JM Financial MF declares dividend for JM-QIF-6

JM Financial MF declares dividend for JM-QIF-6

JM Financial Mutual Fund has declared dividend under JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 6 (JM-QIF-6) dividend option. The record date for the same is fixed as February 23, 2009. The fund house has decided to distribute realized appreciation in the NAV of the plan/option till the record date as dividend (inclusive of dividend distribution tax) in both regular as well as institutional plan under the scheme. The scheme as on February 17, 2009 recorded a NAV of Rs 10.1175 per unit in regular plan and Rs 10.1209 per unit under institutional plan. JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 6 is a debt oriented interval fund with an objective to seek to generate predictable returns by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plans.

JM Financial MF declares dividend for JM-QIF-5

JM Financial Mutual Fund has declared dividend under JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 5 (JM-QIF-5) dividend option. The record date for the same was fixed as February 23, 2009. The fund house has decided to distribute the realized appreciation in the NAV of the plan/option till the record date as dividend (inclusive of dividend distribution tax) in both regular as well as the institutional plan under the scheme. The scheme as on February 17, 2009 recorded a NAV of Rs 10.1174 per unit in regular plan and Rs 10.1208 per unit under institutional plan. JM Interval Fund-Quarterly Plan 5 is a debt oriented interval fund with an investment objective to seek to generate predictable returns over a predetermined period by investing in a portfolio of fixed income securities normally maturing in line with the time profile of the respective plans.

HDFC MF declares dividend in HDFC FMP 90D November 2008 (3)

HDFC Mutual Fund has announced dividend under the dividend option of retail as well as wholesale plan of HDFC FMP 90D November 2008 (3), which is a fixed maturity plan under HDFC Fixed Maturity Plans-Series X. The record date of the same is February 24, 2009. The fund house has decided to distribute 100% of distributable surplus as on the record date. The scheme as on February 17, 2009 recorded a NAV of Rs 10.2117 per unit under the retail plan and Rs 10.2145 per unit under wholesale plan. The objective of the scheme is to generate regular income through investments in debt/money market instruments as well as government securities.

SBI MF declares dividend for 90 days debt fund

SBI Mutual Fund has declared dividend under dividend option of SBI Debt Fund Series-90 days -32. The record date for the same is February 24, 2009. The quantum of dividend will be 100% of the distributable surplus of the scheme as on the record date on the face value of Rs 10 per unit. The NAV under the scheme as on February 11, 2009 was at Rs 10.1953 per unit.

SBI Debt Fund Series-90 days -32 is a close-ended debt scheme with an investment objective to provide regular income as well as the liquidity and returns to the investors through investments in a portfolio comprising debt instruments and money market instruments.

Mutual funds' selling slows down

On 18 February 2009, mutual funds (MFs) sold shares worth a net Rs 107.40 crore, much lower than Rs 483.40 crore on 17 February 2009. MFs' net outflow of Rs 107.40 crore on 18 February 2009 was a result of gross purchases Rs 240.30 crore and gross sales Rs 347.70 crore. The BSE Sensex lost 19.82 points or 0.22%, to 9,015.18 on 17 February. MFs were net seller of shares worth Rs 1582.50 crore in this month, till 18 February 2009.

Corporate governance may weigh more in future IPO grading

There are expectations that in coming time rating agencies will consider corporate governance as a key aspect of grading in initial public offers (IPO). According to rating agencies official, importance to corporate governance is increasing as a parameter in IPO grading for assigning a higher weightage. This is mainly due to potential investors, especially retail, in an IPO have very little information about the company's or its promoter's background and track-record.

Corporate governance issue came in limelight especially after the accounting scandal in Satyam and charges of irregularities in Maytas Infra, which was listed during the peak of the bull run.

In a study of 29 IPOs by CRISIL graded by the ratings agency since May 2007, corporate governance structures were found to be 'weak' in close to 50% of the companies evaluated.

Head-equities, CRISIL Research, Chetan Majithia said in a statement, "While not the sole determining factor, the quality of corporate governance as assessed by CRISIL may significantly influence the CRISIL IPO grade, beyond what the company's business prospects and financials may suggest,". source: livemint.com

Government is planning divestment in five PSUs

Government is planning divestment in five PSUs through Initial Public Offers. Rahul Khullar, disinvestment secretary, said a decision to launch the IPOs will be taken by the new government in May-June, while all preparations have been made. Last year the government had approved dozen-odd PSUs to go public and all of them had initiated steps to disinvest.

The PSUs had started early in 2008-09 to launch their public issues. However, by the time they were to launch the issue, the market had already tanked, Khullar added.

On 16th February 2009, government also said that oil bonds would not be issued during the next financial year and whole amount of subsidy of Rs 95,579 crore estimated under various heads and would be paid in cash. Ashok Chawla, economic affairs secretary, ruled out oil bonds, based on oil ministry estimation that oil marketing companies would not suffer losses on motor fuels even if international crude prices average $70 a barrel during 2009-10. source: livemint.com

Gold continues upward march in early trade

Mumbai, Feb 20 (PTI) Gold prices continued their upward march in early trade on the bullion market here today and rallied further to an all-time high of Rs 15,570 on safe-haven buying due to fall in equity markets even as gold declined marginally in the overseas market.
However, silver eased on lack of demand at higher levels.

Uncertainty in equity shares and worsening worldwide recession boosted gold prices as investors preferred to park their funds in this metal as a risk free, a dealer said.

Gold futures ended slightly lower on Thursday in New York, holding firm near USD 980 an ounce as investors adjusted their positions after the metal ended a seven-month high in the last session.

Gold for February delivery ended down by USD 1.60 an ounce to USD 976.10 on the Comex Division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver for March delivery lost to USD 13.935 an ounce.

Turning to the local market, standard gold (99.5 purity) rallied by Rs 80 per ten grams to resume at Rs 15,570 from Wednesday's closing level of Rs 15,490.

Pure gold (99.9 purity) also rose to Rs 15,635 from Rs 15,560.

However, silver ready (.999 fineness) eased by Rs 50 per kilo to Rs 23,040 from Rs 23,090. PTI

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Jazz legend Herbie Hancock to perform with A R Rahman

New Delhi, Feb 18 (PTI) Jazz pianist Herbie Hancock who "absolutely loves" the music of the Oscar-nominated film "Slumdog Millionaire' is now readying to perform with composer A R Rahman in Chennai later this month.
Hancock who is part of the official US delegation accompanying Martin Luther King III on a 11-day tour of India would perform on a special composition by Rahman the theme of non violence.

"I absolutely loved the music of Slumdog. It combines the influence of several cultures," Hancock said referring to the British Danny Boyle rags-to riches film with music by A R Rahman which is in the running for multiple Oscars this year.

Alhough the Chicago-based piano legend has not seen the film he said he is looking forward to performing with Rahman in Chennai scheduled on February 24.

Hancock, accompanied by vocalist-actor Dee Dee Bridgewaters and diva singer Chaka Khan and keyboard player George Duke on his India tour said, "The spirit of music is firebrand and amazing. More and more artists and musicians are now crossing invisible boundaries of countries and continents and becoming cultural ambassadors." The 12-time Grammy winner who was greeted with resounding applause after his performance of the "Living Dream" concert in the capital said, "We are here to celebrate peace and music is all about bringing people together." PTI

VOIP - New challenge to cyber cops

Anurag Sharma
New Delhi, Feb 19 (PTI) Terrorists relying on newer technologies like proxy internet servers and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) as indicated by Pakistan's probe into the recent Mumbai attacks pose a new challenge to police investigations, feel cyber experts.

"There is so much data communication on the internet at all times that it is very difficult to detect VOIP that is malicious in nature. Even if it is detected, decoding the communication, tracing the locations of the terrorists, monitoring them, etc, is very difficult," says Ankit Fadia, a cyber security expert.

VOIP software usually encrypts or encodes the communication, hence making it very difficult for police to decode intercepted calls.

"Most VOIP software companies like Skype or Google Talk are based outside India. This is a further hindrance to investigation, since it takes a long time to get response from these companies abroad," says Fadia, winner of Indo-American young achiever award.

Cyberlaw experts say there are many loopholes that makes it difficult to keep track of terror transactions.

"At the time when different countries have come up with distinct legislation they have an impact of Cyber Terrorism, having a single provision on Cyber Terrorism, is not likely to help India in the long run," says Pavan Duggal, a cyber law expert. PTI

I was fascinated by the conspiracy in Valkyrie: Cruise

Los Angeles, Feb 20 (PTI) Actor Tom Cruise, who plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg in Nazi drama "Valkyrie" says he was fascinated with the plot of the film that revolves around a true life incident.
The film is based on a real-life story about Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, who had plotted to kill Hitler and end the Nazi government's rule.

"I was fascinated by the conspiracy. It was dynamic and suspenseful from the opening to the end. Then finding out it was based on a true story it's even more mind-blowing. That combination made it very interesting for me," the 'Mission Impossible' star said in a statement issued here.

The film is releasing in India today.

The actor said he always wanted to work with director Bryan Singer.

"Bryan is someone I've always wanted to work with. I think he's an extraordinary filmmaker. Bryan is someone who even as a kid was making World War II movies," he said.

"He had an obvious fascination with this time period, and with that kind of interest and dedication you could feel all of us (cast and crew of 'Valkyrie') coming together and saying, 'Okay, let's make this'". PTI

Valkyrie is not a documentary: director

Los Angeles, Feb 20 (PTI) Director Bryan Singer has denied that his Nazi war drama "Valkyrie" starring actor Tom Cruise is a documentary.
"We weren't making a documentary. The important thing was getting the truth of the story across in the most engaging way," said Singer.

The director of Academy award winning film "The Usual Suspects" wanted to depict the determination of the German officers.

"When the film begins, you're transported to this world of German soldiers in the mid-1940s, and the thing that draws you into that world are the characters these proud military men who saw that they had a monstrous leader and felt they had to get rid of him," he said.

Singer first gained widespread attention in 1995 with the mystery thriller 'The Usual Suspects', which won two Academy Awards followed it with three blockbusters 'X-Men', its sequel 'X-Men 2' and 'Superman Returns'.

The director was so fascinated with the story that he began doing his own research, reading extensively about every aspect of life during the Third Reich.

He also met with a number of people who could give him an inside perspective. PTI

UNSC reform: India presses for 'actual negotiations'

Dharam Shourie
United Nations, Feb 20 (PTI) Pressing for "actual negotiations" on the issue of UN Security Council expansion, India has asked the General Assembly for discussions to be held in an interactive format, as representatives of the world body met here to launch parleys on reforms.

"We have to have actual negotiations and not waste time on yet another round of set statements," Indian UN Ambassador Nirupam Sen told an informal meeting of the 192-member UN General Assembly, called to discuss the timetable for talks to formally begin in March.

Referring to the format followed by Open-Ended Working Group (OEWG) on UNSC reforms which has been hearing statements for 15 years, Sen said the process has made no real progress.

The member States have decided to move to inter- governmental negotiations, virtually rejecting the suggestion of Uniting for Consensus (UFC) led by Pakistan which wanted OEWG to continue the discussions.

Sen said the minority that does not want real progress looks forward to wasting March and April simply making statements and turning the assembly into OEWG.

"We cannot accept this," he said.

Speaking at the informal meeting ahead of the inter- governmental negotiations, Sen, without naming the UFC, criticized the "minority" for continuing efforts to ensure that "history does not turn." PTI