Canadian Firm Fairfax to buy BlackBerry for $4.7 billion : Deal details, About Fairfax, Company profile and History, Prem Watsa, Latest stock price of BlackBerry and Fairfax

Canadian Smart phone maker, BlackBerry has signed a provisional agreement to be bought by Fairfax Financial Holding Limited, which currently hold 10% of sharesin the Waterloo.

Fairfax Holding CEO of Indian origin Mr Prem Watsa stepped down from BlackBerry's board in August 2013, rumers were heard that he would launch a bid for BlackBerry started to swirl.

Few weeks later after he stepped down from board has delivered, beginning a rescue project he once said could take 4 to 5 years.

Just over a year ago, Watsa said BlackBerry was a "Canadian success story", a good buy and a likely turnaround story even though its market share was tumbling.

On Monday, BlackBerry said it agreed to be acquired by a consortium led by Fairfax for $4.7 billion, a move observers said could allow the company to put its house back in order out of the public eye.

About Fairfax

Prem Watsa's Fairfax was on a loosing end of bets against the market in mid 2000s as Fairfax waited for USD mortgage insdustry to collapse.

Stock prices of Fairfax fall by almost 40% from mid 2003 to mid 2006, while rival  feasted on a housing fed bul market.

When market began to weaken in 2007, Fairfax began notching up investment gain and profits started rising sharply in 2007 & 2008 and thereafter rising storngly in 2009 too...

Since their 2006 low of C$100, Fairfax's shares have more than quadrupled.

Fairfax Profile and History.

Industry Insurance
Founded 1985
Headquarters 95 Wellington Street West
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Key people :V. Prem Watsa, Chairman/CEO
Products Property and casualty insurance
Website : www.fairfax.ca

Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited is a financial holding company based in Toronto, Ontario, which is engaged in property, casualty, and life insurance and reinsurance, investment management, and insurance claims management. The company operates primarily through several subsidiaries, including Odyssey Re, Northbridge Financial, Crum & Forster and Zenith Insurance Company.
As of December 31, 2010, Fairfax had total assets of approximately $31.7 billion, and its revenue for the prior twelve months was approximately $6.2 billion. Over the last 27 years (that is, since present management took over - until fiscal year Dec. 31, 2012), the company book value per share has compounded by 23% per year,while the common stock price has followed the growth at 19% per year.

About Prem Watsa

Prem Watsa (born 1950 in Hyderabad, India) is the founder, chairman, and chief executive of Fairfax Financial Holdings, based in Toronto, Ontario.
He has been called the "Canadian Warren Buffett" by some during successful periods of investing

He is a CFA charterholder, an alumnus of the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras with a degree in Chemical Engineering and a holder of an MBA from the Richard Ivey School of Business of the University of Western Ontario.

On January 22, 2012, it was reported he was to be appointed to BlackBerry handset maker, Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM), board of directors in the company's largest ever corporate shakeup. Mr Watsa resigned in August 2013, but kept his investment in the company at the time. On September 23 2013, Blackberry announced that it had signed a letter of intent to be acquired by Prem Watsa led Fairfax Financial Holdings in a $4.7 Billion deal

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India Infoline Finance Ltd’s, IIFL NCD plans to raise Rs 525 Crore, Issue details, Returns, Features and Rating

India Infoline Finance Ltd’s, IIFL NCD plans to raise Rs 525 Crore, Issue details, Returns, Features and Rating
 


India Infoline Finance Ltd’s Rs.525 crore public issue of secured redeemable, non-convertible debentures opened. India Infoline Finance Ltd is a subsidiary of India Infoline Ltd, which is a comprehensive financial services company.

The company is a non-banking finance company, which primarily focuses on mortgage loans and gold loans. Other smaller segments of lending extend to capital market financing, medical equipment financing and commercial vehicle financing.

Features
There are four series on offer that are redeemable after three and five years and two interest payout options—monthly and annual. The coupon offered across series is 12% per annum. You can invest a minimum of Rs.5,000 or buy five bonds with a face value of Rs.1,000 each (see graph).

While there is no call option, the company can call for a buyback of debentures before maturity. The debentures are secured against immovable property, current assets and other book debt and receivables of the company. This means if the company defaults on its payment, you have a claim on its assets for getting your dues.

The debentures are proposed to be listed, hence if you need an early exit you can do so in the secondary market.

Risk
The debentures are rated CARE AA by CARE Ltd and BWR AA/Stable by Brickwork. This indicates low credit risk and high probability of the company sticking to its financial obligations.
At the group level, two financial metrics that work for the company are its low level of non-performing assets at about 0.5% for FY13 despite the current slowdown in the economy. The group also has sufficient capital adequacy ratio at 21.6% for FY13. According to Nirmal Jain, chairman, India Infoline, “A majority of our loans are in the retail segment and here we have very strict credit checks with almost all borrowers undergoing a Cibil (Credit Information Bureau India Ltd) check.”

Should one invest?
The return is attractive, but comes with its share of risk. Dhakan pointed out that bonds issued by a company like Tata Capital, which has similar credit rating, currently trades at a yield of 10-10.5%, so the additional premium on this bond points at higher risk, given the environment in which India Infoline Finance is operating in at present. On a post-tax basis, if you fall in the 30% tax bracket you will earn around 8.3% annually and if you are in the 10% bracket you will earn around 10.8% annually.

While the company is advertising a yield of 12.68% per annum for the monthly payout option, keep in mind that is the internal rate of return or IRR. This means you can get a yield of 12.68% only if you are able to reinvest each of the monthly payouts again at a rate of 12% per annum. It’s unlikely that this will happen; opting for monthly payout would mean that you need to use that income stream.

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Ashok Vemuri, age 45 joins iGate as its President and Chief Executive Officier with an annual base salary of $1.3 million (around Rs 8.15 crore), close to twice what he was getting at Infosys.

 iGATE Corporation announced the appointment of Ashok Vemuri, age 45, as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 16, 2013.

Mr. Vemuri joined the Company from Infosys Limited (Infosys), where he most recently served as Member of the Board of Directors of Infosys, Head of Americas and Global Head of Manufacturing and Engineering Services of Infosys. Mr. Vemuri also previously served as the Chairman of Infosys China and was on the Board of Infosys Public Services. Prior to that, he established and ran the Financial Services and Insurances business for nine years, making it the largest business unit within Infosys. In his role as Head of Americas, Mr. Vemuri was responsible for Infosys business operations in the companys largest region - with $4.7 billion in revenues.
According to Infosys’ annual report for 2012-2013, Vemuri’s annual base salary was $708,000 (Rs 3.86 crore based on the exchange rate at that time). During that period, Vemuri’s total compensation including bonus incentive of $190,978 and other annual income of $5,400 stood at $904,378 (Rs 4.91 crore).

Vemuri will be employed initially for a five-year term started September 16, 2013, at iGate, the filing said.

Education Qualification

Mr. Vemuri received a Bachelors degree with Honors in Physics from St. Stephens College, Delhi, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Marketing Management from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Volkswagen launches Polo GT diesel at Rs 8.08 lakh in India : Review

The Volkswagen Polo GT TDI, the most powerful diesel hatchback in the B segment, has been launched in India at Rs 8.08 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) is considered to be the most powerful diesel car in this segment.

The GT TDI along with the recently launched GT TSI is a part of the performance-oriented variant line.

The hatchback is powered by a 1.6-litre TDI diesel, the same unit which powers the VW Vento and Skoda Rapid sedans.

The oil burner puts out 105PS and 250Nm of torque, and comes paired to a 5-speed manual gearbox.

The performance levels should be better than the sedans since the Polo weights around 90kg lighter. The GT TDI returns an ARAI certified fuel economy of 19.78kmpl.

Visually, the car is similar to the GT TSI. GT badges are spotted on the front grille and the hatch door, and a TDI badge is also pasted on the boot. The 15″ alloy wheels are the same as the Highline variants of the regular hatchback.

On the inside, improvements are again reminiscent with the GT TSI. Chrome accents, leather wrapped steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever, and sporty black and grey upholstery with contrast stitching sum up the changes.

The VW Polo GT TDI is available in three exterior color options - Candy White, Flash Red and Deep Black Pearl.

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Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund announces dividend option of Regular Plan and Direct Plan, record date of dividend is 20th September 2013

Reliance Mutual Fund has declared a dividend under the dividend option of Regular Plan and Direct Plan of Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund. The record date for declaration of dividend is September 20, 2013. Accordingly the amount of dividend (Rs. per unit) on the face value of Rs. 10 per unit will be Rs. 0.25 and Rs. 0.30 per unit respectively.  Reliance Tax Saver (ELSS) Fund, is an open-ended ELSS scheme. The primary objective of the scheme is to generate long term capital appreciation from a portfolio that is invested predominantly in equity and equity related instruments.

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Reliance Tax Saver Fund - Direct Plan - Dividend

Reliance Tax Saver Fund - Dividend

IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund : Fund overview, Portfolio, Fund manager, a good buy recommendation by Financial Adviser Arnav Pandaya

IDBI India Top 100 Equity Fund is an equity oriented open ended fund to provide investors with opportunities for long-term growth in capital through active management of a diversified basket of equity stocks, debt and money market instruments. The investment universe of the scheme will be restricted to equity stocks and equity related instruments of companies that are constituents of the S&P CNX Nifty Index (Nifty 50) and the CNX Nifty Junior Indices comprising a total of 100 stocks. These two indices are collectively referred to as the CNX 100 Index. Financial Advisor Arnav Pandya recommends on investing in this fund as it has been able to sail through tough market conditions.

Nature: Equity oriented open ended
Inception: May 2012 A
ssets under Management:  Rs 51 crore at the end of June 2013
Fund Manager: V Balasubramanian

• The fund aims to invest its portfolio in stocks that comprise the CNX Nifty Index and the CNX Nifty Junior Index comprising a total of 100 stocks.  At the end of June 2012 the fund had the highest exposure to banks in its portfolio.
• Automobiles, consumer non durables and industrial capital goods were some of the other leading sectors. Since the fund had just started its activities nearly half of its corpus was still in liquid form.  HDFC  was the top holding with Axis Bank , ICICI Bank , Bajaj Auto ,  SBI  and Dr Reddys Labs being some of the other top holdings. The fund was benchmarked to the CNX 100 index. • By the end of November 2012 the fund had the highest exposure to automobiles at over 25 per cent of the portfolio. Banks and consumer non durables were two other sectors that had over 10 percent of the assets invested in them.  ICICI Bank was the top individual holding with M&M, L&T, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, Dr Reddys Labs, HUL  and TCS  being some of the other top holdings.
• There was not much major change as far as the sector positions were concerned at the end of June 2013. Automobiles continued to be at the top though with a 21 per cent share in the portfolio with banks, Pharma, software and consumer non durables being other leading ones.
• Dr Reddy’s Lab with over 8 per cent share was the top individual holding followed by ICICI Bank HDFC, M&M, TCS, Maruti Suzuki , L&T and Tata Motors .  The fund was an outperformer over the one year time period as well as since inception.
• Investors can consider this fund as a choice while selecting investments for their portfolio as the fund has begun on the right note and has been able to handle the tough times well.

Nina Davululuri, 24 year old Indian-American girl crowned as Miss America

Nina, 24 year old Miss New York is the first contestant of Indian origin to become Miss America.

After wining the crown of Miss America 2014, she dwscribed how delighted she was

"I'm so happy this organization has embraced diversity,'' Nina Davuluri said in her first press conference after winning the crown in Atlantic City, New Jersey's Boardwalk Hall. "I'm thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.''

Nina Davuluri is a native of Syracuse, New York wants to be a doctor, and is applying to medical school, with the help of a $50,000 scholarship she won as part of the pageant title.

She is the second consecutive Miss New York to win the Miss America crown, succeeding Mallory Hagan, who was selected in January when the pageant was still held in Las Vegas. The Miss America Organization will compensate Hagan for her shortened reign.

Nina Davuluri

• Born : 20th April 1989
• Place of Birth : Syracuse, New York
• Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
• Hair color : Black
• Eye color : Brown
• Title(s) : Miss Syracuse 2013
• Miss New York - 2013
• Miss America - 2014
• Major
• competition(s) Miss America 2014 (Winner)

Ranbaxy Laboratories shares fall 32 pct after FDA slapped the aleart on its Mohali factory, Latest stock Price

Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd plant in India has been sanctioned with an import alert ban from the US Food and Drug Administration, triggering the worst single day fall in its shares on Monday and a brokerage downgrade.

The FDA slapped the alert on Ranbaxy Laboratories' Mohali factory in northern India on Friday, saying the plant owned by India's biggest drugmaker by sales had not met so-called good manufacturing practices, the U.S. regulator said on its website.
A Ranbaxy Laboratories spokesman did not have immediate comment on the FDA action.
India is the biggest overseas source of drugs to the U.S. and is home to over 150 FDA-approved plants including facilities run by global players. Pharmaceutical exports from India to the U.S. rose nearly 32 percent last year to $4.23 billion.
The latest ban on company, controlled by Japan's Daiichi Sankyo Co, comes just a few months after Ranbaxy Laboratories pleaded guilty to U.S. felony charges related to drug safety and agreed to a record $500 million in fines.
Two of the Ranbaxy Laboratories' other plants at Dewas and Paonta Sahib were hit with the same alerts in 2008, and are still barred from making shipments to the United States. The company has a total of eight plant locations across India.

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