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VOLUME 10 ISSUE 4 APRIL 2011

KERENG/2002/6803
Rs. 50
KERENG/2002/6803
 www.seasonalmagazine.com
EDITORIAL
Seasonal

MAGAZINE
Vol 10 Issue 4 April 2011
Managing Editor
Jason D Pavoratti budget joins stock-market circus
Editor
John Antony Budgets are hard to decipher. Markets even harder.
Director (Finance)
Ceena If anyone planned to make some money on budget day, they were in for a
Senior Editorial Coordinator
Jacob Deva rude shock. Millions waited anxiously for each sentence to drop from
Senior Correspondent Pranab’s mouth in TV, and the more discerning were scouring message
Bina Menon boards to know what was the analysts’ take about that just dropped line.
Creative Visualizer
Bijohns Varghese Midway into the budget came the unanimous verdict - budget is not very
Photographer populist, but good for economic growth. Within minutes, Sensex was
Anish Aloysious
Correspondents zooming. By the time Pranab ended his talk, Sensex had lost all senses - a
Bombay: Rashmi Prakash good 500 to 600 points up.
Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui
Delhi: Anurag Dixit Then the reality slowly started sinking in. What was there so easily
Director (Technical) decipherable? That auto has been spared an excise hike? That smaller IT
John Antony firms will take a larger beating? Nothing much else was easily decipherable.
Publisher
Jason D
Within minutes of the budget speech ending, the Sensex started tumbling,
Editorial & Business Office accelerated by IT and only somewhat sparing the autos. Within the next 30
Cochin: 36/1924 E, minutes, 250 points were wiped off, and it didn’t stop there. By the time
Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road, trade closed, another 125 points were lost.
Near IGNOU, Kaloor, Cochin-17.
Ph:0484- 2345876, 2534377, 2340080
Mob. 09947141362, 09947258505 If you are not into F&O, you would miss the gravity of the situation. For
many investors who took positions on that day, and was caught on the
Mumbai: 202, Woodland Heights wrong foot, the losses would have been roughly Rs. 10,000 for every one
Building, St. Martins Road, Bandra lakh of trading.
West, Mumbai -400 050, Mobile:
9757076197
But that was not all. Many investors, smarting from huge losses, took up
Ph: 022-26401362, 26401360,
reverse positions, vowing to avenge the next day - they were sure of one
Bangalore: House No: 493, Block 3 thing - market is set to collapse.
3rd Main, HBR Layout,
Bangalore-4209731984836, But overnight, heavyweight brokerages prepared their budget analyses.
Email:skmagazine@gmail.com The general consensus was this - the government has curbed its own
www.seasonalmagazine.com borrowing, interest rate looks capped, and if crude can correct a bit, there
UK Office: “CRONAN”, is no reason why markets can’t rally again!
Boundaries Road
Feltham, Middlesex, UK TW13 5DR And crude eased a bit the next day, FIIs rushed to cover their massive
Ph: 020 8890 0045,
Mob: 00447947181950
Email: petecarlsons@gmail.com

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All India Distributor: India Book House, Mumbai

UAE Distributor: Malik News Agency &
Distributors Dubai

All health related articles are for first

information purposes only. Always
consult your doctor before taking any
decison affecting your health.
MEMBER
shorts, and the markets rallied over 600 points, further damaging retail traders.

This must be the reason why ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala advises retail investors
to steer clear of any kind of intra-day or short-term trading. According to him, theoretically
many can master stock trading, but it would be necessary to lose many battles, to die
many times, before a retail trader can be successful.

Never think the circus is over. Two days after the budget also, investors are scouring again
for determining the sustained upside or damage for each sector from the budget.

And a new consensus verdict is coming, and it is again a reverse position - what the
Government is intending is good, but it is not likely to be achieved! Interest rates may
again inch up, and rate sensitives - from financial stocks to real estate to autos - are all set
for another round of thrashing…

And in the confusion, many core elements other than the budget is being overlooked. If
you delve deep into the recent stock-market correction, it was driven by only one thing -
FIIs and DIIs withdrawing. And why did they withdraw?

All stock-market corrections are fundamentally corrections in earnings-valuations. This

time also the same has happened, starting from the October-November-December quarter.
Across-the-board inflation in industrial inputs, commodities, and crude has (and is)
continuing to squeeze margins for most industries, pushing down their earnings-valuations.

And the consensus on earnings-valuations is that the worst is yet to come - in the Q4
results. Markets might go up a bit on Libyan crisis easing the pressure on crude, but
looking up until April, the outlook remains grim.

And don’t expect much support for the markets from this Government. At least in their
intentions, they are more concerned about economic growth which doesn’t work against
inflation, and as such will always be at loggerheads with the markets. And lately, they have
started to admit some truth too - everything - read crude, coal, & metals - is not under their
control.

Even amidst this grim scenario, Seasonal Magazine gets into the art and science of stock-
picking to bring you 12 stocks that look quite attractive after recent corrections on multiple
parameters - track-record in wealth creation, fundamental performance, and dividend yields.

Because, the best stocks are bought when the wider market is throwing them away.

John Antony
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 Contents
April 2011

A Portfolio Designed to
Deliver Dividends + Capital
Appreciation
Stocks with assured returns? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Well,
not if you are a stock picker with an eye for generous, steady
dividends. But if stock picking is difficult, stock picking for
dividends is next to impossible. The reasons are many. Out of
the 111 capital market segments starting from ‘Abrasives’
and ending in ‘Vanaspati’, we couldn’t find barely a dozen

The Good and Bad of Coffee

It's a pleasant morning ritual too painful to part with. But is coffee
good for your health? Similar to alcohol, the studies seem to
seesaw back and forth. So when you're considering your morning
coffee, here are some health facts to keep in mind:

Reaching out for glory

It can’t get any bigger than this. 14 teams fight it out to grab hold of
that one coveted trophy: The ICC Cricket World Cup. The preparations,
of all the 14 teams, leading to this mega event has been pretty good .
The target of each team would be to reach Mumbai, which hosts the WC
Final and grasp hold of the biggest prize in cricket. Here is a quick

Inside the Next-Gen Boeing

Air India is Buying
787Dreamliner is the first major airliner to use composite materials
for the body that increases fule efficiency by 20%.
The 787 Dreamliner program may be three years behind schedule
and battling a legacy of delays, but that isn't stopping Boeing from
building the next generation airplanes one after another.

iant Chinese Economy

G T 5
BZ IPO: Can Foods to Sleep Better
Creating Demand for the Valuation 5 Foods to Sleep
Super Ships be Attractive? Worse
 Science Proves Meditation
Works, Says Effective for 7
Common Diseases
Participants in an 8 week mindfulness meditation class experienced
structural brain changes including increased grey-matter density in
the hippocampus, known to be important for learning and memory,
and in structures associated with self-awareness, compassion and
introspection. This is the first research to document meditation-
produced changes in the brain. Previous research has identified

5 BAD THINGS
Businesses Assume
About Customers
They steal. They’re overgrown children.
They only want a deal. Oh, the things
companies think of us, their “valued”
customers!

A Rolls-Royce that Runs at

90 Paise Per Km, But Costing
Rs. 7.30 Crore!
An electric powered Rolls-Royce limousine is set to hit the road
within days, the luxury British car maker has confirmed.

LIC Readies Itself for

Challenges on All Fronts
Life Insurance Corporation of India is recognizing that the new
decade the industry is in is undoubtedly about increased
challenges, and is getting ready on all fronts. It is raising cash
by planning to divest major long-term investments like in IL&FS,
which is expected to be a major profit-booking for the insurance

C W W
ancer Fear Raised
Over Coke & Pepsi hen Is Bad hat Does
Ingredient Publicity Good? Happiness Mean?
 H E A LT H
SCIENCE PROVES
MEDITATION
WORKS,
EFFECTIVE FOR
COMMON
7 DISEASES articipants in an 8 week mindfulness
meditation class experienced structural
brain changes including increased grey-
matter density in the hippocampus,
known to be important for learning and memory, and
in structures associated with self-awareness,
compassion and introspection. This is the first research
to document meditation-produced changes in the
brain. Previous research has identified differences in
brain activity and structure between practised
meditators and non-meditators.
Researchers noted that long-term meditation alters
brain-wave patterns, with greater activity in brain
circuits involved in attention. They also found that
brain regions associated with attention and sensory
processing were thicker in meditators than in controls.
The question was whether people with a thicker brain
cortex in areas associated with awareness and sensory
processing were more likely to meditate.
The current study is the first to document that these
structural changes are in fact produced by meditation.
Seasonal Magazine
"This study demonstrates that changes in brain
structure may underlie some of these reported
improvements and that people are not just feeling
better because they are spending time relaxing," said
study author Sara Lazar, PhD, of the MGH Psychiatric
Neuroimaging Research Program.
During the study MR images of participants' brain
structure were taken two weeks prior to and
immediately following an eight week mindfulness
based stress reduction programme. MR brain images
were also taken of a control group over a similar time
interval.
The meditation course
consisted of weekly
meetings including
guided meditation and
audio meditations to do at home on a daily basis.
Analysis of MR images found increased grey-matter
density in the hippocampus, known to be important
for learning and memory, and in structures associated
with self-awareness, compassion and introspection.
Participant-reported reductions in stress also were
correlated with decreased grey-matter density in the
amygdala, which is known to play an important role
in anxiety and stress. "It is fascinating to see the brain's
plasticity and that, by practicing meditation, we can
play an active role in changing the brain and can
increase our well-being and quality of life." says Britta
Hölzel, PhD, first author of the paper and a research
fellow at MGH and Giessen University in Germany.
Further health benefits of meditation
Several studies designed specifically to understand the
beneficial effects of meditation have shown that meditation
helps to prevent heart disease, reduce pain, reduce blood
pressure, reduce cholesterol, decrease anxiety and help
manage asthma.
Meditation has been shown to increase alpha waves (relaxed
brain waves) and decrease production of the stress hormone
cortisol. It appears that some of the positive physical changes
associated with meditation have their roots in stress
management.
Conditions benefitted by meditation

Pain: There is a body of research work indicating

that meditation can reduce chronic pain3. One notable study
conducted at the Texas Tech University found that meditation
in conjunction with traditional medicine enhances the
effectiveness of western medical treatment. In another study
published in the Journal of Behavioural Medicine, patients
suffering from backache, chronic migraine and tension
headaches were able to significantly reduce pain medication.
Another study found that people who meditate regularly find
pain less unpleasant.

HIV: There is emerging evidence from other studies

that shows that meditation and behavioral stress-management
programs can buffer HIV declines in HIV-positive people.

High Cholesterol: In two prospective,

random assignment studies, meditation reduced total
cholesterol over a relatively short period (three months) as
well as a long period (11 months).

Anxiety and Depression:

Since the early sixties, scientists have speculated that
meditation improves mental functioning. Meditation
decreases oxygen consumption, heart rate, respiratory rate,
and blood pressure, and increases the intensity of alpha, theta,
and delta brain waves, the opposite of the physiological
changes that occur during the stress response.

Diabetes: Meditation also aids in controlling

blood sugar levels. Researchers at the University of Virginia
have shown that following meditation, reduced stress levels
correlate with a decrease in blood glucose levels.
Hypertension: Besides its role as a stress
buster, meditation also reduces blood pressure and
Seasonal Magazine

contributes to the overall reduction in risk of cardiovascular

disease.Meditation is more that just a way for us to get in
touch with ourselves and calm a busy mind. It appears that
meditation has a direct effect on the physical body, brain
activity and underlying brain structure. So what are you
waiting for?
 HEALTH
It's a pleasant morning ritual too painful to part with. But is
coffee good for your health? Similar to alcohol, the studies seem
to seesaw back and forth. So when you're considering your
morning coffee, here are some health facts to keep in mind:
The Good
1. Coffee Reduces Your
Risk of Diabetes
In a 2005 review of nine studies,
researchers found that for those
that drank four to six cups of coffee
per day, versus only two or fewer,
their risk for Type 2 diabetes
decreased by almost 30 percent.
The number decreased by 35
percent when people drank more
Seasonal Magazine
than six cups per day. And if you're
picturing yourself running around
the office with your eyes bugging
out of your head, no worries
because caffeinated and deca
ffeinated coffees provided much
the same results.
2. Coffee Fights Free
Radicals
We often forget that coffee is
actually a plant and like all plant
foods, the coffee bean contains
more than 1000 naturally occurring
substances called phytochemicals,
which may help prevent disease.
Many of these phytochemicals are
antioxidants which protect the cells
from damage from free radicals.
3. Coffee Improves
Memory and Cognition
Researchers reported that
volunteers who drank caffeinated
coffee in the morning performed
better than nondrinkers on tests
that involved learning new
information. Coffee can also
improve cognitive function as we
age. One study found that
combining coffee with a sweet treat
had an even bigger impact.
According to study researcher
Josep M. Serra Grabulosa, from
the Department of Psychiatry and
Clinical Psychobiology at
Universidad de Barcelona: Our
main finding is that the
combination of the two substances
improves cognitive performance in
terms of sustained attention and
working memory by increasing the
efficiency of the areas of the brain
responsible for these two
functions. This supports the idea
of a synergistic effect between two
substances, in which each one
boosts the effect of the other.
 THE
GOOD
AND BAD
OF
COFFEE
The Bad
1. Coffee Can Increase
Osteoporosis
It’s true that coffee can cause the
body to excrete calcium in urine.
We don't want the body to rid itself
of calcium because this can lead
to osteoporosis. According to The
Diet Channel, about five
milligrams of calcium is lost per
every six ounces of coffee
consumed. But these calcium
losses can be counter balanced
with two tablespoons of milk or
yogurt per cup of coffee.
2. Coffee Causes
Wrinkles
Even though coffee has
antioxidants, if you drink too much
of it, it can cause wrinkling of the
skin. This is a result of dehydration
which is the worst thing for your
skin. So when you're drinking that
morning cup or two, make sure that
you're pairing it with water. Even
better, add 1 tablespoon of chia
seeds to your water and let them
sit for 30 minutes. The chia seeds
keep you even more hydrated than
regular water.
3. Coffee Can Actually
Cause Weight Gain
The blood sugar fluctuations that
a caffeine high produces can
contribute enormously to cravings,
according to iVillage. Coffee is
also socially connected to food.
For example, we pair coffee with
dessert or that morning powdered
doughnut. Additionally, when we
crash from our caffeine high that's
when we reach for all sorts of fatty
snacks to keep us going.
4. Conventional Coffee
Is Laden with Pesticides
The coffee plant is one of the most
heavily sprayed crops. It's coated
with chemicals, pesticides, and
herbicides, nothing you'd want to
be ingesting. If you do drink coffee,
make sure that it's the organic
variety, free from assorted
chemicals that leech into our
ground water and can make us sick
down the road. If you switch to
decaffeinated coffee, make sure the
caffeine is removed in a natural
Seasonal Magazine
way without the use of chemicals
to do it. Often times, conventional
decaffeinated coffee has more
chemicals than regular.
 HEALTH
3. Sesame Seeds

5 Foods to Sesame seeds are rich in trytophan

but they're also high in carbohy-
drates with a medium protein con-

Sleep Better
You've heard it a thousand times: if you want to fall asleep you have to
tent, perfect for before bedtime.

give up caffeine. So you've done that and you still can't seem to sleep
through the night. Well, your diet has a huge bearing on the way you
feel especially if a sleep deficiency has become a part of your life.
Choose foods that promote sleep rather than keeping you up all night.

1. Pumpkin Seeds
Pumpkin seeds are a great source
of magnesium which serves to
calm the body down. Magnesium
helps to relieve the stress that can
keep us up all night. Just 1 oz. of
pumpkin seeds has 151 mg of mag-
nesium, making it one of the most
magnesium-rich foods out there.
Seasonal Magazine
2. Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese contains tryp-
tophan, a sleep inducing amino
acid that relaxes the entire body
and mind. If you don't do dairy you
can also find tryptophan in soy
milk, tofu, hummus, and lentils.
4. Brown Rice
Whole unrefined grains like brown
rice have a calming effect on the
mind. They soothe the nervous sys-
tem so that the mind stops moving
a mile a minute and you can fall
asleep. Also consider oats for a
similar effect.
5. Spinach
Chlorophyll-rich foods like spin-
ach help you get to sleep. Spinach,
like pumpkin seeds, is also loaded
with magnesium, which calms and
de-stresses the entire body.
 5 Foods
to Sleep Worse
1. Refined
Carbohydrates
These drain the body of vitamin B,
which the body needs to release
serotonin. When the body can't get
enough serotonin, tension, fear,
and depression can keep you up all
night.
2. MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG),
often found in Chinese food,
causes a stimulant reaction in some
people. MSG is almost always
found in processed, prepared, and
packaged foods.
3. Bacon likely to awaken in the middle of
Bacon contains tyramine, which the night.
increases the release of
norepinephrine, a brain stimulant
that keeps you up. Others foods
that contain tyramine include
chocolate, eggplant, ham, potatoes,
sauerkraut, sugar, sausage,
tomatoes, and wine.
5. Chocolate
Chocolate can elevate your energy
levels with bioactive compounds
like tyramine and
phenylethylamine. Chocolate also
contains sugar which wakes you up
as well as the other obvious culprit,
caffeine.
4. Alcohol
While many of us drink to relax
the body and mind, the fact of the
Seasonal Magazine
matter is that wine, beer, and spirits
can keep you up at night. This is
especially true if you drink more
than one. While alcohol can make
you tired in the short run, you're
 TECHNOLOGY
Inside the
Next-Gen Boeing
Air India is Buying
Dreamliner is the
first major airliner to
use composite
materials for the body that increases
fule efficiency by 20%.
The 787 Dreamliner program may
be three years behind schedule and
battling a legacy of delays, but that
isn't stopping Boeing from building
the next generation airplanes one
after another.
Yesterday, as the last act of a three-
day media extravaganza timed to
Boeing's Sunday unveiling of the
747-8 Intercontinental, I got a
chance to take a first hand look at
the Dreamliner assembly line.
By now, the story of the 787 is well-
chronicled. Originally unveiled on
July 8, 2007, (07/08/07) the plane
Seasonal Magazine
was supposed to take its first flight
later that year and begin carrying
All that drama aside, as passengers in the spring of 2008.
an airplane nut, it was But one delay after another, caused
a lot of fun to get a by mechanical problems, work
stoppages, supplier slowdowns,
chance to see the 787 and even an on-board fire, has to
assembly line in date kept the all-new plane out of
the hands of Boeing's carrier
person. For one thing, customers.
there's nothing like But it has made its first flight as
seeing industrial well as many subsequent flights
production on the scale and in a media briefing today,
Scott Fancher, the vice president
of Boeing's Everett and general manager of the 787
plant said to be the program, reiterated what Boeing
largest building in the has said previously: that it will
hand the plane over to its launch
world, by volume. customer, All Nippon Airways,
sometime in the third quarter of
this year.
All that drama aside, as an airplane
nut, it was a lot of fun to get a
chance to see the 787 assembly line
in person. For one thing, there's
nothing like seeing industrial
production on the scale of Boeing's
Everett plant said to be the largest
building in the world, by volume.
For another, because of its
advanced body made from
composite materials rather than
metal seeing the 787 in its
unfinished form is downright cool.
Rather than having the standard
brushed metal look common to
other in progress Boeing planes, the
Dreamliner fuselage comes
delivered to Everett via the
gargantuan custom cargo 747
known as the Dreamlifter with a
pristine glossy white primer. That
makes the plane look clean and
promising in a way that the others
that I've seen in progress in Everett
haven't.
But that's neither here nor there. As
Boeing moves toward putting the
Dreamliner in the hands of ANA
and other carrier customers
including Air India, for which one
of the planes I saw was being built
it's an important sign that it is
turning the planes out at a rate of
two aircraft a month.
The company line is that Boeing
will build between 25 and 40 747-
8 Intercontinentals and Dreamliners
this year, split roughly 50/50. But
Fancher explained that by late 2013,
when the aviation giant's new South
Carolina assembly plant is up and
running, it will be turning out 10
787s a month.
For now, though, with the plane still
in testing, the planes coming off the
line aren't going anywhere. Indeed,
until they're certified for flying
passengers, Boeing isn't even
building out their interiors or
putting engines on them. That's
because that work, and that gear, is
expensive, and the company feels
it is better to simply stockpile the
planes in Everett where it currently
has 24 Dreamliners sitting on
various tarmacs until certification.
At that point, it shouldn't take too
long to get the planes ready for
delivery, though Fancher wouldn't
specify precisely how long.
Position Zero
As it is currently laid out, the
Dreamliner assembly line takes up
a single, albeit huge, bay in the
Everett plant. When the giant
fuselage barrels because they are
made from composite materials, the
fuselage is not comprised of body
panels but rather complete tube-
shaped sections come off the
Dreamlifter, they are transported
into the plant via a massive door.
All Dreamliner parts are first placed
in what is called "position zero,"
where they will sit for 24 hours to
ensure that they can all adjust to the
temperature. Next up is "position
one," where all the major parts are
structurally joined. Then it's on to
"position two," where the landing
gears are added, making it possible
for the young Dreamliners to
proceed ahead on their own wheels.
On any given day, then, Boeing has
four Dreamliners under
construction, one each at position
one, position two, position three,
and, yes, position four. As you
might expect, each successive
position means more progress
toward completion.
According to Fancher, Boeing is 80
percent through certification testing
on its 787 Rolls-Royce engine
configuration and about 60 percent
through on certification testing for
its General Electric engines. To
date, Boeing has seven Dreamliners
flying in its test program, and the
company received over the
weekend equipment needed for
testing fixes to the power panel that
caused the fire aboard one of the
planes in November.
And while some may be skeptical
of Boeing's ability to get the 787 in
customers' hands, Fancher said the
company is "on track" to meet its
current third quarter plan. For now,
then, Dreamliner enthusiasts will
have to keep on waiting for their
Seasonal Magazine
first ride. But for those lucky
enough to get to visit the plane's
assembly line here, that wait is just
a little bit easier.
 INTERNET
Finally, Facebook
Corrects Security Issues
acebook
finally pro-
vided a way
to keep any
random jerk in the
café from hijacking
your account. But you
have to go out of your
way to enable this
protection, and you
might have to wait.
Facebook has at long last offered
an option to use the encrypted
"HTTPS" protocol, a feature it will
begin rolling out today but won't
finish for a "few weeks." You
should check now if it's available,
and sign up as soon as it is enabled
for your account. The performance
overhead is minor—zippy Gmail,
for example, uses HTTPS for ev-
erything—and it's an important
step to keep your Facebook ac-
count safe from being hijacked on
an open or poorly secured wireless
network.
By default, Facebook sends your
access credentials in the clear, with
no encryption whatsoever. Switch-
ing to HTTPS is important because
a browser extension called
Firesheep has made it especially
easy for anyone sharing your open
wireless network—at cafe or con-
ference, for example—to sniff your
credentials and freely access your
account. One blogger sitting in a
random New York Starbucks was
able to steal 20-40 Facebook iden-
tities in half an hour. HTTPS solves
this longstanding problem by en-
crypting your login cookies and
other data; in fact the inventor of
Firesheep made the software to
encourage companies like
Facebook to finally lock down
their systems.
You can sign up for Facebook
HTTPS by going to Account Set-
tings and then selecting "Account
Security," third from the bottom.
Then click under "Secure Brows-
ing" — if it's there. Facebook says
everyone should have this by the
end of the day, but in the mean-
time you might be missing the rel-
evant option toggle.
The Facebook Setting You Should
Change as Quickly as Possible
Facebook is sure taking its sweet
time rolling this out. Firesheep has
been out for more than three
months, and the EFF released a
plugin for secure Facebook con-
nections back in June. Even the
HTTPS option is half measure. It
applies only on the website, not on
Facebook's iPhone app.
And HTTPS should really be au-
tomatic for all Facebook users, not
an opt-in buried in one of
Facebook's famously labyrinthine
settings menus. Facebook seems to
recognize this, writing, "We hope
to offer HTTPS as a default when-
ever you are using Facebook some-
time in the future." Given that
Facebook secures not only intimate
pictures and chats but people's cre-
dentials on other websites, that fu-
ture really can't come soon enough.
But if history is any guide,
Facebook's users are in for a long
wait for proper security.
 CUSTOMER RELATIONS
5 Bad Things
Businesses Assume
About Customers
hey steal. They’re overgrown
children. They only want a
deal. Oh, the things
companies think of us, their “valued”
customers!
1. You’re thieves
Many businesses assume their
customers would either be
dishonest or steal from them if left
to their own devices. No wonder:
Shoplifting costs businesses
upward of $25 million a day,
according to one survey. But when
you believe all customers would
steal from you, it becomes much
easier to steal from them by making
dishonest or disingenuous product
offers and compelling them to pay
for a service that should come with
a product, like technical support.
2. You’re big babies
Corporates routinely under-
estimates the intelligence of its own
customers by making offers that
insult them. For example, it isn’t
Seasonal Magazine
uncommon for a grocery store to
price a buy-one-get-one-free offer
at a steep markup, which makes it
less advantageous than simply
buying one. The store assumes
customers will see “free” and turn
off their brains. It doesn’t help
when they actually do.
Underestimating their intelligence
only encourages employees to treat
customers like kids – or worse,
sheep who will blindly follow any
order.
3. You only want
one thing
Entire industries have changed
their business models because they
assumed people only want one
thing: cheap products. Often, they
blame these decisions on customer
surveys which say, time and again,
that they only want cheap products
– whether they’re airline tickets or
electronics. But the surveys mislead
them. Customers may be price-
conscious, but they also care about
quality. They don’t want to be nickel-
and-dimed with fees when they buy
an airline ticket, nor do they want
their gadgets to break down after a
few months. No, customers don’t
only want one thing.
4. You’re fickle
Here’s another dangerous
assumption: That customers are
basically not loyal. In order to keep
them, you have to either remove
essential services from your basic
product (like airline tickets) and
then give them back to only your
most loyal customers, like elite-
level frequent fliers, or you have
to trap them with an onerous
contract, like cell phones that force
you to sign two-year contracts.
That’s absurd. Providing a good
service will keep customers
coming back, as ever. Take too
much away from the product, or
make it too restrictive, and it will
only drive customers away.
5. You don’t
understand we have a
business to run
“We’re not a nonprofit. We have a
business to run.” How often have
you heard that? It’s repeated so
often to me, as a consumer
advocate, that I’ve lost count. But
there’s an assumption that
customers just don’t understand the
 basics of business. And indeed, many don’t. When they have a grievance,
they often ask for the world, which suggests they have no understanding
They don’t want to of how a business operates. Again, that’s not necessarily true. Many
be nickel-and-dimed customers do understand, but use an over-the-top request as a bargaining
tactic. No, not all customers have MBAs, but they do understand that
with fees when they businesses aren’t charities.
buy an airline ticket, So what’s the point of covering these unfortunate assumptions? Because,
as a customer, it’s useful to know what you’re up against when you go
nor do they want shopping. Owners and employees may believe you’re dumb, dishonest,
cheap, disloyal and ignorant. And as you know, nothing could be further
their gadgets to from the truth.
break down after a don’t
understand
few months. we have a
only want business to
one thing run

thieves

fickle
big babies

Seasonal Magazine
 Cricket Carl Jaison

Reaching out
for Glory can’t get any bigger than this. 14 teams fight it out to grab hold of that
one coveted trophy: The ICC Cricket World Cup. The preparations, of
all the 14 teams, leading to this mega event has been pretty good .
The target of each team would be to reach Mumbai, which hosts the
WC Final and grasp hold of the biggest prize in cricket. Here is a quick
analysis on the top 6 teams who will be fighting for realizing one single dream -
the ICC Cricket World Cup.
Seasonal Magazine
 SOUTH AFRICA
The South Africans go into this
World cup as one of the prime
contenders and this time around
they would surely like to live to
the expectations of their fans back
home. Needless to say, the South
Africans hold the dubious record
of faltering in big events,
something they need to improve
on. They have been given the
unique tag of - ‘The Chokers’.
They are a tough team to play
against and they showed that with
a thumping win over the Windies
in their first match of this edition.
Historically, South Africa has
heavily depended on their pace
bowlers to make a mark. But,
against the Windies they showed
a change in strategy by fielding 3
regular spinners reflecting their
tactical and clever approach of
team selection. They still have
fiery pace bowlers in their ranks
and the spinners too showed why
they are no pushovers. Definitely
the team to beat!
Captain: Graeme Smith
Players to watch out for: AB De Villiers,
Faf Du Plessiss
Strengths: Experienced batting line-up
and a brilliant pace attack.
Weakness: May find acclimatization
difficult and looses track in big games.
AUSTRALIA
Captain: Ricky Ponting
Players to watch out for: Shane
Watson, Mitchell Johnson
Strengths: comes in with a good
reputation making them a very
dangerous unit. Can spring a
surprise through their pace
bowling department having the
likes of Lee, Johnson and Tait.
The Australians began their
campaign as the No.1 ODI side.
But this Aussie outfit isn’t like
the previous golden generation
of the Warne, McGrath,
Gilchrist etc. But Australia, still
and will, always remain a tough
opponent to beat considering
their fabulous record in World
Cups. They have remained
unbeaten in their last 31 WC
encounters and that itself will
bring shivers down the spines
of many a team. They are the
defending champs for the third
time in a row having won the
1999, 2003 and 2007 World
cups. Australia comes into this
event on the backdrop of a 6-1
drubbing over England at
home. If they can put their act
together ,there is no reason why
they can’t do it again.
INDIA
Many feel this is India’s best
chance to win back the cup for the
second time, having won the 1983
edition. Bolstered by a team
having the likes of Tendulkar, and
Sehwag, Indians are feeling that
this time around its now or never.
Arguably, the most talented lot of
this WC, the team would love to
get hold of that trophy for their die-
hard fans. Indians were off to a
good start with 2 convincing
warm-up victories against the
mighty Aussies and New Zealand.
A co-host, along with Sri Lanka
and Bangladesh, India will be
assisted by the spin-friendly tracks
of the sub-continent and being
good players of spin, they pose a
big threat to any team facing off
with them.
Captain: Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Players to watch out for: Sachin
Tendulkar, Virat Kohli
Strengths: Batting is India’s strength.
They have the ability to post huge
totals batting first and each player is
a potential match winner. Crowd
support will come in handy.
Weakness: A rusty pace-bowling unit
and inability to chase down mammoth
totals are a cause of worry.
Seasonal Magazine

SRI LANKA
A team having the likes of
Muralitharan, Jayawardena,
aand Malinga are definitely a
team to reckon with. They are
the runners-up of the 2007 WC
and will surely want to reach out
for glory in this edition.
Lankans are a good fielding unit
too which gives them an edge
over their rivals. There is no
lack of experience in this team
and having world class play in
their ranks, the Sri Lankans are
out to prove their critics wrong.
Probable semi-finalists, the
Lankans are a tough team to
beat in their own den.
Captain: Kumar Sangakkara
Players to watch out for: Lasith Malinga,
Tilakertane Dilshan
Strengths: They have a deep batting line-up
and a very good spin attack which can
effectively utilize juicy, turning wickets...
Weakness: like every other subcontinent
team, sri lanka too face problems of
chasing down mighty scores. Their middle-
order needs to fire to ensure a smooth
entry into the final stages of the WC.
ENGLAND
The English are a much more
confident squad which they
proved by drawing a nail-biting ,
cliff-hanger of a game against
favourites India. The game
showed that the England team can
fight till the finish and can play
around their charismatic skipper
Andrew Strauss, who proved his
mettle by scoring a breath-taking
158 in quick time. They are touted
as the dark horse of this WC and
their job is pretty clear and simple:
upsetting the top teams. They were
beaten by Australia in a bilateral
series (6-1), leading to the WC, but
every team realises that the score-
line can’t be taken into much of
an account considering their
energetic and positive start to this
mega event.
Captain: Andrew Strauss
Player to watch out for: Kevin
Pietersen, Tim Bresnan
Strengths: Showed that they can
chase down huge targets and
have the players who are capable
of playing long innings, someone
like a Jonathan Trott..
Weakness: The English have been
poor on the field letting go off
practically sitters. Their bowling
too needs to click as they’ve been
hit for more than 250 runs in
back-to-back matches, even by
minnows Netherlands.
PAKISTAN
Controversies, Match fixing and
allegations have been following
Pakistani Cricket ever since the
dark age of cricket. But, on the
cricketing aspect, Pakistan are
firm favourites to lift the ICC
Cricket World Cup. By beating Sri
Lanka in the latter’s den is not a
piece of cake and this has sent out
a strong message to all those who
dream of holding aloft the prized
possession. Pakistan was a
prospective co-host but political
unrest back home has resulted the
ICC to strip them off match rights.
Solely for this reason , ‘the bad
boys of cricket’ will want to win
the trophy for their cricket-frenzy
fans back home in Pakistan. They
have the ability to go all the way
and the team would love to restore
international cricket back in
Pakistan . One way of doing this
is to win back the heart of the ICC
and the millions back home.
Captain: Shahid Afridi
Players to watch out for: Umar akmal,
Shahid afridi
Strengths: batting prowess is pakistans
key to success. They playb their cricket
fearlessly thereby creating the
possibilities of causing huge upsets.
Weakness: The opening slot has been
where Pakistan has juggled with the
most, trying out more than 10 different
players in the past year or so.
Pakistan’s complacency may lead to
their downfall too…
 TRAVEL
What Does
HAPPINESS
Mean?
Around the world in one year with Coca Cola's Expedition206
h, to be young again.
Three travelers were
selected via an online
vote to go on a year-
long adventure that took them
through 186 countries covering
275,000 miles. This event was
Coca-Cola’s Expedition 206. The
participants were Tony from
Munich, Germany; Kelly from
Martelange, Belgium, and
Antonio from Mexico City,
Mexico.
The goal of this boondoggle was to
what makes people happy around the
world. Upon their return to Atlanta, I
caught up with them for this interview.
Q: Cutting to the chase, what makes
people happy around the world?
A: Family and friends, food, sports,
music, health… those are the main
answers we have gotten. It’s all about
sharing with others.
Q: Nobody mentioned money?
A: Very, very few people mentioned
money. When they did, it wasn’t about
loads of money for the sake of buying
stuff or being rich. It was more about
having more money for the freedom
to travel more or spend more time with
friends and family and things like that.
Q: Do you think that people are more
different or more similar around the
world?
A: People definitely have more things
in common than differences. Whether
you’re in Asia, South America or
Europe you have the same idea of what
makes you happy.
Q: If you could give Barack Obama
one piece of advice, what would it be?
A: Our experience showed us the
power of bringing people and
countries together by finding shared
experiences and making meaningful
connections. That sort of bonding
helps break down barriers. That’s
probably just as true for one-to-one
personal connections as it is for bigger-
picture relationship building.
Q: What was the most enchanting
country that you visited?
A: This is a tough question because
each time we think of this, many
countries come to mind. I would say
maybe some of the Asian countries
because they have such a mystical, um,
Tony, Kelly, Antonio
enchanting feel to them. We really
liked Japan and Thailand. The feel of
those places and their cultures are
really something special.
Q: Which country has the best
looking women?
A: The eastern European countries
definitely have some of the best
women in the world. The former
Yugoslavia countries have one of the
highest concentrations of unbelievably
beautiful women in the world.
Lebanon isn’t so bad either.
Q: Which country has the best
looking men?
A: In Latin America there are some
sexy men around. They are also the
best dancers! We that found the highest
percentage of of handsome men is in
the Scandinavian countries.
Q: Which country has the best
Internet access?
A: Europe, some parts of Asia, and the U.S.
Q: Which country would you pick to
live in?
A: Kelly: I would like to live in
Argentina and the Netherlands.
Tony: Germany, Croatia, and Thailand.
Antonio: Japan and Iceland.
Seasonal Magazine
INVESTING
A Portfolio
Designed
to Deliver
Dividends
+ Capital
Appreciation
tocks with assured returns? Isn’t that an oxymoron? Well, not
if you are a stock picker with an eye for generous, steady
dividends. But if stock picking is difficult, stock picking for
dividends is next to impossible. The reasons are many. Out of
the 111 capital market segments starting from ‘Abrasives’ and
Seasonal Magazine

ending in ‘Vanaspati’, we couldn’t find barely a dozen

companies with consistent dividend returns even while maintaining capital
appreciation too. Finally, only 12 stocks passed out from our dividend-school
with a first-class. That is, 12 out of 3000 stocks, which is a success percentage
 A Portfolio Designed to Deliver Dividends + Capital Appreciation
of not even 0.5%! What made
the screening all the more Past Wealth Creation
tough was whether the current 8840%
dividend yield was a one-off Dividend Yield
phenomenon in FY’10 or a Return on Equity
7.59% 64.41%
stable track-record of returns
during the past five years. Of
course, current or past track-
record doesn’t guarantee
anything in the future, but
chances are that those players
with a consistently good track-
record in dividends are highly
likely to continue that
performance in the coming
years. Then came the issue of
Pawan Munjal, MD & CEO, Hero Honda
diversification. We didn’t
want your portfolio to suffer 52 Wk High : 2094.00 Book Value : 173.52
due to setbacks in one, two, or 52 Wk Low : 1375.00 Price/Book : 8.64
even half-a-dozen industries. Market Cap : 29922.17 Face Value : 2.00
That is why our 12 dividend
EPS (TTM) : 101.41 Industry P/E : 17.01
pass-outs are from 12 different
sectors. The basic bet is on the P/E : 14.78
HERO HONDA
The undisputed leader in two-
wheelers, by way of sales and
Past Wealth Creation profits. Delivers this magic on a
300% smaller asset base than No. 2
Dividend Yield player, Bajaj Auto. Lags Bajaj
Return on Equity only in market cap. Plans to
7.92% 13.05% more than offset Honda leaving
by entering bike exports, and
the booming three-wheeler
segment.

PAE
Formerly Premier Auto Electric,
this Walchand Doshi Group
company is a medium-sized
player by sales and profits in the
wide ranging auto ancilliary
sector of the country. But delivers
52 Wk High : 53.90 Book Value : 38.24
performance on a lower asset
52 Wk Low : 22.50 Price/Book : 0.72 base than comparable peers.
Seasonal Magazine

Market Cap : 23.37 Face Value : 10.00 Market cap has space to
improve. Also in home power
EPS (TTM) : 2.34 Industry P/E : 34.23
solution and solar photovoltaics.
P/E : 10.49
macro of India’s domestic
growth, though to balance Past Wealth Creation
things properly, we have been 258%
careful to include a few stories Dividend Yield
on the global recovery macro. Return on Equity
6.19% 31.12%
Then came the issue of
diversification by capital base,
and we have taken care to
include heavyweights, mid
caps, and small caps, so that
you have the best of three
worlds - the steady capital
appreciation of large caps, the
faster appreciation of mid
caps, and the risky but
sometimes stunning
performance of small caps.
So, we know you are thirsting 52 Wk High : 218.90 Book Value : 142.98
to know what kind of dividend 52 Wk Low : 90.00 Market Lot : 1.00
yields we have targeted. Well, Market Cap : 301.11 Face Value : 10.00
our top dividend yield at
current market price is 7.92% EPS (TTM) : 15.61 Industry P/E : 11.94
in a auto ancillary player, and P/E : 7.21
MANGALAM CEMENT
This BK Birla Group company is
a medium-range player among
Past Wealth Creation the large cement manufacturers.
223% Slightly more profitable than
Dividend Yield comparable players by sales, and
Return on Equity also achieves this on a slightly
7.22%
13.73% smaller asset base. Market cap
will rise surely in tandem with
cement fortunes.

HCL INFOSYSTEMS
The clear leader by sales and
profits, beating No. 2 players in
these respects by almost
double the size. But achieves
Shiv Nadar, Founder - HCL this only on around double the
asset base than peers. Still, if
52 Wk High : 143.80 Book Value : 87.26 the Nokia deal is extended in
52 Wk Low : 82.70 Market Lot : 1.00 some way, and Nokia’s fortunes
Seasonal Magazine

in India turns around after the

Market Cap : 2261.16 Face Value : 2.00 Windows tie-up, market cap has
EPS (TTM) : 11.62 Industry P/E : 12.70 room to zoom.
P/E : 8.96
 A Portfolio Designed to Deliver Dividends + Capital Appreciation
our lowest at 5.06% is by an
electric equipment player. Past Wealth Creation
However, none of our picks 270%
have a dividend yield below Dividend Yield
5%, with the average of the Return on Equity
5.27% 12.06%
pack being an impressive
6.21%. In other words, a Rs. 10
lakh portfolio will yield Rs.
62,100 yearly in dividends
alone. Of course, that is not all.
We have taken care to include
only those stocks that have a
history of capital appreciation
as well as a future looking
good. For verifying the past
track-record we have computed
their wealth-creation history
and for verifying the future 52 Wk High : 204.00 Book Value : 115.56
outlook we have provided one 52 Wk Low : 117.50 Market Lot : 1.00
of the best indicators, Return Market Cap : 60.82 Face Value : 10.00
on Equity. No share with a EPS (TTM) : 9.18 Industry P/E : 6.38
wealth creation performance
P/E : 13.80
less than 200% (except one
PANASONIC CARBON
An affiliate of Japanese giant,
Past Wealth Creation Panasonic. A smaller player in
1444% India’s Electrodes / Graphite
segment. But more profitable
Dividend Yield Return on Equity than a couple of peers. Market
6.64% 24.54% cap reflects profitability, but has
some room to improve due to
surprises possible due to the
international connections.

Shri. S.V. Kabra, CMD, Kabra Extrusion Technik

52 Wk High : 103.40 Book Value : 27.41
KABRA EXTRUSION TECHNIK
52 Wk Low : 51.40 Market Lot : 1.00 A medium to small-sized player in the
Seasonal Magazine

Market Cap : 189.98 Face Value : 5.00 heavy engineering sector. But noted
for its profitability. And achieves this
EPS (TTM) : 7.43 Industry P/E : 20.35 on a smaller asset base. Market cap
P/E : 8.01 also has good room to improve.
with 192%) has been included,
while no share with an RoE less
Past Wealth Creation
than 12% has been included. In 192%
contrast, there are a couple of Dividend Yield
powerful players in our list Return on Equity
5.06% 26%
with amazing capabilities like,
wealth creation of 30,681% or
RoE of 64.41%! All these
companies for whom paying
back their shareholders is a
priority are likely to maintain
dividend yields, even when the
share price shoots up. So, it is
basically capital appreciation
plus dividend appreciation.
And needless to say investing
in a dividend-yielding pack is
best done when markets are 52 Wk High : 146.75 Book Value : 103.47
trying to
52 Wk Low : 75.70 Market Lot : 1.00
find new bottoms to
consolidate again. So, without Market Cap : 195.56 Face Value : 2.00
making you read more, here is EPS (TTM) : 4.41 Industry P/E : 20.59
our pack of 12: P/E : 21.35
EASUN REYROLLE
A noted player in the Electric
Past Wealth Creation Equipment sector with a diver
349% sified product por tfolio in
Dividend Yield generation, transmission, distrib
Return on Equity ution, & industrial products. Noted
5.46% 15.18% for its excellent profitability vis-a-
vis comparable peers by sales.
Delivers the magic also on a
smaller asset base. Market cap
definitely has some room to grow.

GILLANDERS
ARBUTHNOT & CO
This 76 year old veteran is now
a diversified player in tea, tex-
tiles, properties, engineering, &
chemicals. Sales continues to be
52 Wk High 141.95 Book Value 77.77 strong even though profitability
needs to improve. Still, achieves
52 Wk Low 85.89 Price/Book 1.36
Seasonal Magazine

the sales on a much smaller as-

Market Cap 225.16 Market Lot 1.00 set base that leaves room for
EPS (TTM) 22.04 Face Value 10.00 market cap to improve, if profit-
Industry P/E 17.46 ability improves.
P/E 4.79
 A Portfolio Designed to Deliver Dividends + Capital Appreciation
CASTROL INDIA
The absolute leader in the Past Wealth Creation
lubricants space by way of 30,681%
sales, profits, and market cap. Dividend Yield Return on Equity
Sales is 3.7 times higher than 6.27% 76.98%
the No. 2 player. Profit is 6.6
times higher. And achieves this
on just double the asset base
of the nearest competitor. The
market cap is already huge, but
believe it or not, it still has room
to improve, if you take this MNC
associate’s stellar track-record
in delivering shareholder value.

52 Wk High 590.10 Book Value 20.02

52 Wk Low 308.85 Price/Book 20.24
Market Cap 10642.96 Market Lot 1.00
EPS (TTM) 18.81 Face Value 10.00
Naveen Kshatriya, Vice Chairman, Castrol P/E 22.88 Industry P/E 24.16

Past Wealth Creation

597%
Dividend Yield Return on Equity
6.03% 18.48%

ONGC
The undisputed leader in Oil
Drilling & Exploration sector.
Sales is 2.41 times that of
nearest competitor. Profit is even
better at 5.34 times the No. 2
52 Wk High 368.15 Book Value 102.02 player. Achieves this on thrice
52 Wk Low 249.00 Face Value 5.00 the asset base, but who cares
Seasonal Magazine

with its near monopoly status.

Market Cap 237072.63 Industry P/E 13.99
Market cap is already gigantic,
EPS (TTM) 23.27 but will continue to keep pace
P/E 11.76 with business growth.
 Past Wealth Creation
227%
Dividend Yield Return on Equity
5.22% 24.27%

Vice Chairman, Dr.G.Vivekanand, Visaka Industries

VISAKA
INDUSTRIES
A major player in the building
52 Wk High : 192.90 Book Value : 148.41
materials industr y. More
52 Wk Low : 92.20 Market Lot : 1.00 profitable than comparable
Market Cap : 159.84 Face Value : 10.00 peers by sales. Achieves this
on an industry average asset
EPS (TTM) : 31.21 Industry P/E : 4.73 base. Market cap has much
P/E : 3.22 room to improve.

COSMO FILMS Past Wealth Creation

This Jaipuria Group company has 600%
been the pioneers in BOPP films
Dividend Yield Return on Equity
in the country, and still continues
to be India’s largest exporter. With 5.64% 15.70%
the acquisition of USA based
ACCO’s world-leading print
finishing / thermal films business,
GBC Commercial, this polypropy
lene player looks good. Sales
continues to be strong, even while
profitability needs to improve.
Market cap should improve going
forward.

Ashok Jaipuria, Chairman & CEO

52 Wk High 187.80 Book Value 150.05

52 Wk Low 85.00 Price/Book 0.65
Seasonal Magazine

Market Cap 182.83 Market Lot 1.00

EPS (TTM) 24.19 Face Value 10.00
P/E 4.01 Industry P/E 5.69
 MARKET RESEARCH

Tech & Auto Most

Trusted Industries,
Insurance &
Banking Least
Trusted
veryone loves their computers, and everyone hates their bankers. That's
the in-a-nutshell takeaway from a recent survey about the perceived
trustworthiness of a variety of industries.
Survey respondents from 23 different nations were asked how much they
trusted certain fields to "do what is right." Out of 16 industries, technology was considered
the most trustworthy, followed by automotive, telecommunications, and food and
beverage. Unsurprisingly, the insurance, banking, and financial services industries were
at the bottom, considered nearly 30 percent less trustworthy than technology.
This is great news for Steve Jobs and Google, less great for the banking industry, which
continues to struggle with horrible public relations since the near financial collapse in
2008. It's also interesting to see how many people grant masses of leeway to tech and
auto, whose list of transgressions is growing if not yet historically significant.
Seasonal Magazine
ENTREPRENEUR
obert Nay, the creator of
Bubble Ball, recently
dethroned Angry Birds
as the top free game in
Apple's App Store.
Nay's Bubble Ball, an addictive
multi-level physics game, managed
to unperch the mega-popular Angry
Birds from the number-one spot on
the free games list in mid-January.
The deceptively simple game gets
increasingly more challenging as
players move objects around and
manipulate the laws of physics to
get a ball through an obstacle
course to the finish line.
Offering Bubble Ball as a free
game turned out to be a smart
marketing move -- to the tune of 6
million downloads. That sets the
stage should Nay decide to charge
for his next creation. He has already
issued an update for the game with
new levels and an improved look
on the larger iPad screen. If the
success of his first game is any
indication, Nay has a bright future
in game development.
Here is an interview with Nay on
his success secrets:
Where did you get the
idea for Bubble Ball?
I had played games that had some
similar ideas, but I mostly came up
with it myself.
How a
14 Year Old
Built the No. 1
iPhone Game
Most 14-year-olds are watching TV, thinking
about the school dance and spending way
too much time on Facebook. Eighth-grader
Robert Nay, meanwhile, used his spare time
to build a No. 1 iPhone app.
Did you have business startup
costs associated with building your
first app and launching Nay
Games?
The Apple Developer license the
Android Market license and the
license for Corona SDK, which is
what I used to make Bubble Ball.
There were also fees to create the
business. We already had a Mac
computer and iPod touch.
Why did you decide to start Nay
Games rather than be a single
person app publisher?
If I started a business, I could
expand later, possibly with more
people and games.
Why did you choose to develop
for the Apple iOS platform?
I like their devices and have an iPod
Touch.
You've been getting a lot of
media coverage. Did you initially
do anything special to promote
Bubble Ball?
Not really. Just telling friends and
family and such.
How does it feel to topple the
popular app Angry Birds out of the
No. 1 spot?
I think it's pretty awesome. I never
imagined my game could be the
number-one top free game.
Have you faced any challenges
as a young entrepreneur?
Probably just getting it started, and
getting brand recognition, which all
this publicity has really helped us
with.
What are your future plans for
Nay Games?
To make more games and possibly
write an eBook about iPhone game
development.
Is being a gaming entrepreneur
what you want to do after finishing
school or do you have other
ambitions?
Possibly. I want to do something
with computers for my career, like
Web development or computer
programming. But being a gaming
entrepreneur is definitely a viable
option.
What advice do you have for
other app developers?
Shoot for the stars. Put your mind
to it and, most importantly, have
fun.
Do you have any tips for getting
through Bubble Ball Level 12?
Put the triangle under the ball, then
Seasonal Magazine
you have to place a gravity up
piece, then a gravity down piece.
If you can't figure it out, check out
the solution.
 MARKETING
When Is
Bad Publicity
Good?
In a new study from
Stanford Graduate
School of Business,
researchers say in
some cases negative
publicity can
increase sales when
a product or
company is relatively
unknown, simply
because it stimulates
product awareness.
STANFORD GRADUATE
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS—In
2009, after months of scathing
media reports of cars that could
accelerate out of control, Toyota
had an extremely expensive
problem on its hands. Recalls,
fines, and plunging sales resulted
in losses to the auto manufacturer
in the neighborhood of $2 billion.
But bad news isn't always bad for
business. After the movie Borat
made relentless fun of the nation
of Kazakhstan, Hotels.com
reported a 300% increase in
requests for information about the
country, and a wine described as
Seasonal Magazine
"redolent of stinky socks" by a
prominent website saw its sales
increase by 5%.
In a new study from Stanford
Graduate School of Business,
researchers say in some cases
negative publicity can increase
sales when a product or company
is relatively unknown, simply
because it stimulates product
awareness.
"Most companies are concerned
with one of two problems," says
Alan Sorensen, associate professor
of economics and strategic
management at the business school
and one of the authors of the study.
"Either they're trying to figure out
how to get the public to think their
product is a good one, or they're
just trying to get people to know
about their product. In some
markets, where there are lots of
competing products, they're more
preoccupied with the latter. In that
case, any publicity, positive or
negative, turns out to be valuable."
Looking at 240 fiction book titles
reviewed by the New York Times,
investigators found that positive
reviews, not surprisingly, always
increased sales by anywhere from
32 to 52%. For books by
established authors, negative
reviews, also not surprisingly, led
to a 15% decrease in sales.
For books by relatively unknown
authors, however, negative
publicity had the opposite effect,
increasing sales by a significant
45%. Follow-up studies affirmed
the reason: Even bad reviews drew
attention to works that otherwise
would have gone unnoted.
Moreover, the "negative"
impression bad reviews created
seemed to diminish over time.
In another study, participants read
book reviews that were either
positive or negative, on books
penned either by well-known or
new authors. Some participants
were asked immediately to rate
how likely they would be to
purchase such books, while others
were given an unrelated task and
later asked if they would buy the
book.
For well-known books, negative
publicity resulted in less likelihood
of purchase, whether participants
reported their preferences right
away or after a delay. However, for
unknown books, the negative
publicity did not affect the
likelihood of purchase after a
delay.
"This suggests that whereas the
negative impression fades over
time, increased awareness may
remain, which can actually boost
the chances that a product will be
purchased," explains Sorensen,
who authored the study with Jonah
Berger, PhD '07, now a faculty
member at the Wharton School,
and alumnus Scott Rasmussen, BA
'03, a Stanford undergraduate
economics and mathematics
undergraduate at the time the
research was being conducted.
The research indicates that new
entrants may have little to lose
when it comes to publicity of any
kind — the key is simply to get
seen. "Smaller producers," the
authors write, for example, "may
want to allow, or even fan, the
flames of negative publicity."
Indeed, bad press, they suggest,
may even serve as a form of direct
marketing that can "slip under the
radar" and be unrecognized as
such. Brand names, on the other
hand, have more at stake, as
McDonald's saw when a rumor
circulated that it used worm meat
in its hamburgers: Sales decreased
by more than 25%.
Might the virulence of the negative
PR have bad effects, no matter
what? When might scandals
unrelated to the quality of the
product — about the CEO or star
associated with it —be
advantageous or disadvantageous?
How exactly does publicity
influence word of mouth, memory,
and exposure to products? Such
questions, say the authors, may
offer interesting avenues for future
research.
Seasonal Magazine
 GADGET

8 Reasons Why
You Should Buy
An Android
Phone Instead
Of An iPhone
iPhone owners and
iPhone enthusiasts
are watching
stunned as Google's
Android phones are
fast overtaking them
in US and worldwide
markets. Here is why
Google looks all set
to do a Windows on
iPhone. Will Apple
lose the mobile battle
just like it's Mac lost
the PC battle to
Microsoft?

Better Options in
Hardware & Software
Android Phones are available not
from just one manufacturer, but
several major players like
Motorola, HTC, Samsung,
SonyEriccson etc, as well as
emerging players like India's
Micromax. And every
manufacturer including Nokia is
expected to come up with an
Android phone, simply because
they can't afford not to. Coming to
software, the Android Marketplace
is already bigger than IPhone's
with thousands of the best app
developers writing their
applications for Android. In fact,
there are free Android apps for
most software needs at the
marketplace. And Android's
strategy of embracing all carriers /
networks unlike IPhone's narrow
selectivity of carriers is a big plus.
Better Screen Size
With iPhone, you have one option for
screen size: 3.5 inches. But several
Android phones such as the Atrix,
Droid X, HTC EVO, and Nexus S
offer screens 4 inches or larger. That
extra space is excellent for users who
like to watch movies, play games, or
view full web pages on their phone.
Better Customization
Android phones give you a ton of
options for customizing your home
screen. You can add live widgets
that receive constant updates on
weather, RSS feeds, and Facebook
or Twitter updates. You can also
bookmark your favorite contacts
directly on the home screen so you
can dial them with just a tap.
Better Camera
Many Android phones like the
Droid Incredible and the HTC
EVO 4G have 8 megapixel
cameras and shoot 720p HD video.
While the iPhone 4 can shoot HD
video, it only has a 5 megapixel
camera.
Play HD Video on TV
There are many Android devices
that offer HDMI ports for playing
HD video on your big screen TV.
Since it's unlikely the iPhone will
ever have a port other than the
standard iPod connector, you'll
never be able to watch true HD on
your TV by plugging it in.
Better Memory
Most Android phones will allow
you to expand and swap your
storage with a removable SD card.
This is useful for those who want
more space for music, video, and
apps than their phone allows out
of the box.
Better Processors
Starting with the Atrix, we're
beginning to see Android phones
sport dual core processors that can
offer amazing speed for your
phone. We put one through its
paces and were impressed with the
results. The downside? All that
processing power will kill your
battery.
Android is Moving to
4G Soon
There's a huge wave of 4G Android
phones hitting the market this year.
And that's on top of the handful that
are already available from Sprint
and T-Mobile. The consensus
seems to be we won't see a 4G
iPhone until 2012 at the earliest.
 LUXURY

A Rolls-Royce
that Runs at
90 Paise Per Km,
But Costing Rs. 7.30 Crore!

n electric powered Rolls-Royce limousine is

set to hit the road within days, the luxury
British car maker has confirmed.
Based around the existing The company boasts Paris Hilton Mr Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes
£300,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom, and Cheryl Cole among its wealthy confirmed at the time that ‘all
the electric -powered version will customers. options’ for alternatively-fuelled
be re-chargeable from the domestic There has been speculation for two vehicles were being considered.
mains and with zero emissions. years that Rolls-Royce was In a statement the company based
The standard petrol powered planning a top-secret electric at Goodwood in Sussex said:
Phantom achieves only around 15 model. This intensified in January 'Rolls-Royce Motor Cars today
miles to the gallon while the when Rolls-Royce's boss, under confirmed the development of
electric Rolls-Royce will cost intense media questioning, 102EX, a one-off, fully electric
around 2p a mile to run - providing admitted it would be 'a good idea.' powered Phantom, to debut at the
you can afford the price tag which
is likely to be not far short of
£1million.
The new car is to be unveiled to
the world at the Geneva Motor
Show on March 1. It has the
codename EXP 102 - the EXP
standing for 'experimental.
Traditionally, the firm produces a
Seasonal Magazine

fully running 'experimental' car to

take around the world to show
super rich clients, before taking
orders and putting the starting the
production version.
Geneva Motor Show on 1 March
2011.
The car will tour during 2011,
serving as a test bed to gather a
bank of research data which will
be crucial in informing future
decisions on alternative drive-
trains for Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.'
Chief executive officer Torsten
Müller-Ötvös, speaking from the
company’s headquarters in
Goodwood said: 'We have
engineered the world’s first battery
electric vehicle for the ultra-luxury
segment.
'With this vehicle, we begin an
exploration into alternative drive-
trains, seeking clarity on which
alternative technologies may be
suitable to drive Rolls-Royce
Paris Hilton is a Rolls Customer
motor cars of the future.'
A Rolls-Royce spokesman added:
'Rolls-Royce produces cars that
represent the pinnacle in luxurious
motoring for the world’s most
discerning customers.
With 102EX, also known as the
Phantom Experimental Electric
(EE), it is the company’s intention
to carefully test the opinions and
reactions to alternative drive-train
options of a range of stakeholders
including owners, enthusiasts,
members of the public and the
media.'
He added: '102EX will serve as a
working test bed for a global tour
that takes in Europe, the Middle
East, Asia and North America.
Through test drives, owners will be
given the opportunity to
experience an alternative drive-
train technology and to
feedbacktheir experiences,
thoughts and concerns directly to
Rolls-Royce.'
'As one of the company’s EX
models it will serve to begin a
dialogue with existing owners and
stakeholders, posing as well as
answering questions of its
audience.
These include the car’s ability to
deliver an acceptable range
between re-charges and to operate
in extreme weather conditions. But
also to benchmark reliability and
quality against customer
expectations of the world’s
pinnacle automotive brand.'
Seasonal Magazine
 Mr Müller-Ötvös. 'I must be
convinced that any alternative
drive-train we choose for the future
delivers an authentic Rolls-Royce
experience“It must be a technology
that is right for our customers, our
brand and which sets us on a sound
footing for a sustainable future.'
The super-green car for the wealthy
will be on the road in time for the
2012 Olympics where parent
company BMW will be
showcasing its ground-breaking
electric and environmentally-
friendly technology to the world.
The company's flagship £300,000
Phantoms currently manage just 15
miles to the gallon.
There has been intense speculation
over the last two years that Rolls-
Royce was planning a top secret
electric car.
Mr Mueller-Oetvoes increased that
speculation when he told the Daily
Mail before Christmas that an
electric or alternatively-fuelled
‘experimental’ Rolls-Royce model
would be a ‘good idea.’
BMW, which also owns British-
based MINI, has already launched
an electric powered MINI-E which
can be re-charged from the mains.
With the world’s eyes watching the
2012 Olympics - where parent
company BMW will be showing
off their low-emissions cars to ferry
80,000 VIPs to and from venues -
it could be the perfect opportunity
to showcase just such a vehicle
running on electric power, or even
a fuel-cell.
British gangster movie director
Guy Ritchie, former husband of
Madonna, took delivery of one
before Christmas. Traditionally,
Rolls-Royce has produced one-off
Seasonal Magazine
‘experimental’ models to showcase
to potential the luxury car
company’s latest technological
advances.
Guy Ritchie is a Rolls Customer
When the media pressed Mr
Mueller-Oetvoes before Christmas
that a super-green electric Rolls-
Royce using the latest in
environmentally-friendly
technology for the super-rich with
a conscience would make an ideal
new ‘experimental’ model, he
acknowledged it would be a ‘good
idea’.
Rolls-Royce announced record
annual car sales in 2010 - up
171per cent on 2009 and more than
double the previous record of
1,212 cars set in 2008. In 2009 the
company sold 1,002 cars.
The USA remained the biggest
single market for Rolls-Royce in
2010, followed by China and the
UK with all areas showing
‘significant growth’, particularly in
Asia Pacific, the USA and the
Middle East.
Wealthy women, like Paris Hilton
buying the smaller ‘baby’ Rolls-
Royce Ghost models are fuelling
the boom in sales from the
company’s hi-tech factory.
Wealthy women buying the smaller
‘baby’ Rolls-Royce Ghost models
are fuelling the boom in sales from
the company’s hi-tech factory is in
the grounds of the Earl of March’s
Goodwood estate.
'A degree of sobriety': Although
sales are bucking the economic
gloom, Rolls-Royce boss did admit
that colour schemes are more in
tune with the downbeat mood, with
a shift from 'bling' to more subtle
interior shades
Pop star and Geordie X Factor
judge Cheryl Cole has one of the
£196,000 cars, and British
gangster movie director Guy
Ritchie, former husband of
Madonna, took delivery of one
before Christmas.
The company sells about three
Ghosts to every one Phantom. Mr
Mueller-Oetvoes told the Daily
Mail that women are attracted to
the car’s ‘masculinity’ and now
account for up to 10 per cent of
sales of the Ghost, a more compact
and ‘less formal’ Royce saloon
than the massive £300,000
Phantom.
'Women love their Ghosts. But they
are not buying a car for women. Rolls-
Royce is a male brand. And women
like that. It’s a nice masculine car.'
But female customers do like to
customise their interiors with a more
feminine choice of colours and
detailing, leathers and stitching, he
said.
Although sales are bucking the
economic gloom, the Rolls-Royce
boss did admit that colour schemes
are more in tune with the downbeat
mood, with a shift from ‘bling’ to
more subtle interior shades: There’s
a degree of sobriety.'
In preparation for the Geneva debut
of its electric car , Rolls-Royce will
launch the website
www.electricluxury.com this week, a
portal to fuel a wider global debate
seeking views on the question of
electric luxury from media, VIPs and
stakeholders.
The site will also deliver regular
updates of the car’s progress while
on tour.
 GAMING
Are Facebook
Games Evil?
onathan Blow, creator
of cult indie game
Braid has said social
network gaming
forces players to ma-
nipulate friends.
Social network games have been
accused by developer Jonathan
Blow of transforming friends into
resources and not encouraging real
friendship.
Blow, who is well known for his
outspoken approach to video
games, told PC Gamer that he felt
social games were “trying to take
the maximum amount while trying
to give the minimum amount. Video
games such as World of Warcraft
or Counter-Strike allow players to
meet new people via ‘clans’ or
‘guilds’, whereas those embedded
within social networks require you
to exploit those you already know.
“The thing about these games
though is they’re made to look re-
ally light and friendly or whatever.
So it’s very difficult especially for
someone to think about games and
how their design affects the world
– which is most people in the world,
they don’t think about that, right?
It’s very difficult for them to see
how this could possibly be detri-
mental in any way. They’re just like,
'Oh, I’m clicking on the items, I’m
having fun'.”
He explained how designers create
games that ‘tease’ players by not
giving them everything they want,
consequently forcing them to play
more and “invade the player’s free
time away from the game”
Farmville is currently one of the
most popular Facebook applica-
tions available, with its creator
Zynga recently valued at up to
£5.6bn. The game allows players to
use real money to pay for virtual
objects online. Those who purchase
more objects will find they can play
the game less whereas those who
save will need to spend more time
playing to reach similar levels.
Traditionally large scale online
multiplayer games or MMOs have
relied on interaction between play-
ers to succeed. The emphasis put on
cooperation or conflict by im-
mensely popular games such as
World of Warcraft allows for groups
of friends to form while playing.
Jonathan Blow created the hugely
innovative Braid, a platforming
game which allows players to alter
time in order to succeed. Braid cur-
rently sits behind Angry Birds as the
second most popular gaming soft-
ware on Apple’s recently launched
Mac App Store.
Seasonal Magazine
 STRANG

Giant Chinese
Economy Creating
Demand for
Super Ships

These are the The mammoth freight carriers will be the largest in the world,
ferrying 18,000 enormous containers packed with goods from Asia.
incredible super-
Costing £111million apiece, the ships will be able to hold a
ships set to staggering 180 million Apple i-pods or 111 million pairs of trainers.
dominate the The 1,312ft long Triple E vessels are to be launched between 2013
ocean when they and 2015 by Danish shipping line Maersk after it signed a contract
Seasonal Magazine

with Daewoo Shipbuilding yesterday.

hit the waves in They will have 16 per cent more room than the company's current
just two years. largest ships, the PS-class vessels, which are already some of the
largest on the sea.
Ten of the giants will initially be
built, but there is an option for
another 20 to be manufactured in
a £3.7billion shipping order that
would be the biggest the world has
even seen.
Each vessel is six times the length
of the QE2 - the same as 43
London buses or four jumbo jets
lined up end to end. They are to be
built in the Daewoo yards in South
Korea and are predicted to cut
costs by 26 per cent.
The Triple E ships will set sail from
the booming countries in the far
East, bringing cheap goods to
major ports including Felixstowe,
Rotterdam and Bremerhaven.
China's economy, which is set to
grow by 10 per cent a year over
the next decade, has fuelled the
building of the ships.
But the 93ft-wide giants are slower
than conventional vessels, only
managing a top speed of just 23
knots.
Incredibly, they can be manned by
a crew of just 13 skilled sailors, but
carry 2,500 more 20ft containers
than any other ship currently on the
sea.
They are said to use around 50 per
cent less fuel and emit 20 per cent
less C02 than even the most eco-
friendly vessels.
Even the materials of the
superships - including every nut
and bolt - will be logged so that
they can be recycled in the future.
“
The new vessels will be
launched between 2013
and 2015. It will open a
new chapter and change
the landscape of shipping
and shipbuilding
Eivind Kolding,
Chief Executive, Maersk
They will be equipped with a
'waste heat recovery system,'
“When you take
goods off a
which will save up to 10 percent
of main engine power.
supermarket The engines will be smaller than
on many other large container
shelf, it most ships, operating at an average of
probably came only 19 knots, slightly slower than
on a container. other large container ships.
” Each vessel will sail 115,000
nautical miles a year, or round the
world four-and-a-half times.
Eivind Kolding, chief executive of
Maersk, said: 'When you take
goods off a supermarket shelf most
probably came on a container.
'Container shipping reaches
consumers wherever they are.
Globalisation could not have
happened without a very efficient
container shipping industry.
'We will set new standards far
beyond what the regulators
Sang-Tae Nam, imagine today.
Chief Executive, Daewoo
'Should we decide to go for all 30
vessels, it is going to be close to
$6 billion, and that will make it the
largest order ever seen in shipping.'
Sang-Tae Nam, chief executive of
Daewoo, said the new vessels will
be launched between 2013 and
Seasonal Magazine
2015.
He added: 'It will open a new
”
chapter and change the landscape
of shipping and shipbuilding.'
 INSURANCE
LIC Readies Itself for
Challenges on All Fronts
ife Insurance Corporation
of India is recognizing
that the new decade the
industry is in is
undoubtedly about increased
challenges, and is getting ready on
all fronts. It is raising cash by
planning to divest major long-term
investments like in IL&FS, which
is expected to be a major profit-
booking for the insurance major.
With FDI limit in life insurance
companies going up from 26% to
49%, LIC is not sitting idle but
increasing its paid up equity capital
to Rs. 100 crore, as a first step in
revamping its capital structure. On
the new products front, LIC has
introduced a path-breaking ULIP,
Samridhi Plus, which is a
guaranteed net asset value plan.
Policy holders will be assured of the
highest NAV recorded on a daily
basis, during the first hundred
months, if the NAV on maturity is
lower. The NAV will also be subject
to a minimum of Rs. 10, that further
guarantees capital. During the
April-Jan period in this fiscal, it was
LIC’s stellar performance in new
premium growth of 36.9% that
enabled the entire industry to come
up with an average new premium
growth of 25.8%. On the sales front,
LIC which already has a huge edge
by way of its formidable agent
army, is leaving nothing to chance
when it comes to retaining this
workforce. Recently, it unveiled
plans to introduce contributory
pension schemes for its better
performing agents who earn more
than Rs. 1 lakh commission. While
this is expected to help over 5 lakh
agents, other LIC agents who earn
less than Rs. 1 lakh as commission
per year already have a pension
scheme running for them. On the
investments front, LIC is expected
to continue its formidable market
participation, with the recent stake-
hike in Syndicate Bank being the
TS Vijayan, Chairman
best example. The Finance Ministry
appointed Vepa Kamesam
Committee is widely expected to
introduce many reforms in LIC,
including in its investment
protocols. LIC management’s firm
stand that its investments as well as
subsidiary activities were
adequately monitored got recent
approvals when LIC Housing
Finance came up with stellar Q3
results, and an internal probe by
LIC failed to unearth any
irregularities.
It has been 10 years since many of
the largest private life insurers
started operating in the country.
Though life insurers are expected
to break even starting from the 7th
year of commencing operations,
according to IRDA assessments, it
is striking that many private life
insurers are yet to break even. LIC’s
steady performance of delivering
profits - often up by 10% year-on-
year - assumes significance in this
background.
LIC excels on various fronts to
achieve this performance, notably
by cutting management expense per
premium, preventing premium
lapses, and controlling procurement
costs. Many private insurers come
across as stark contrasts, with many
witnessing overall expense growth
outpacing premium growth.
But it is not only mere cost-cutting
that is delivering for LIC. The sheer
collection momentum continues to
amaze.
The figures speak for themselves.
For the month of November 2010 -
the latest period for which details
are available - the total premium
mop-up by the industry was Rs.
77,000 crore. That LIC dominate
this collection with Rs. 55,500 crore
is not the real achievement. LIC’s
collection is up 52% year-on-year,
whereas all others combined could
grow only by 13%, which signals
that the LIC juggernaut is growing
400% faster than the rest of the
industry.
In the last quarter of this fiscal, LIC
expects to mop-up a record Rs.
80,000 crore according to
Chairman TS Vijayan.
LIC also seems to have better
adapted to the new ULIP guidelines
implemented by IRDA around three
months back. While LIC could
marginally improve its November
performance month-on-month
despite the ULIP changes, the
private insurers witnessed marginal
decrease in performance, with
ULIP-heavy insurers like ICICI
Prudential’s MoM figures down by
34%.
The contrasting performance in the
case of ULIPs is significant, as this
segment also fares as one of LIC’s
core growth areas. For example in
2009-10, ULIPs constituted the
fastest growing area for LIC, by
absolute amounts.
However, the overall perfor
manceof LIC during FY’10 was
also good with the company
excelling in both emerging areas
like group insurance and
conventional segments like non-
ULIPs for individuals. In fact, the
only trouble-spots for LIC were
annuities and single-premium
policies, where it witnessed a fall,
but which was not enough to take
the sheen out of this outperforming
fiscal where LIC grew its premiums
by over 18%, compared to the
previous fiscal’s 5% growth.
In a sense, it is correct to note that
LIC is not only unfazed by compe
tition anymore, but is setting its own
growth benchmarks.
The beauty of LIC’s operations is
that the benefits of this
outperformance is shared by even
the smallest of its agent army. Even
in a year of cost-cutting, when the
commissions paid to its agents as a
percentage of the total outflow fell
by 1.75% over the previous year, the
actual commissions paid to its agents
went up by 20.7%.
The difference between LIC’s
inflow and outflow, which this
insurance giant considers for
investments in various instruments
like government bonds, equities,
and debt securities rose sharply to
Rs. 1,90,000 crore. LIC has been a
very efficient investor, as its returns
from such investments during fiscal
2010 stands at a comparable Rs.
1,12,395 crore.
The unrealized net value of its
investments as of June 2010 is also
impressive, at a whopping Rs.
8,67,935 crores.
Whenever needed, LIC had been
careful in assessing and re-
assigning fund managers so as to
maximize performance and
revenue. The scale of LIC’s trading
and investment activities at the
bourses is mind-boggling to even
the largest of FIIs. Employing
around 150 empanelled brokerages,
LIC undertakes around 120-150
trades a day, many of them Block
Deals amounting to 5,00,00 shares
or Rs. 5 crore in worth.
However, the insurance leader has
become more cautious in the even
bigger segment of Bulk Deals
where it buys or sells 0.5% of a
company’s listed equities, due to
the volatility in the capital markets,
and may be also due to the fact that
it is looking into whether some
alleged irregularities were there in
the transactions.
But as LIC Chairman TS Vijayan
and Managing Director in charge of
investments, Thomas Mathew has
repeatedly clarified, it is very
difficult to manipulate the LIC way
of doing investments, as no single
person is in charge. The investment
business is managed by the
Investment Committee which is a
sub-committee of the LIC Board,
and the Board looks into the
investment policies and their
outcomes every six months.
Serious investors around the world
are interested to know what LIC is
investing in, and unofficial estimates
show that India’s largest financial
institution won’t touch anything
beyond BSE 200 stocks, and is most
bullish on banks as a segment for the
long-term.
 HEALTH

Cancer Fear Raised

Over Coke & Pepsi
Ingredient
An ingredient used in Coca-Cola and Pepsi is
a cancer risk and should be banned, an
influential lobby group has claimed.
The concerns relate to an artificial brown colouring agent that the researchers say could
be causing thousands of cancers.
‘The caramel colouring used in Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and other foods is contaminated with
two cancer-causing chemicals and should be banned,’ said the Center for Science in the
Public Interest (CSPI), a health lobby group based in Washington, DC. ‘In contrast to the
caramel one might make at home by melting sugar in a saucepan, the artificial brown
colouring in colas and some other products is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and
sulphites under high pressure and
temperatures.
‘Chemical reactions result in the
formation of two substances
known as 2-MI and 4-MI which in
government-conducted studies
caused lung, liver, or thyroid
cancer or leukaemia in laboratory
mice or rats.’
America’s National Toxicology
Program says that there is ‘clear
evidence’ that both 2-MI and 4-MI
are animal carcinogens, and
therefore likely to pose a risk to
humans.
Researchers at the University of
California, Davis, found
significant levels of 4-MI in five
brands of cola.
The executive director of the CSPI,
Michael F Jacobson, has petitioned
America’s food regulator, the Food
& Drug Administration, to take
action.He said: ‘Carcinogenic
colourings have no place in the
food supply, especially considering
that their only function is a
cosmetic one.’
Mr Jacobson said the name
‘caramel colouring’ does not
accurately describe the additives,
explaining: ‘It’s a concentrated
dark brown mixture of chemicals
that simply does not occur in
nature.’
Popular drink: The Beatles
drinking bottles of coca cola in
Paris in 1964. Scientists say its
'caramel colour' is a mixture of
chemicals that does not occur in
nature
Popular drink: The Beatles
drinking bottles of coca cola in
Paris in 1964. Scientists say its
'caramel colour' is a mixture of
chemicals that does not occur in
nature
He added that while regular
caramel could not be described as
healthy, ‘at least it is not tainted
Michael F Jacobson,
Executive Director, CSPI
“Carcinogenic
colourings have
no place in the
food supply,
especially
considering that
their only
function is a
cosmetic one.”
with carcinogens’.
U.S. regulations distinguish
between four types of caramel
colouring, two of which are
produced with ammonia and two
without it. The CSPI wants the two
made with ammonia to be banned
and has received backing from five
prominent cancer experts,
including several who have worked
at the National Toxicology
Program.
The type used in colas and other
dark soft drinks is known as
Caramel IV, or ammonia sulphite
process caramel. Caramel III, which
is produced with ammonia but not
sulphites, is sometimes used in beer,
soy sauce, and other foods.
The CSPI admitted that any risk
associated with consumption of the
chemicals would be extremely
small. It said the ten teaspoons of
sugar found in a can of regular cola
would be more of a health problem.
However, it argued the levels of 4-
MI in the tested colas still may be
causing thousands of cancers in the
U.S. population alone.
Earlier this week, it was claimed
that Coca-Cola’s secret recipe had
been leaked. It was even suggested
it might be possible to recreate the
taste and look on the kitchen table.
The leak claims were denied by the
company, where a spokesman said:
‘Many third parties have tried to
crack our secret formula. Try as they
might, they’ve been unsuccessful
because there is only one “Real
Thing”.’
Coca-Cola and Pepsi did not
respond to a request for a response
to the CSPI claims.
This morning Coca-Cola rejected
the CSPI’s concerns.
A spokesman said: ‘Our beverages
are completely safe. CSPI’s
statement irresponsibly insinuates
that the caramel used in our
beverages is unsafe and
maliciously raises cancer concerns
among consumers.
'This does a disservice to the very
public for which CSPI purports to
serve.
‘Studies show that the caramel we
use does not cause cancer.’
The company said its drinks do not
contain 2-MEI. It said they do
contain 4-MEI in trace amounts.
It said: ‘These extrapolations by
CSPI to human health and cancer are
totally unfounded.’
 A U T O
BMW Wants to Be
the Ultimate Green
Machine
The company that claims
to build the ultimate
driving machine wants to
build the ultimate green
machine and is
launching a brand
dedicated specifically to
cars with cords.
BMW announced the “i” — yep, just
like Apple — brand today, promising
to deliver an electric vehicle and a
plug-in hybrid by 2013 while also
branching out into “mobility services.”
The company promised to offer a
“seamless network” of services,
including intelligent navigation,
vehicle connectivity and even parking
solutions.
“The products and services have been
conceived around a revolutionary
approach: purpose designed and
purpose built for sustainable, premium
mobility,” company board member Ian
Robertson, who is responsible for sales
and marketing, said in a statement. “It’s
a new day in our industry; a new era
for individual mobility. This is BMW i
– Born Electric.” The “i” brand was
born of Project i, a team BMW created
three years ago to explore the future of
transportation. It is the centerpiece of
the company’s campaign to develop
alternative drivetrains and more
ecofriendly cars. The i3, left, is an all-
electric city car. The i8 is a high-
performance plug-in hybrid.
As the Financial Times notes,
“mobility” is the hot buzzword in the
auto industry as automakers scramble
to develop cleaner, greener vehicles.
In addition to developing electric
vehicles and plug-in hybrids, many
automakers hope to capitalize on new
technology like batteries and vehicle-
charging infrastructure.
To that end, BMW also is launching
the “i Venture” venture capital division
and bankrolling it to the tune of $100
million. General Motors, for example,
has done the same thing, investing in
battery technology firms, EV startups
and other companies through General
Motors Ventures. To offer another
example, both Daimler and Toyota
have invested tens of millions of
dollars in Tesla Motors.
BMW has been experimenting with
electric vehicles, rolling out the Mini
E and, more recently, the Concept
Active E 1-Series. Both vehicles are
being leased in limited numbers in what
amounts to a real-world R&D program.
The i8 will be based on the wild Vision
Efficient Dynamics concept unveiled
last year. But the automaker will offer
two vehicles through the i brand —
the BMW i3 and the BMW i8. The i3,
previously known as the Megacity
Vehicle, will be an all-electric city car.
The i8 is based on the Vision Efficient
Dynamics concept car, which is
essentially a plug-in hybrid M6.
BMW didn’t offer any specs for the
vehicles but said both will use
“LifeDrive” architecture, “a
revolutionary construction concept.”
The cars will ride on an aluminum
chassis with carbon-fiber-reinforced
plastic safety cells. BMW says using
those materials offsets the high weight
of the vehicle. “For our customers this
means superior driving dynamics
combined with significantly increased
range using electric power,” board
member Klaus Draeger, who oversees
vehicle development, said in a
statement.
According to The Wall Street Journal,
SB LiMotive, a joint venture between
Samsung SDI and Robert Bosch, will
supply the batteries.
BMW design chief Adrian van
Hooydonk told Auto Express the i cars
will feature styling touches that will
distinguish them from other models,
including a blue-rimmed version of the
trademark kidney grille, large but
narrow wheels for better aerodynamics
and sleeker C-pillars. Both cars will
be built at BMW’s factory in Leipzig,
Germany; BMW will invest 400
million euro ($546 million) in the
operation. The company says the two
vehicles will use essentially the same
components — motors, electronics
and batteries — to keep costs down.
BMW’s venture capital arm has made
its first investment, plowing an
undisclosed sum into New York-based
My City Way. It’s a smartphone app
that provides info on public transit,
parking availability and local
entertainment in more than 40 cities.
Musli Power X-Tra Gets
Clean Chit from Singapore..
Seasonal Magazine caught up with Dr. KC
Abraham of Kunnath Pharmaceuticals to
find out the latest developments regarding
their blockbuster drug, Musli Power X-Tra:

ecently you had
launched a discount-
scheme for senior
citizens. What made
you go for such a strategy?
A good percentage of Musli Power
X-Tra users have been senior
citizens. Some of them were
finding it difficult to afford the
medicine on a regular basis,
according to the feedback we were
receiving directly at our offices as
well as from the over one lakh
medical shops across the country
where the product is available.
Now, most services are being
offered to seniors at a discount,
like railways or financial services,
reflecting their relatively
challenging earnings situation. So,
we were working on a solution,
and recently we launched it by
offering 90s pack at Rs. 1200
against MRP of Rs. 2000, and 60s
pack at Rs. 900 instead of Rs.
1400. This is perhaps the first time
that any medicine belonging to
any medical system has been
made available at a discount to
senior citizens. And the discount
is quite good at 35-40%. If they
bring in our ad coupon provided
in several dailies, the discount can
go up to 50% of MRP.
How does the discount-scheme
work or how can senior citizens
avail of this offer?
The offer is available directly from
our offices. Senior citizens can
either visit or order it through
mail. We require full address and
age proof. Those ordering through
mail should enclose a DD or
Cheque at par in favour of
Kunnath Pharmaceuticals,
payable at Ernakulam. We will
deliver the packs directly to the
customer via courier. A maximum
of four packs can be ordered by a
senior citizen at a time. This has
been kept so as this is a time-
limited offer for one month during
which we expect to deliver only
one lakh packs under discount.

How has been the response to this

offer?

The response has been

surprisingly strong, much above
our expectations. We think we will
run out of packs even before
March ends.
Dr. KC Abraham, MD, Kunnath Pharmaceuticals
..Launches Discount
Scheme for Senior
Citizens
How have you been responding
to allegations that Musli Power
X-Tra contains Tadalafil, the
active ingredient in the erectile
dysfunction drug Cialis?
There has been only one
allegation, which was made by a
Delhi based pharmacy institute.
Their study was totally
unfounded, as they don’t have
facilities for Mass Spectrum
Analysis, which as you might
know, is the gold standard to
accurately find out all the
ingredients in a formulation. So,
even though numerous studies by
drug administration agencies of
various state governments had
repeatedly proven that Musli
Power X-Tra doesn’t contain
tadalafil, vardenafil, sildenafil, or
any synthetic steroids, we decided
to go in for Mass Spectrum
Our product underwent a more
detailed study by a top-notch
laboratory in Singapore, and
this study not only confirmed
the absence of tadalafil, but
the absence of around 200
active allopathic molecules
that are usually used to
adulterate herbal medicines.
Analysis at Bangalore’s Sequent
Research Ltd, which is one of a
handful of Indian labs doing this
quite expensive study. Now their
study has also come out which
totally disproves the claim that
Musli Power X-Tra contains
Tadalafil or any other similar
allopathic compounds. Even more
recently, our product underwent a
more detailed study by a top-notch
laboratory in Singapore, and this
study not only confirmed the
absence of tadalafil, but the
absence of around 200 active
allopathic molecules that are
usually used to adulterate herbal
medicines.
So, you are not paying anyone the
Rs. 5 crore reward for proving
Tadalafil’s presence?
Why should we? In fact, we
 Musli Power X-Tra is Powering
Kerala’s First Formula Racing Team
should be suing this Delhi
pharmacy setup for making such
an irresponsible statement, even
while they were perfectly aware
that they simply don’t have the
facility to make such a claim, that
is Mass Spectrum Analysis. But
we don’t pursue such things, as we
know who is behind these small
setups. MNC pharma giants
whose sales have been affected by
our popularity is behind all these.
Recently, you have strengthened
your anti-imitation strategy for
Musli Power X-Tra. Has imitative
products become a real threat?
Yes, definitely this is a threat, but
not only for us, but for our
customers. You see, we have this
good thing going for us, due to a
superior formulation and wide
publicity. Some manufacturers of
spurious medicines are trying to
piggyback on - or downright
exploit - our efforts by making
similar packs with similar names.
Now the latest strategy is offering
medical shops a profit margin of
over 70% to push such products.
That is why we have started
Some manufacturers of
spurious medicines are
trying to piggyback on - or
downright exploit - our
efforts by making similar
packs with similar names.
Now the latest strategy is
offering medical shops a
profit margin of over 70%
to push such products.
placing ‘Beware of Imitators’
warning prominently in all our
publicity materials. You will be
surprised at the kind of nifty
designs and names used to feel
and sound like our product. We
have a collection of them, sent in
by our customers and executives.
Many customers only check the
pack and bottle in detail, only on
realizing that the (duplicate)
medicine is not effective. So, now
we are publicising the different
ways in which the original Musli
Power X-Tra can be identified and
confidently bought. Apart from
the over one lakh medical shops,
the product is available directly
from our offices, through mail
order, and from our website as
well as other e-commerce sites
approved by us.