Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Meet Divya Narendra, who has taken on Facebook


Divya Narendra, left, along with two other former Harvard students, has sued Facebook, the fast-growing social networking site.

The three men allege Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took the software code and a business plan from them.

Narendra, a 25-year-old Boston-based hedge fund analyst, will let his lawyer argue the case in the courtroom, but wants to speak about how he and his friends, the identical twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss thought up a social site for students called ConnectU four years ago and how they sought to protect members from those pretending to be students.

If the trio has its way they would like to shut down Facebook or at least get hefty compensation.

Last year, Facebook turned down a $1 billion offer from Yahoo Inc. Some Internet experts believe the network is worth much more than $1 billion.

In court filings, Facebook's attorneys say ConnectU has no evidence for 'broad-brush allegations' against Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of the site, and deny he stole the idea for Facebook from his fellow Harvard students.

Monday, September 17, 2007

Live: Market voices

Tuesday, 18 September

12:16 PM - The market is trading flat. The Sensex is at 15,499, down 5 points from the previous close. The Nifty is below the 4500 mark, at 4493, down 2 points. But the BSE Smallcap index has held on to its gains and has gained over 1%. The BSE Midcap index is also 0.6% up. Buying interest is seen in capital goods and banking stocks, while profits are being booked in almost all other sectors. Market breadth is positive with 732 advances against 408 declines on the NSE.

12:16 PM - The market is trading flat. The Sensex is at 15,499, down 5 points from the previous close. The Nifty is below the 4500 mark, at 4493, down 2 points. But the BSE Smallcap index has held on to its gains and has gained over 1%. The BSE Midcap index is also 0.6% up. Buying interest is seen in capital goods and banking stocks, while profits are being booked in almost all other sectors. Market breadth is positive with 732 advances against 408 declines on the NSE.

11:59 AM - Manali Petro has support at Rs 13.50, says Rahul Mohindar, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. The stock has the potential to go to Rs 18-18.50, and one can keep stoploss of Rs 13.50, he adds.

11:51 AM - The worst is over for Balrampur Chini, says Hormuz Maloo, technical analyst with Geojit Financial Services, on NDTV Profit. The stock will start moving up, but it will take some time. He recommends buying the stock at current levels and holding it for medium to long term to profit from it.

11:46 AM - Bharti Airtel is a growth story, says Rajesh Tambe, Head-Research, Sunchan Securities, on NDTV Profit. Its operating margins stand at 42-45%, which is excellent, recommending buying the stock on dips.

11:33 AM - Reliance Infrastructure has seen a big uprise recently, but there is still more headroom in the longer term, says Rahul Mohindar, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. It has a large resistance at Rs 780-790, but once it crosses this, it can go up to Rs 860. But he does not recommend buying the stock at current levels; buy it on sizeable corrections.

11:30 AM - Vikas Sethi, MD of Sethi FinMart believes the Dish TV stock has significant growth opportunities in the future. A Zee-group company, it has subscriber base of 2.1 million for now, which is expected to grow year-on-year, for the next five years. Therefore, the stock can appreciate over 50-60% in the next one year, he says on CNBC-TV18.

11:20 AM - The market is looking for crucial triggers, says Rahul Mohindar, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. Unless the Nifty breaks 4430 levels, the market is safe, he says. But overall, he is positive and recommends holding on to Nifty longs.

11:11 AM - The market is trading nervously, just few hours ahead of the Fed decision. BSE's Sensex is trading at 15,532, up 28 points from the previous close. NSE's Nifty is trading at 4498, up 4 points. Capital goods, banking and metal stocks are witnessing buying, whereas consumer durables and realty stocks are under selling pressure. The top gainers on Sensex include ICICI Bank, BHEL and Reliance Energy. Biggest losers on the index were HDFC, HDFC Bank, Cipla and ITC.

10:58 AM - In the pharma space, counters like Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Cipla, Wockhardt look good, says expert Ashish Kukreja, on Zee Business. These companies have taken steps for establishing global presence and have made acquisitons, etc and are into contract manufacturing, which is pretty profitable, he says. A good percentage of Dr Reddy's Labs business is from contract manufacturing, and therefore, he recommends buying the stock on dips.

10:37 AM - In hotels, one should go for companies that have got new projects going on stream, says Dpian Mehta, Member of BSE/NSE, on NDTV Profit. He recommends East Indian Hotels, Kamat Hotels and Royal Orchid.

10:32 AM - For the next few days, one can go long on the Nifty, but buy 'put' option as well to limit the downside in case anything goes wrong, suggests Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking, on Zee Business.

10:29 AM - Sugar companies are expected to report disappointing results during the next 12 months, says PN Vijay, Investment Advisor, on CNBC-TV18. But, for someone who has a long term view, he recommends taking advantage of the business cycle.

10:25 AM - Dipan Mehta, Member of the BSE/NSE is positive about Suzlon. A lot of expansion plans of the company have already gone on stream. Therefore, the company is expected to come out with excellent results, which will drive the stocks in medium to long term, he says on NDTV Profit. Mehta also recommends Asian Electronics and ICSA India.

10:18 AM - HDIL has support at Rs 560 and resisitance at Rs 635, says Ashwani Gujral, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. If the stock can move above Rs 635, then it can go to Rs 785, he adds.

10:14 AM - The market is going to remain cautious and rangebound ahead of the Fed meet today, says an expert on Zee Business. The Nifty may trade between 4400 and 4550.

10:09 AM - Technical analyst Ashu Kakkar recommends selling ICICI Bank at Rs 895, with a stoploss of Rs 900 and price target of Rs 882, on Zee Business.

10:04 AM - Hindustan Motors has support at Rs 30 and resistance at Rs 44, says Ashwani Gujral, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18. If the stock does cross Rs 44, then it can go up to Rs 50, he adds.

10:01 AM - The market is expected to remain subdued throughout the day today, and could move 30-40 points in either directions, says Ambareesh Baliga of Karvy Stock Broking on Zee Business.

10:00 AM - The market opened on the negative side on Tuesday. But within minutes of opening, the Sensex climbed 20 points to trade at 15,525. The Nifty is just above the 4500 level, at 4502, up 8 points from the previous close. Market breadth is positive with 482 advances against 200 declines on the NSE.

9:55 AM - If Reliance Infrastructure can go above Rs 620, then it can touch previous highs again, says Ashwani Gujral, technical analyst, on CNBC-TV18.

9:52 AM - Technical analyst Hemen Kapadia recommends buying Wockhardt at Rs 401, with a stoploss of Rs 398 and price target of 407, on Zee Business.

9:42 AM - India Cements and Ambuja Cements stocks are expected to perform well today due to the announcement of the price hike of Rs 3 per bag in the western region, says Salil Sharma of Kapur Sharma & Company, on NDTV Profit.

9:33 AM - Technical analyst Ashu Kakkar recommends selling Tata Consultancy Services at Rs 997, with a stoploss of Rs 1003 and target price of Rs 975, on Zee Business.

Who should be the next India captain?

The national cricket selectors will meet in Mumbai on Tuesday to choose a new Indian captain following Rahul Dravid's [Images] surprise resignation. Speculation is rife that Sachin Tendulkar [Images] could be offered the high-pressure job.

The five selectors, with former captain Dilip Vengsarkar at the helm, face a catch-22 situation. Will they move forward and appoint Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images], or set the clock back and hand Tendulkar the job for a third stint?

Tendulkar's record as captain -- four wins in 25 Tests and 23 in 73 ODIs - is not encouraging, but the selectors could still turn to him to tide over the leadership crisis.

In a week's time, India host World champions Australia in a seven-match ODI series followed by a full series against Pakistan. It remains to be seen whether the selectors believe that the 34-year-old can handle the additional responsibility of leading the side, given his recent spate of injuries. After all, he recently admitted that back to back one-dayers are taking a toll on his body.

If the selectors, in their collective wisdom, feel that the burden of ODI captaincy need not be thrust upon the champion batsman at the twilight of his career, then they have the option of taking the unprecedented step of splitting the job and offering the limited-overs' leadership to Dhoni, who also doubles up as wicketkeeper.

Dhoni is the logical candidate for the ODI job if the selectors decide to break the high-profile task to two, though there are other claimants, like Sourav Ganguly [Images], to fall back upon as a stop-gap arrangement.

Other names like V V S Laxman [Images] have also been swirling around for the Test team captaincy, the Hyderabad batsman's name being suggested by former Australia captain Ian Chappell.

Who do you feel? Should Tendulkar lead the side in both forms of the game, or should Dhoni take charge of the ODI team? Is there any other candidate who deserves the job?

BCCI asks $50-60 m for IPL team ownership

In a move that already has advertisers complaining, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has asked companies to pay between $50 million and $60 million (Rs 200 crore to Rs 240 crore) to own a team featuring in the Indian Premier League, the tournament it has introduced to counter Zee TV baron Subhash Chandra's Indian Cricket League.

In return, the BCCI is offering a revenue share from stadium advertising and gate money but not television rights. The team can also be listed on the stock exchanges and buyers have the right to re-sell the team at a premium.

However, ground rights for most of the matches are expected to be sold for around Rs 1.5 crore, nearly half of what the BCCI earns from cricket matches.

Explaining the structure of the deal, BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi said the IPL would follow the "franchisee model" under which a company will have to buy and manage the team.

"The company is not a sponsor but the owner of the team. Apart from the ownership amount, it will have to deal seperately with each cricketer it wants in its team. That amount will depend on the company's bargaining power," Modi said.

Sources said Sahara's sponsorship of the Indian team entailed a pay-out of Rs 3 crore per match or around Rs 300 crore for three years.

The two deals, however, are not strictly comparable because Sahara does not have revenue-sharing arrangements with the BCCI and has limited access to the team for advertising purposes.

The ICL is believed to be asking for Rs 5 crore each from three key sponsors and Rs 1.5-2.5 crore each from seven associate sponsors. Team sponsorship is available for around Rs 4 crore.

The IPL, which is modelled on the globally popular English Premier League soccer tournament, will include domestic and foreign teams that will play tournaments, including one in the Twenty20 format.

Possible advertisers say they are unsure whether there is value for money, given that the IPL is a new format.

"It sounds like a lot of money," said an executive of a leading media buying house, adding, "it implies that one has to offer the best price to win over a particular player if he wants to have a winning team".

A media expert added that the pay-out per cricketer might not be huge given that the list of players on board with the IPL � Australian bowlers Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming � have retired from international cricket.

Either way, the money in domestic cricket is bound to grow exponentially. "In the next 10 years, the competition between the two leagues will only get more money into domestic cricket," said Anirban Das Blah, vice-president, Globosport India.