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JANUARY 25, 2015 | A FINNICHE INITIATIVE
Do write to us at: finniche.imt@gmail.com
In Focus Obama visits India—A Seminal Movement | 2
Term of Week
Opinion Is America Complacent about Currency War | 4
Options | 6
Personality Shikha Sharma |11
Tech World Panono: New World of Panoramic Photography |12
January, 25 | 2015 | Volume 31
India would celebrate its 66th Republic Day on 26th January 2015. Republic Day in India is celebrated every year with great honour on 26th of January to honour the Constitution of India as it came to force on the same day in the year in 1950. This year US President Barack Obama would be the Chief Guest on this occasion, becoming the first US President to be invited. Obama visits India– A Seminal Movement
Is America Complacent about Currency War
Options
Club FinNiche releases its weekly magazine FinXpress, with the In Focus talking about the ‘Obama visits India– A Seminal Movement’. The Opinion gives an overview of ‘Is America Complacent about Currency War?’ The term of the week describes “Options", a financial derivative that represents a contract sold by one party to another party. Do have a look at the market section, Tech world which brings to you about Panono: New World of Panoramic Photography and Personality of the week, Shikha Sharma.
Club FinNiche welcomes any comments, suggestions or criticism regarding the magazine. Please do write to us and share your ideas.
Happy Reading!
Shikha Sharma
Regards The Editorial Team Club FinNiche
Panono: New World of Panoramic Photography
Disclaimer: FinXpress takes no responsibility for the opinions expressed in the magazine.
- By Shreyans Dhariwal
US President Barack Obama will be visiting India on 25th Jan for a three day tour mainly to
Defense India is one of the world’s biggest importer of
improve the bilateral relation between the two
weapons and US became the biggest exporter
countries and discuss on some of the key
to India in recent times, both countries can
areas
economic
try to minimize the restrictions for trade
cooperation, defense and climate issue. The
between them. Various initiatives can be
visit is expected to be a landmark in pivoting
taken
the relationship between the two countries to
development of defense equipments and
a new level. Succeeding the Modi visit to US
platforms. Further they can look forward for
last year, the initiative taken by US President
the renewal of the 10 year bilateral defense
to visit India could deepen the chemistry
partnership and increase the FDI cap in
- Technology
between the two veterans, and bring a myriad
defense.
transfer from US to India for
of Investments and Technology advancements
Defense
-
Minimizing
the
restrictions for trade
Climate issue
reduction in emission of green-
like
nuclear
energy,
to the Indian corridor.
for
joint
production
and
co-
Climate Change India ranks third in emission of green house
house gases
gases, thus entering into use of renewable sources of energy can cut down the emission
Relaxation in nuclear liability
rate. This would require massive investment
law
and technology transfer from US to India. After an agreement with China last year, US is looking for an agreement with India too to bring down the emission level at a particular level. Nuclear Energy India has enacted the Nuclear liability law in As a token of honor, Mr. Obama will be the
2010, according to which the vendor for the
66th
nuclear supply will be liable for any kind of
Republic Day celebration at Rajpath New
accidents. This prevents private players like
Delhi. At the later hours of the day, he will be
G.E., Westinghouse from entering into the
meeting business leaders and CEOs for
Indian market and keeps the nuclear deal
first US President as chief guest for the
interaction. On
27th
Jan, Obama and Mr. Modi
between India and US partially inactive. India
will be aired on Radio in the show “Mann ki
needs to give provisions to this law and bring
Baat” to directly connect to two-thirds of the
in insurance companies that would give
Indian masses.
guarantee to the nuclear suppliers and make Nuclear
power
plants
operational
by
Some of the top issues that can be addressed
increment of nuclear energy capacity from US
during the three day visit are:
companies.
Investments powering
from Make
US in
Investment Within the wide spectrum of the India-U.S.
provided by Companies like IBM, Nokia,
engagement, great opportunities lies in the
planning to come up with new framework in
area
Cairn India, and Vodafone. India and US are
of defense, energy and technology.
the form of advance pricing agreement
for
Under the Make in India concept which is
wherein dynamic mark-up will be levied on
India
focused on sectors like power, electronics and
companies based on the activities performed
communications,
technology
instead of the fixed mark-up model. The new
concept
high
engineering, India would like to manufacture
agreement will resolve software development,
New Framework for advance
products and services that are consumed not
IT and litigation issues.
pricing model
only in Indian market but also in the global market. To fast pace this endeavor we would
Allow FDI in B2C market
like to partner with US and bring in their
FDI Issue US Senators have pleaded to the President for encouraging the Indian Government to allow FDI in the Business to Consumer (B2C)
Bilateral Agreement between
both
countries
to
market for the e-commerce sector, wherein
prevent
foreign players will be allowed to sell their
double payment of social secu-
products directly to the consumers. Currently
rity contribution by immigrants
FDI is existing only in the Business to Business
(B2B)
market,
wherein
foreign
players can sell their products via middleman to the consumers. This would help in doubling the US exports and entry into new markets. world best technology and huge investing capabilities to build India into global power.
Benefits to Immigrants in US India is also looking forward for linking up a
Intellectual Property rights
and Bilateral
totalisation pact with the US government, that
Investment Treaty will be some of the other
would prevent the double payment of social
key issues for discussion.
security
contributions
by
temporary
immigrants, first at home and second in the Tax Issues Both the countries will be looking forward to
country where they are deployed. This would
resolve the transfer pricing issue which acts as
working
a
multinational
Currently US provides these social security
companies. The major concern lies in the
benefits to person who has stayed for more
markup and tax dues on the cost of services
than 10 years or atleast 40 quarters.
barrier
between various
come as a boon for Indian IT Professions in
US
for
short
assignments.
-by Mohana Krishna Kummara
Every time value of Indian currency is
phrase “currency war” is already a part of
devalued against dollar many of us think that
mainstream disclosure. In Davos, which is a
RBI is worried about its devaluation and want
host to World Economic Forum, Goldman
to increase its value. Well, the fact is RBI is
Sachs President Gary Cohn said that currency
more worried for the stability of rupee than its
war has begun two years ago when japan
increase or decrease of its value against dollar.
Prime minster Shinzo Abe’s policies started
The depreciation increases the
Sometimes countries even try to deliberately
pushing down Yen’s rate. It did not take long
cost of imports and boosts
devalue their currency against a reference
for the Europeans to feel the pinch and they
exporters’
currency or a basket of currencies. This is
also started devaluating their euro. Now ball
manly to increase their exports and drive their
is again in Japan’s court. US is just sitting and
economies towards higher growth.
watching their currencies rally as everyone is
aiding
the
competitiveness, effort
to
revive
inflation that data tomorrow will
trying to devalue their currency.
probably show is the weakest
since 2009
Driving down exchange rates are no more “a polite conversation to have”. Majority of the
Here is the graph showing the Japanese
leaders
are
exports (Shown in billions of yen) which
comfortable in openly talking about their
slumped in 2011 and 2012, then rallied since
plans to drive down exchange rates. The
Abe’s devaluation of their Yen:
among
the
world
today
RBI has slashed the Repo rate by 25 bps from 8% to 7.75% on Thursday.
As the As ECB hesitated to introduce more
agreements among the world leaders. Even
stimulus euro area exports have stagnated :
treasury raised no red flags about any
According to the Bloomberg’s correlation-
countries that might be devaluing their
weighted indices, a gain of 2.83 percent has
currencies competitively in its latest version of
been recorded by U.S. dollar against a basket
the report, which came out last October. It
of other developed nation currencies, and the
may be because U.S. have called on many
yen has gained 4.77 percent. Even before the
countries in the world to take decisive action
ECB’s quantitative easing program has started
to get their economies to grow.
euro is down 4.88 percent. Just the talk of quantitative
easing
has
made
European
exporters much more competitive.
It is true that in order to keep its growth at rapid pace, the U.S. needs a global boost. But its complacency about the scale of planned
According to The Economist's Big Mac index,
ECB action may nonetheless be misguided.
January 2015 edition, which uses the price of
European manufacturers can take advantage
the McDonalds staple in various countries as
of U.S. market but Americans are the ones
a measure of purchasing power parity, U.S. is
that will become uncompetitive in Europe.
already overvalued against euro. The index
showed it was undervalued just in July. That
Other central banks -- those in India and
standard is not definitive, of course, but it is
Canada, among others – to weaken their
the reason to wonder whether the ECB's plans
currencies, have been cutting rates. Dalio
for additional might be on the overaggressive
predicted that like in 1980’s this may lead to a
side. Even at the expense of inflation Europe
“short squeeze” on US dollar, which required
is
concerted action from central banks to curb
planning
to
increase
its
economy.
the dollar's rise and prevent the U.S. economy Even as Europe is making its competitive
from tanking. This time, because countries
move by devaluing its currency, the U.S.
such as Italy see QE as their big chance to
government is acing relaxed. To prevent
restore growth, such action is far less likely.
currency
Rather than to raise production closer to U.S.
wars
threatening
it
is
references
not
to
making
any
gentleman’s
level it is much easier to print money.
- By Gayatri Pandit
Options is a contract which gives the buyer
plus premium the buyer is at profit. However,
the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell
if at expiration the stock price is less than the
an underlying asset or instrument at a
exercise price, then the buyer will let the
specified strike price on or before specified
contract to expire and will only lose the price
date. If the buyer exercises the option i.e. the
of premium.
Options is a contract which
buyer want to conduct the transaction then
gives the buyer the right, but
the seller has obligation to complete the
Short Call: If the stock price is going down,
not the obligation, to buy or sell
transaction by buying or selling the security.
the trader will short the call. The seller will
an
For this right of fulfilling transaction, buyer
have no obligation to sell. If the stock price
pays premium to seller.
goes down the exercise price, the seller will
underlying
asset
or
instrument at a specified strike
make a profit equal to premium. On contrary,
price on or before specified date.
There are two types of options:
the loss will be unlimited.
1. Call option: In this the owner i.e. the buyer
In this the owner i.e. the buyer has right to buy something at specified price, so that the buyer would want the stock to go up.
has right to buy something at specified
Long Put: If the stock price is decreasing, the
price, so that the buyer would want the
trader can buy the right to sell the stock at
stock to go up.
fixed price. The buyer of put option have no
2. Put option: In this, the owner has right to
obligation to sell until expiration. If the stock
sell something at a specified price, sot hat
price decreases more than the exercised price
the buyer would want the stock to go
plus premium then the buyer of put is profit.
down.
However, on a contrary side the buyer of put
Call option is more frequently traded in
will lose the amount of premium paid.
market. Short Put: If the price of stock is increasing as
n this, the owner has right to sell something at a specified
The value of option have two parts:
per trader, then he can sell a put. The trader
price, sot hat the buyer would
1. Intrinsic value: It is a difference between
selling the put option have no obligation to
strike price of the option and market value
buy the stock if said by buyer. If the stock
of security.
price is above the exercised price, the trader
want the stock to go down.
2. Time value: It is value of option which is discounted to the present value.
will make profit equal to premium. However, if the stock price is below the exercised price plus premium then trader will be in loss and
The basic trades in stock option are as follows:
the loss is equal to full value of stock.
Long Call: If it is expected that the stock price
Options are used in different ways. They can
will go up, the trader may bay a call option at
be used to speculate which is relatively risky
fixed price. The buyer has no obligation to
and this is generally used by traders. Options
buy the option, until expiration. If the stock
can also be used to reduce the risk of holding
price at expiration is above the exercise price
an asset which is generally used by hedgers.
INDIAN MARKETS Indian shares ended higher, hitting record highs for the fourth straight day, led by bluechip stocks, tracking a global rally after the European Central Bank launched a landmark bond-buying stimulus programme that buoyed investors' risk appetite. The benchmark BSE index rose 0.94 percent to 29,278.84 after marking a record high of 29,408.73. The index gained 4.1 percent for the week. The broader NSE index closed up 0.85 percent at 8,835.60 after hitting an all-time high of 8,866.40 earlier in the session. It closed 3.8 percent for the week. Both the indexes gained for the seventh consecutive session. Open
High
Low
Close
SENSEX
28,249.84
29,408.73
28,197.36
29,278.84
NIFTY
8,550.05
8,866.40
8,531.50
8,835.60
BSE SENSEX
CNX NIFTY
COMMODITIES Commodity
Unit
Rs / Unit
% Change
Gold
10 grams
26800.00
0.26
Silver
1 kg
36833.00
1.65
Crude Oil
1 bbl
2983.00
-12.00
EXCHANGE RATES INR/ 1 USD
61.4988
INR /1 EURO
69.6166
INR/ 100 JAPAN YEN
51.9500
INR / 1 POUND STERLING
92.1621
INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Open
High
Low
Close
NYSE Comp
10,682.00
10,869.00
10,589.46
10,788.33
NASDAQ
4,655.84
4,771.18
4,601.10
4,757.88
S&P 500
2,020.76
2,064.62
2,004.49
2,051.82
FTSE 100
6,550.30
6,841.70
6,548.00
6,832.80
CAC
4,388.67
4,673.30
4,367.24
4,640.69
DAX
10,231.58
10,704.32
10,149.77
10,649.58
NIKKEI 225
17,000.78
17,532.06
16,911.58
17,511.75
Hang Seng
23,971.23
24,896.22
23,590.05
24,850.45
Twitter acquired missed call marketing platform ZipDial for $35 million Twitter acquired India-based missed call marketing platform ZipDial for $35 million and this gave a ray f light on the compact but budding expat start-up community in India. This will also help Twitter to operate as there are substantial hurdles to operate in such an Nokia has signed a $200 mil-
emerging market. This acquisition basically targets India’s growing domestic consumption
lion contract with Bharti Airtel to
market as in India a company can build something with a long-term value proposition. This
build the country’s first 4G
will also help other start-ups to emerge. According to many analysts, this deal will do well
Network in the 1800 MHz band
for India’s burgeoning entrepreneurial ecosystem. The clients of ZipDial are Unilever,
in six telecom circles.
Amazon, Facebook, Disney, Gillette and Twitter. These clients have used the missed call platform for placing orders, receiving coupons or entering contests. Twitter acquired ZipDial with an aim to make great content more accessible to everyone through the ZipDial platform. On the other hand, Twitter can now use the platform to reach developing markets users with meager data plans or patchy internet connectivity. Additionally, this acquisition will help India to stand as the fastest growing country.
Amazon India may emerge as the fastest E- tailer to touch $2 Billion turnover Amazon India has forecasted to sell goods worth $2 billion by the end of this fiscal year. Thus if done, it will become the fastest e-tailer in the country to cross this mark. Delhi-based Snapdeal took more than four years to cross this mark while India’s largest e-tailer Flipkart took almost seven years to reach $2 billion sales. Amazon started its operations in India in June 2013, it already crossed the $1 billion mark in September last year. Thus it will take less
than 2 years for Amazon India to reach $2 billion sales becoming the fastest e-tailer in the country. Experts believe that the reason behind the speedy growth of Amazon is its positioning to offer an array of goods from books to adult diapers across various cities. They come up with one new category every 14-15 days. E-commerce is a very growing sector. E-tailers are betting on more Indians switching to shopping online with a projection of 200 million new consumers by the year 2017. Under Amit Agarwal, the country head of Amazon India, the company has been to increase the seller base from 100 in the year 2013 to more than 18,000 in 2014. In just 19 months, the company has built eight warehouses across seven states. Flipkart has 13 warehouses connecting 4000 sellers in 300 cities.
Home-bred Lava International to sell new brand on its own online platform Lava International will soon launch a sub brand of its popular Xolo brand of smartphones exclusively on an e-commerce platform it is developing. It wants to replicate the success of foreign rivals Xiaomi and online-only strategy of Motorola. But Lava International has yet not disclosed the name of the sub brand. After the launch of its own website, Lava will become the second Indian smartphone maker after Micromax to follow in the footsteps of the global majors which witnessed success through online platforms. Another motive to launch own website is to bring price stability for Lava products in the country.
Zomato, the online restaurant listing guide, is likely to raise fresh funding Fast growing Zomato is likely to raise fresh funding of up to $80 million as it is currently
aiming to recruit more people and expand business in two continents including US. Zomato bought a total of six companies last year. Now presently it is not thinking for going any acquisition, rather it wants to expand its reach in US, Canada and Australia. The fresh funding can help the company to get valued about $750 million. The company was valued at $660 million in its last round of funding in November. For making new markets to be profitable, Zomato has to work on its structure and people.
Domestic Airlines can save money due to fall in fuel prices Because of sharp decline in fuel prices, Indian domestic airlines are expected to save $400
million in the current fiscal. This can also trigger the turnaround for the loss making aviation sector. Fuel accounts for half of the operating costs of an airline in the country. Thus 24% fall in fuel prices can actually save 12% of the total operating costs. This sharp decline is a major source of relief in the aviation sector.
Asset Management Company Limited.
She made ICICI Prudential what it is today. It is the organization she built from scratch; the leading player in the life insurance business. In her 28 year old association with the ICICI Group, she was instrumental in setting the foundation for the bank's personal financial services business. Here, she also launched an innovative micro insurance cover of 1 dollar a month for poor people in India. In December 2008, under her leadership, ICICI Prudential commanded a market share of 13 %.
Nov 19 , 1958
IIM Ahmedabad
Launched an innovative micro insurance cover of 1 dollar a
month
for
poor
people
Shikha Sharma was born to a soldier who travelled all over India, before settling down in Delhi. She graduated in economics from the Lady Sreeram College, Delhi. She also completed her Masters in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.
Born to an Army officer, She maintained discipline in her life and this disciplined showed right through her career too. In a male dominated financial world, she carved a niche for herself. She is the kind of person who considers every job that comes towards her as a challenge. She is one of the two women entrepreneurs who are at the helm of a private bank in India. In a male dominated banking and insurance sector, she, with her exceptional leadership qualities, made ICICI Prudential, the largest private insurance company in the country. She has left behind a legacy which is followed by millions of women aspirants.
Timeline 1980: She started her career with ICICI as a project officer. 1992: Set up ICICI Securities which was a joint venture of ICICI and J. P Morgan. 1995: Moved to ICICI Securities and was deputed to J.P. Morgan. 1997: Rejoined ICICI as the General Manager Awards and Accolades in charge of Strategic Planning and 'Woman Business Leader' by CNBC TV18, Development. 2007 1998: Became the Managing Director of ICICI 'Business Woman of the Year' by Personal Financial Services. Economic Times, 2009 2009: Became the Chief Executive Officer, Ranked 89th in the list of 'World's 100 Managing Director of Axis Bank Limited and Most Powerful Women' by Forbes Chairperson and Associate Director of Axis magazine, 2010.
- By J.Sindhuja
11 cm
Approximately 440 g
Panono which has created a whole new world of panoramic photography is not just a panoramic camera. It captures 100 megapixel panoramic shots with 360 degrees field of view. It is integrated with 36 cameras and captures every direction at once and you are placed in the center of it.
36 fixed-focus cameras
108 megapixels
iOS 7+ and Android 4+
via USB cable
Approximately shots
WiFi, USB cable
400
Panono
How it works? It is a bit different than the way we capture pictures .We have to throw it straight up in the air and cameras will automatically trigger at their highest point giving perfect shots without any blur effects. It can also be used manually by helding it in the hand and pressing the button. Camera should be mounted on a tripod when capturing indoor pictures or in low light situations, howerver daylight conditions are better preferred for capturing panoramic shots. It can be triggered remotely by setting a timer or by using the Panono app .For a quick shot hold the camera in your hand and press the trigger button. After the pictures are captured an instant
preview will be sent to mobile device via wifi. On an average it can save upto 400 shots, which can then be transferred to PC via wifi or USB. Panono has a cloud which automatically stitches the individual images of your shot together to form a seamless panorama. Panono cloud can be synchronized with its panono app with which your android device or smartphone will take you into the middle of the panorama. You can spin the device around and experience the moments 360째 x 360째. Exploring your panoramas in your web browser is possible with the panono cloud which offers everything you need to manage your panoramic shots. You can zoom the 108 megapixel details as you move within the picture. They can be shared easily through social media channels, panono platform or through emails. It provides you with privacy settings which will let you define with whom you want to share. Embedded codes can be used to share selected panoramas on your website.