Intuition. Perception. Perfection.

     First, there was the RRexit. And while the markets eventually got down to digesting it, a mere few days later, in what was nothing short of a shocker, there was the Brexit. It was a referendum that jolted Europe and the world, sent the Pound Sterling to a three – decade low and triggered omens of a new recession setting in. And that wasn’t all. The 52 – 48 Brexit result triggered Cameron's Davexit as well.       But as far as exoduses go, they certainly weren’t the first. For, long before the RRexit, Brexit and Davexit crippled the markets, Stexit had been put in play. It was a story that began in 2007 at the peak of the market and could end soon, at its trough. It was a tale that began with a GBP 6.7 billion price tag and will likely end with that of a single coin featuring the visage of Queen Elizabeth II. As far as one Indian company’s British sojourn goes, it might just be all she wrote.      In 2007, as...

     April 10, 2016.       Vivanta by Taj - President, Mumbai.      For once, this blog post will be more of a video and less of a narration. If this quiz was indeed my last quiz representing a bona fide institution (in the interest of full disclosure, the ICSI and Red Scarab Consultants routes will continue to be exploited to their limits), well quite frankly, it couldn't have ended in a better way.      It isn't often that you win a quiz with 53 points, with the runner - up having only 20. While the final round was a true - blue scorcher, the qualifying round or Wild Card was more of a thriller that would have made Sir Alfred Hitchcock proud. Our team sneaked in on the last question and then secured a place in the Mumbai finals with a follow through.      As far as the cliffhanger of the Wild Card round was concerned, it did put my mind at ease, as far as a couple of matters were concerne...

      It is steeped in legend that the great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." And yes, of course I had to begin with a Chinese quote.      Well, this journey of more than a thousand miles began on a lazy Christmas afternoon, even as the world was soaking in the Yuletide spirit. Two movies had reeled past and I needed something to alleviate the boredom that had set in. Preparing for campus placements was one option but seriously, who does that? After all, boasting about your track record, knowing some technical aspects from the domain of finance and backing all that up with some worldly knowledge and happenings from the world of business are essentially the concoction that impresses any interview panel. And of course, prophesying a potential M&A deal or suggesting a promising stock tip ensures that by the time the interview is over, the panel is eating out of your hand and you are, lit...

The Dead Are Alive.             No, this isn’t a hark back to the opening line from ‘Spectre’ and it isn’t a cryptic message leading up to The Undertaker’s impending return at WrestleMania 32. And just for the record, this certainly isn’t a nonsensical tweet, on the lines of those from a certain ‘Yeezy’, who has also, in what can only be termed as acts of blasphemy, insulted both Taylor Swift and Wiz Khalifa. Incidentally, Mr. West has also made public his intention to run for President of the United States of America in 2020. That’s Cray, Dawg.      And now, it’s time to cut to the chase. In late 2008, Lehman Brothers collapsed into bankruptcy after no other American bank was willing to touch it or its toxic assets with a bargepole for a bailout. Its chief, Richard Fuld went on to become America’s most hated man, for having triggered the worst financial crisis that the world had seen, ever since the Great Depres...

Fooled me once, Shame on you; Fooled me twice, Shame on me; Fooled me a third time, And in came SEBI.    When it comes to MNCs listed in India, premium valuations, competent managements, surging earnings and good corporate governance are certain hallmarks that define most of them. Exceptions, however, do dot the map, especially as far as that last criterion goes. And one exception just so happens to go by the name of AstraZeneca. All along, the Anglo – Swedish pharmaceutical giant has been more or less a dwarf in the Indian market, with only a small part of its vast drug portfolio being sold in the country. Seeing little purpose in being listed on the Indian markets and in the light of increasingly complex disclosure requirements mandated by SEBI, the company decided to delist in 2004. In its first delisting offer, or the reverse book – built offer, AstraZeneca offered a floor price of Rs. 825 / share, in order to go ahead with its delisting. Its Indian sha...