2007-01-20T18:25:00.000-08:00

UAE imports alone account for a daily shipment of about 10 lakh eggs, 35 per cent of them from Namakkal. I am suprised to hear this...but that is just my ignorance. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2007/01/21/stories/2007012100110400.htm

Who will Rule the Mobile world in India

2007-01-16T18:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8523678

Do you want to know what Mr Ratan Tata Thinks ?

2007-01-16T17:52:00.000-08:00

Here is any article about Mr Tata. http://www.economist.com/business/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8516356

Stock Splits

2007-01-15T05:01:00.000-08:00

Buying a stock before a stock split seems to yield gains in most cases.Here is an article from Business line on the stock splits. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/iw/2005/05/08/stories/2005050800720600.htm What is a stock split ? The measure, which brings down the unit market value of shares, making them more affordable to a larger community of investors

How easy it is to make the mistake in this game

2007-01-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

How easy it is to make the mistake in this game ? Dr Reddy has issued bonus shares that is why it attractive...

NIFTY PE Ratio

2007-01-01T20:27:00.000-08:00

Here is PE Ratio of all the NIFTY Stocks

Based on the PE Ratio, DR Reddy looks very attractive.

30 Books That Can Make You a Better Leader - Claims CIO

2006-11-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

Here is another list. Will I be able to get it to these ? http://www.cio.com/archive/111506/tl_readlist.html I dont want to loose the list incase if this link does not work...so here it is. 2007 RLF Reading List 1 Adler: How to Read a Book 2 Boyatzis & McKee: Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting with Others through Mindfulness, Hope and Compassion 3 Kotter: Heart of Change 4 Bridges: Managing Transitions 5 Buckingham: First Break all the Rules 6 Dotlich, Noel and Walker: Leadership Passages 7 Conger: Winning ‘Em Over 8 DePree: Leadership is an Art 9 Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning 10 Friedman: The World is Flat 11 George: Authentic Leadership 12 Ghandi: the video 13 Goleman: Working with Emotional Intelligence 14 Hammerschlag: The Theft of the Spirit 15 Jamison: Nibble Theory 16 Katzenbach: The Wisdom of Teams 17 Lencioni: Death by Meeting: A Leadership Problem about Solving the most Painful Problem in Business 18 Machiavelli: The Prince 19 Mackenzie: Orbiting the Giant Hairball 20 Marquardt: Leading with Questions: How Leaders Find the Right Solutions by Knowing What to Ask 21 O’Toole: Creating the Good Life 22 Patterson: Crucial Conversations 23 Rousseau & Cranston: The Social Contract 24 Shafir: The Zen of Listening 25 Jaworski: Synchronicity 26 Useem: Leadership Moment 27 Wallis: Two Old Women 28 Whyte: The Heart Aroused 29 Ishiguro: Never Let Me Go 30 Michalko: Thinkertoys

Product Vs Service

2006-11-24T12:00:00.000-08:00

Excerpts from Bangalore Tiger – A McGraw-Hill book on Wipro by Steve Hamm. ----- “When technology is at a stage where the need in the market is greater than the technology can deliver, the product innovator has the advantage,” Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys, told me during an outdoor dinner last summer in Bangalore. “But now, the tech industry has overshot corporations’ ability to absorb technology, so the balance of power shifts from product innovation to those who distribute, like Dell and Google, and those, like the Indian companies, that integrate technologies and make them work in companies.” ---- It is pretty true isnt it. For all those people who think Indian companies will lose out because they are not product oriented...here is the reality. Chapter 1 is here.

Overheated Indian Economy

2006-11-23T19:49:00.000-08:00

Too hot to handle This article makes a comparision between Indian and Chinese Economy

Trading vs Gambling

2006-09-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Trading vs Gambling - Business Line Many people think trading and gambling are one and the same. In this article the author clearly explains the difference between trading and gambling. Key thing is, you dont rely just on luck, instead you rely on your ability to understand and foresee price change of the underlying instrutment.

Dredging Corp

2006-09-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Dredging Corp: I have been following this stock for a while now. It is public sector company, which consistently provides dividend. But the earning have been down or the same for the past one or two years. Looked up in IDBI earnings have reduced drastically from 60 rs to 40 rs per share. Book value is around rs 308. I dont really see any stories about the company. Today I saw the price of this stock shoot up 12 % to 568.95. Here is the clip. This is because the company was awarded a contract by Indian gov to clean up some port in south india. Infact I was looking at the website yesterday and it was horrible. I couldnt find the annual reports of 2005-2006. I dont have a similar company to compare for relative valuation. Assuming 10% increase in profit every year till 2010 the current price should be 550 ( 308 + 40 + 44 + 48.4 + 52. + 57 ) Assuming 15% increase in profit every year till 2010 the current price should be 577 (308 + 40 + 46 + 52 + 60 + 69) Looks like the company is attractively valued now. I think it is wise to sell the stock now.

Tata Water ?

2006-08-24T19:24:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5279412.stm Tata Tea Should this be in my portfolio I couldnt find an article where it was mentioned that Tata is planning on getting into Water Supply and Seweage . Is it a good thing or bad thing ? Good thing with respect to quality of service and bad in terms of how it will affect poor.

An article to read

2006-08-22T19:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7796825 Very Insight full article...

Rich become Richer

2006-08-22T19:50:00.000-07:00

http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7796943 what does this article say ...even if u r a fund manager u will be working for some rich asshole. look @ other thing... the new rich r from india & china... there are ton of people in india who can be considered as high net worth individuals... ( ppl with more than 4.5 cores) that is why i am going to go to india... yem....ha ha ha

Nuclear Deal American Double Standard

2006-07-21T06:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=7193934 You could see from this article, American Double Standard

Reading List

2006-07-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

If you are looking to invest you should be ready to read a lot. You might be asking where to start. Please read this article The Ultimate Investment Reading List This article provides the list of books you could read. Article is very informative ...Read the article before you pick one form the list. Here is the list from the above article.

A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel
Stocks for the Long Run by Jeremy Siegel
Analysis for Financial Management, by Robert Higgins
The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing
Why Smart People Make Dumb Money Mistakes by Gary Belsky and Thomas Gilovich
Making of an American Capitalist by Roger Lowenstein
The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham
Beating the Street by Peter Lynch
You Can Be a Stock Market Genius by Joel Greenblatt
Money Masters of Our Time by John Train
The Aggressive Conservative Investor by Marty Whitman
Contrarian Investment Strategies by David Dreman
Poor Charlie's Almanack by Janet Lowe
A Short History of Financial Euphoria by John Kenneth Galbraith
Devil Take the Hindmost by Edward Chancellor
The House of Morgan by Ron Chernow
Capital Ideas by Peter Bernstein
Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
When Genius Failed by Roger Lowenstein
The Smartest Guys in the Room by Bethany McLean
Conspiracy of Fools by Kurt Eichenwald
Influence by Robert Cialdini
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes
Fooled by Randomness, by Nassim Taleb
Value Investing by Bruce Greenwald
Competitive Strategy by Michael Porter

Good article on Technial Analysis

2006-07-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

http://biz.yahoo.com/ibd/060711/corner.html Important point to note here is In a bull market, the ideal buy point is likely to occur within 15% or less of the stock's 52-week high.

Objective

2006-07-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

To keep track what i am reading. Links to the articles that I find interesting and my thoughts on the same. that is it for now.