NIFTY & SENSEX HIGH..BROKERAGE JOBS DOWN.....!!!

40,000 jobs lost as brokerages shut shop despite market surge

MANISHA JHA

522 brokerages, 12,855 sub-brokers down shutters in first half of current fiscal

MUMBAI, NOV. 8:  

The Sensex has been on a high, but not the stock brokerage business.

According to SEBI data, 522 brokerages and 12,855 sub-brokers in the cash segment shut shop in the first six months of this fiscal ended September. That translates into potential job losses for about 40,000 industry hands.Assuming that on average each sub-broker employs two people, the number of jobs lost in just the sub-brokerage business across India would be about 25,710, according to a back-of-the-envelope calculation.

Similarly, assuming that about 5 per cent of the 522 shut brokerages are multiple-branch offices employing an average of 100 people and the remaining 95 per cent are single branch brokerages employing about 20 people each, a total of 12,520 people would have lost their jobs, say industry watchers.Even as this oversupply of laid-off brokers, dealers and analysts floods the job market on the one hand, new job openings in stock brokerage-related jobs, such as analysts and dealers, are down 10 per cent since last year.

As brokerages put their expansion plans and fresh hiring plans on hold, the number of new job openings in the stock market sector has fallen to 362 in October 2013 from 406 in October last year, according to Naukri.com, one of the largest job portals in the country. With the economy passing through a slowdown, brokerages and sub-brokers have been forced to shut shop due to low market volumes, rising costs, squeezed margins and cut-throat competition.Recently, HSBC announced the closure of its retail broking division. Three-hundred jobs disappeared. This was followed by India Infoline, which has begun scaling down its retail business. The company, however, declined to provide details on the number of jobs that will be affected.

Rajiv Parmar, 28, who was once employed as a sub-broker in Mumbai’s upmarket Nariman Point, now sells suitcases and bags while some of his colleagues have joined call-centres or have taken up other sales jobs.“I thought selling suitcases was better than sitting at home and doing nothing, though I miss the thrill and charm of the stock market. My friends in other brokerages, which have downsized, are no better off as they are being made to double up as dealer-cum-relationship managers now for the same salary,” he rued.

HR managers in top brokerages maintained a cautiously optimistic outlook and said that hiring hinges on economic policy certainty and a stable government after the elections, besides a sustained rally in the equity markets based on improvement in fundamentals.

“Markets have just started picking up and we are waiting for it to stabilise before re-starting any fresh hiring,” said Jaya Jacob Alexander, HR Chief, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.

manisha.jha@thehindu.co.in

(This article was published on November 8, 2013)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/40000-jobs-lost-as-brokerages-shut-shop-despite-market-surge/article5330493.ece

Are retail investors making a mistake?.........

Yogini Joglekar & Clifford Alvares  |  Mumbai  

November 3, 2013 Last Updated at 23:18 IST

Are retail investors making a mistake?
Exit from equities if your investment was goal-linked or if you urgently need cash. Else, stay; rebalance your portfolio by picking attractively valued and some better-performing stocks
At a time when the stock market is scaling new peaks, the small investor has been staying away. Brokers are shutting their retail broking divisions and many retail investors are closing their mutual fund (MF) folios.
Retail investors' equity MF assets have dropped 30 per cent in the past three years, while nearly a fourth of MF portfolios were closed last year, shows data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India. HSBC Direct and India Infoline are shutting their retail broking division.
Whatever happened to the retail investor? Why are stock and equity-fund investors shying away from the market, instead of staying and seeing their portfolios grow?
Experts say it's a case of once bitten, twice shy. Over the past few years since the Lehman crisis, many stocks were hit badly, especially infrastructure and old economy stocks, where small investors were largely invested.
Investors are losing faith in equities, because the markets haven't really gone anywhere for last three to four years. Volatility in the market coupled with instability in the rupee acted like a double whammy.
Hence, many investors simply decided to move out not only MS but stocks as well.
Samiksha and Lavish are among such investors. Samiksha Mishra, 35, started pulling out of stocks from 2011 and sold a third of her holdings after they began to regain lost value. Her portfolio was down 80 per cent after the financial crisis, as much of it was in infrastructure and other capital-intensive businesses. Now, as these are beginning to rise again, Mishra is taking the opportunity to exit stocks, altogether. "I decided to slowly start exiting from all my equity holdings. I can't take losses and so have decided to preserve my portfolio and have shifted most it into fixed deposits," she says. She has made decent profits and hence decided to exit at this point in time.Lavish Khosla, 29, has moved out of equities. Investing for eight years, he says his portfolio barely made a 11 per cent return over the years. "I have barely made any money in these years. Had I been in other investments such as fixed income, I would have made a lot more."Most retail investors are in a similar predicament, pondering whether to stay in equities or switch to fixed income products. Equity returns have been erratic these past few years and the recent rally is concentrated in a few segments such as information technology (IT) and pharmaceuticals. Data crunched by BS Research shows nearly 80 per cent of the stocks are still trading below their 2008 peaks. Only 562 of 2,500 stocks are above their highs.Despite the rally, small investors who bought in the heady days of the 2008 boom have not broken even on their investments, forget making a profit. Experts say as these losses are still on their books and on their minds, despite the fact that markets are near their all-time highs, many investors are wanting out. "Investors are moving out because they are sitting on losses and they have a difficulty in accepting further losses. If one finds underperforming stocks in their portfolio, they should check what went wrong with these and if required move to better performing stocks," says Debashish Mallick, chief executive at IDBI MF.It's typical of equity investors to often hold on to losing positions for too long or sit on cash that should be invested in good quality stocks. That's because losses hurt and investors are not used to seeing red in their portfolio. So, at the slightest sign of green in their portfolio, investors begin to exit equities. But they'd do well to remember that stock markets move in cycles and because of this, different industries tend to do well at different points in time. If infrastructure is doing well due to very low interest rates in 2008, IT and pharma are doing well now as a lower rupee improves their bottom line. So, how can retail investors get their mojo back?Stop chasing relative short-term returns: Most investors are moving out of equity into debt products as interest rates have risen, say market watchers. While the nearly nine per cent tax-free return does sound attractive when equities were beaten down, investors must remember that equities are also tax-free if held for over a year.Keeping a long-term horizon: Experts say while investing in equities, make sure you keep a long-term horizon. When one invests in fixed income products, there are lock-in periods or we typically know when the product will mature and be ready for withdrawal. Since equity stocks can be held for years together, there is no exact time when you know you want to exit from it. However, if investment is linked to a particular goal (e.g child's education/marriage, retirement, etc), one should exit when nearing that goal. Hence, make sure you have a horizon long enough to give your investments time to grow.Not exiting equities abruptly: "One is always surrounded with news, whether good or bad. Keeping a track of your stock and news related to your stock is a very good habit. However, one should learn to analyse a situation and not panic if there are negative sentiments in the market. And, most important, not panic and exit from your investments abruptly," says Rajesh Saluja, managing director and chief executive officer, ASK Wealth Advisors.Rebalancing portfolio regularly: It's very important to keep checking your portfolio on a regular basis. One cannot invest in a set of stocks and revisit these only at the time of wishing to sell. The process of rebalancing helps you return your portfolio to its target asset allocation as outlined in your investment plan. It can be tedious because you will be forced to sell some underperforming stocks and replace these with stocks which would have attractive valuation at that point. You would have to study stocks' past performance to get a clearer sense.Not expecting unrealistic returns: While there is nothing wrong in expecting your portfolio to return well, one should know what kind of returns one's stocks can give, based on historical data. Experts say in volatile markets, any returns that beat real inflation and the returns given by fixed deposits should be considered as an investment returned well. Hence, stick to your investment plan and rebalance whenever needed, instead of simply chasing unrealistic returns.Retail investors exit the market either prematurely or enter at the latter stages of a bull run. This exacerbates their losses and reflects a lack of understanding of how markets function. Says Debashish Mallick, chief executive, IDBI MF: "Stocks do move up or down but if you have done your job well, stocks do well over the long run ."Invest regularly: You can invest regularly, rejig your portfolio to the companies that are performing well and keep your sights on the long-term goals. Stocks eventually do well, provided you've done your homework and have invested in the right stocks for the long haul, say experts. Says Apoorva Shah, executive vice-president & fund manager (equity), DSP BlackRock MF: "Investors are making a mistake by exiting at this stage. First, they invest in MFs by looking at one or two-year returns, which is not right. They should look at a longer period to get a better sense."Look for value: Stock valuations are also at their lows. Most banking stocks are available at dividend yields of seven to eight per cent. Dividends are tax-free in the hands of investors. The Sensex is currently trading at a price to earnings (PE) multiple of 18.27 times, whereas in the previous peak of 2008, it was trading at 28.51 times.Besides, historically, it's been seen that equities tend to outperform fixed income in the long run, though they are volatile in the short run. "Markets are set to perform better as earnings have improved after many years of sluggish growth. Hence, one should stay invested and take calculative decisions and not panic in such situations," adds Shah of DSP BlackRock.Invest in parts: Investors should not invest a lump sum all at once. Instead, they should divide their investment corpus in four or five parts and invest gradually over three to six months or longer. This will reduce the volatility in your portfolio, as you can accumulate stocks over a longer period. It can also help reduce your mistakes. The recent past has been anything but pleasant and there will surely be mistakes when investing in stocks. Some of the savviest investors have made plenty of mistakes. "But the bigger mistake some retail investors are making now is by staying out of the market and not allowing their profits to run," adds Saluja of ASK Wealth.http://www.business-standard.com/article/pf/are-retail-investors-making-a-mistake-113110400062_1.html

Niira Radia tapes leaked due to corporate rivalry: Ratan Tata...........!!!!!!!

Niira Radia tapes leaked due to corporate rivalry: Ratan Tata to Supreme Court
PTI | New Delhi | Updated: Oct 26 2013, 08:21 IST
Former Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata today told the Supreme Court that the tapped telephonic conversations between corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and top politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen, including himself, were leaked to the media because of corporate rivalry.
"This order for tapping was passed because of extraneous reasons. If corporate battle had not happend, this would not have come out in public," senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Tata, said adding "I do not have any doubt that the original leak happened because of corporate rivalry".Salve told an apex court bench that Tata Telecommunication itself gets around 10,000 to 15,100 requests from the government every year for interception of calls and questioned the Centre for not finding out who leaked the tapped conversation.
"Tata Telecom itself gets around 10 to 15 thousand requests per year for interception of call. The total number of such requests must be around 60-70 thousand per year for all telecom companies," Salve told the bench headed by Justice G S Singhvi.The bench, also comprising justice V Gopala Gowda, said that "in the instant case, recording was done at the instance of the income tax department and at the same time by some service provider at the risk of losing the licence".
Salve submitted there is no proper mechanism to go through tapped conversations to find out the relevant information and destroy those parts which are private in nature. Salve also raised question on the probe agency saying "the investigating agency used the media, which is a very dangerous trend"."We don't know why it (Radia tape) was leaked and to embarrass whom," he submitted.
"The government should keep the relevant portion (of the tape) with itself but should have destroyed rest of them. It is not allowed to keep the entire tapped conversation. People's right to privacy has to be protected," he said. Salve said the review committee is overloaded and it is not possible for it to go through the entire process for all intercepted calls."There are many like the present one which have not come into light. Who is looking at all these cases? Are we allowing the dynamite to be used at different times by not destroying the tapped conversation which is of no use for the government authorities"? he said.
He pleaded an inquiry be done by the Centre into the leak which is completely of "exculpating nature" and there is inconsistency in the affidavit filed by the government "Government has thrown up its hand. Media and petitioners are not above law. RTI is there and governemnt authority is to decide whether the tapped conversation is to be made public or not. We have now RTI structure to bring transparency," he said while submitting that the tapped conversation be not made public.
"Media has the right to probe public affairs matters and law also protects them to an extent. But publication cannot be done on the basis of mere suspicion. Media must do its own follow-up investigation to prove the authenticity of a gossip before publishing it," he said.Salve said the media's justifying the publication of the transcripts annexed with the petition and affidavits in the apex court cannot be sustained.
The documents placed in the courts cannot be inferred to be in the public domain. "What I challenge is the assertion made by a newsmagazine that if something is placed in the Supreme Court, it is in the public domain and there is a right to publish," the senior advocate said.At this submission the bench also said "who took the stand that since it (transcript) is a part of the Supreme Court record, it is in public domain and can be published"."Do they say they got it from the Supreme Court"? The bench said.Responding to the query, Salve said "nowhere" they said like that.
He also said that though the court has ordered a preliminary inquiry by CBI into certain issues arising out of the tapped conversations, it could turn out to be a conversation making out no case.The conversations were recorded as part of surveillance of Radia's phone on a complaint to the Finance Minister on November 16, 2007 alleging that within a span of nine years she had built up a business empire worth Rs 300 crore.The government had recorded 180 days of Radia's conversations--first from August 20, 2008 for 60 days and then from October 19 for another 60 days. Later, on May 11, 2009, her phone was again put on surveillance for another 60 days following a fresh order given on May 8.

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/niira-radia-tapes-leaked-due-to-corporate-rivalry-ratan-tata-to-supreme-court/1187218/0

CSR to make available 50,000 more jobs in the sector: Experts

By PTI | 13 Oct, 2013, 11.18AM IST
NEW DELHI: Compulsory corporate social responsibility is likely to increase the demand for professionals in this field by as much as 50 per cent in the coming years and the industry is likely to see at least 50,000 more job opportunities in the CSR sector, experts say. 
Around 8,000 companies would fall under the Companies Act's ambit and this in turn would open a host of new job opportunities for individuals looking to work in the social development field. At present, the CSR work of a company is mostly done by corporate communications team but with this law, many firms would have to build a strong team of around five-six people for the purpose. 
According to leading executive search firm GlobalHunt MD Sunil Goel, "the demand for CSR professionals will surge 50-60 per cent and we may have to train fresh hands to fulfil this need of the industry". 
Echoing similar sentiments, DLF Foundation CEO Rajender Singh said, "some of the demand for CSR professionals is likely to be filled with internal placement. However, the industry is likely to see at least 50,000 more job opportunities in the CSR sector".
According to experts, the social sector is already a popular option and has low entry barriers and going forward, a lot of people could explore CSR as a career option. 
"CSR should see a spurt in career opportunities. But the real growth would be in effective CSR management agencies which would require a combination of management and CSR experts," Ashwajit Singh, Chairman and MD, IPE Global, a management consultancy company for development sector, said. 
According to Changeyourboss.com CEO Bhupender Mehta: "Big or small, every company makes efforts towards corporate social responsibility with intention of giving something back to the society and with this law, the number of people exploring CSR as a career option will go up for sure." 

Select companies would have spend two per cent of their average profit over the last three years for CSR. 

This would be applicable to firms having turnover of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or with net worth of Rs 500 crore and above, or entities having net profit of Rs 5 crore and more. 
Experts, however, believe that NGO's may not be the target to build the CSR team, and many institutes such as TISS and XISS have trained talent that can be hired through campus placements for the purpose. 
They say people with experience in projects management in organisations like UNDP can also be invited to join the teams. 
"For the companies who will be honestly getting into this for the first time will not poach employees from NGOs, but may look at some sort of tie-ups to avoid the hassles of making the numbers," Prisma Global Executive Director and COO Amitabh Roy Chowdhury said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/jobs/csr-to-make-available-50000-more-jobs-in-the-sector-experts/articleshow/24082365.cms

Tulip Telecom ...salary dues..????

Tulip Telecom staff intensify protest over salary dues

ADITH CHARLIE

MUMBAI, OCT.10:  

Employees of Tulip Telecom have intensified protests against the company for not paying salaries due for nearly a year.

A section of staffers told Business Line that more than 100 of them have been congregating outside Tulip’s offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.A company spokesperson did not comment on the protests but admitted that it has been facing difficulties in making payments. However, she reiterated that a part of the dues have already been paid.

“Tulip signed the master restructuring agreement under the corporate debt restructuring process a few months back but is still awaiting release of funds. While the company continues to clear part salaries, it expects to clear about two-month salaries after release of bank funds,” the spokesperson said in an email response.Tulip had approached 13 of its lenders during October-December last year for recasting its debt of nearly Rs 3,000 crore. The lenders approved of the package and the company will now have to clear the loans over the next 12 years.

In August, Hardeep Singh Bedi, Chairman and Managing Director, said the company would begin the process of clearing the dues of its 4,500-odd employees. Despite operational troubles, Tulip says it ‘remains committed to its employees and values the employee interests.’Over the last few years, the company has been accumulating short-term debt due to heavy investments in data centres coupled with working capital requirements. However, these investments did not bring in the expected revenues, say analysts.

Tulip had defaulted on redemption of foreign currency convertible bonds worth $140 million due in August last year, apart from delaying salaries. Ultimately, it used proceeds from the sale of its stake in the joint venture with Qualcomm to repay this debt.

(This article was published on October 10, 2013)

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/tulip-telecom-staff-intensify-protest-over-salary-dues/article5222000.ece