India’s Trade deficit in July 2008 hit an all-time high of US$10.8bn. In the first four months of FY09, the deficit swelled to US$41bn, in contrast to US$80 bn for the whole of FY08. Of this, oil accounted for US$26bn and non-oil US$15bn. Exports rose 31.2% in July 2008 against YTD growth of 24.6% mainly on account of the weakening rupee helping the exporters. (more…)
Category: Economy, Markets and Macro Views
Research on Indian Economy, Markets and Macro Indicators
GDP Growth Slowest in 3 Years
As anticipated, the Indian GDP growth for Q1-FY09 reversed the trend and hit 7.9%, the slowest since Q3FY-2005. The main factor behind the recent slowdown in real growth has been industry’s poor performance. Services growth, too, registered a noticeable dip. (more…)
DLF + Sobha Downgrade to Sell – Goldman Sachs
In a report released just a while ago, Goldman Sachs [GS] has downgraded DLF and Sobha Developers to a SELL as a way to book profits in the recent rally from trough of July-1st. GS believes that primary property prices and commercial rentals are yet to witness a significant correction. It may only be a matter of time before developers give in and bring prices down as end-users are bound to be affected by the recent monetary policy tightening. (more…)
ICICI Bank Management Wakes Up
The Management of ICICI Bank has finally woken up fulfill customers and shareholders needs. It is now focused on improving its operating efficiency. Here are the details of Management views at a roadshow in Singapore. (more…)
Underweight on Brokerages – Deutsche
Deutsche Bank [DB] is underweight on Indian brokerage stocks [Emkay, Motilal Oswal, Geojit etc] especially Indiainfoline and Edelweiss where they have recommended a SELL. DB compares the premium P/E at which these stocks are quoting to their peers across Asia where they are all trading at discount. This is very different from exchanges, which are also turnover-dependent but trade at market premiums since they are oligopolistic businesses. (more…)
Yo-Yo Markets + Range Bound – Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse expects the Sensex to repeatedly touch both extremes of the 13,000-16,000 band in the next six months. At each extreme, are advised to prepare portfolios for a market move to the other. Some of the key negatives that are factored in – soon to stabilise inflation, a peaking monetary tightening cycle, diminished earnings expectations and stable global commodity prices. (more…)