Beyond Comparison...

Being an ardent reader of Business & Economy for the past half year, I have witnessed various improvements in the quality and content of your magazine. All praises to you and your strong editorial team for having so very successfully published another collector’s special issue dated October 5, 2006, with the cover feature as ‘B&E Power 100 – India’s Most Profitable Companies’. It indeed is a tremendous combination of being a treat to one’s eyes and food to one’s brain! My heartiest congratulations to your entire team on the excellent execution. Though a thousand lines of praise can be written about the content standards, the design perhaps lends a different dimension to the idea of how even serious and business-related matters should be presented. And while on one hand the business, economic and technology related sections set their own benchmarks for the level of analysis and expertise, the Panache section gives that reader friendly and lighter touch to the magazine which is obligatory for even the most serious of magazines to carry. I vehemently oppose certain arguments about this section diluting the gravity of the issues discussed in other abovementioned sections in the magazine. The whole package of information is a treat and is well beyond anything I might have ever read anywhere. The writing style carries the stamp of brevity with wit emerging from every statement penned down. Add to this the mindblowing design, and we have a magazine that puts to shame many other publications which oft en claim to be of international standards!

Richa Goel
Via e-mail

Break the Slumber!

I am a student of foreign affairs and am a proud subscriber of your world-class Business & Economy magazine. I never miss a single issue discussed in your policy international section as it stands relevant to my field of interest and unlike other cumbersome and confusing reads, is presented lucidly but within imaginable space by your magazine. I also beg to state that the discussion of the oil deal between China and Venezuela (B&E, September 22, 2006) deserves special mention. While many other international policy journals missed a proper analysis of this important development, your magazine not only gave a clear picture of what the situation is but also went a step further in putting forward a convincing statement, which discussed how it would prove to be a major threat to the United States and the Bush administration. Certainly, the current requirement of the US for a continuous supply of oil does not seem very appreciative of this fact. Hope, America wakes up soon to understand the gravity of the matter!

Meeta Gajwani
Nasik (Maharashtra)

A Joy-Ride... Or was it a thrill?

What coverage! That's what I told myself when I first came across your special coverage on the two-wheeler industry – an industry without which a majority of middle-class Indians would still be clinging on to packed buses even today! I felt an adrenaline rush in my veins – nothing less, of course – when I realised that here is a magazine doing something different, something fresh, something that marks a change from the common and lackluster coverage. Certainly, a welcome change that deserves a pat on the back. After the hundreds of mediocre coverages on the two-wheeler industry, this one is simply mind-blowing! Then there was the presentation style and design-briefs that matter so very much in the whole package. Updates on the upcoming launches have also removed a host of doubts from the minds of the readers. It's also refreshing to note that the scooter manufacturers too have woken-up to the fact that vehicles today need to carry the tag of also being a ‘style-statement’!

Christopher D’Costa
Patna (Bihar)

India Vs The World

All I can say is that B&E is a true depiction of how India is waking up to the challenges of global majors and many a times outperforming them! It's better than many business magazines that have crossed my eyes. It’s simply amazing!

Elandear Borduea
Copenhagen (Denmark)

Great ‘Mile’ with a distorted ‘Inch’!

It's wonderful that you published a list of top 100 Indian companies (B&E Cover Feature, issue dated October 5, 2006) on the basis of strong, comparable and valid financial parameters like Market Capitalisation (which is normally considered by all the agencies who rank India Inc. every year), Profit After Tax to Sales ratio and Dividend-Yield. However, it would have been great if you could have considered other major parameters like the asset base separately and growth performances over the years, etc. Also it would have been great if valuation techniques would have been used to rank even unlisted entities as many of them are already market leaders even in the major Indian cities with huge market shares. Hence we have slightly distorted the real image here.

Piyush Lahiri
Mumbai (Maharashtra)

Walmart
Wall'ing high costs

World's largest hyper market chain Wal-Mart has come up with a business strategy that has shook the American generic drug market. The company has announced that it will offer over 300 most frequently used generic drugs at an unbelievable $4 (almost a fourth of previous market prices). Under the new pricing strategy various generic drugs which were oft en out of the purchasing purlieu of many Americans, will be amazingly within reach. Drugs that are a part of the new plan include cholesterol, blood pressure, vitamins and diabetes drugs among others. According to Wal-Mart these prices will benefit pensioners and senior citizens the most, as their total cost allocation for prescription drugs will subsequently come down. Wal-Mart benefits from economies of scale because of its large scale operations and its bulk purchases, which substantially reduces cost, ultimately benefiting the end consumer. The scheme is currently for the Florida State, but if successful, the company plans to extend it to other states as well by 2007.

In another instance of consumer welfare, Wal-Mart is also experimenting with eco-friendly packaging and had last year partnered with Nature-Works for corn-based plastic packaging techniques instead of petroleum-based, for perishable food items like fruits and sprouts. This year the retailer wants to make its stores 25% more energy efficient and reduce solid wastes by 25% as well. In this regard the company has initiated 13 value networks with one of them solely focusing on packaging parameters. Looks like business is no longer driven by profits, capitalist societies expect something in return of consumerism from large corporations working amidst them.

Definitely Airbus(ted)

Airbus, the A380 super jumbo manufacturer announced its third delay on September 21, 2006, again claiming 500 kms of complicated wiring on each of its $300 million superjumbo A380s to be the cause. Worse enough, till date (aft er two previous such announcements), the aircraft manufacturer had already postponed the delivery programme of its $15.3 billion A380s project by a year – and this announcement therefore would mean a further annoying wait for all the airliners that are yet to receive their deliveries. Though the aircraft's parent EADS confi rmed that the delay is not as bad as it sounds, all know that nothing could be worse for the manufacturer who had already faced loads of criticism after making similar recent announcements. Perhaps their newly appointed head of the programme – CEO Christian Streiff – too failed to infuse new life in the megadream of making Airbus the largest ever carrier in history!

A ‘Smart Pearl’ phone from RIM

Known for leading the market in providing innovative wireless solutions worldwide, Research in Motion (RIM) has come up with a multimedia smartphone, christened Black- Berry Pearl. Named for its glowing navigational trackball, this new feature rich non-flip handset from RIM has been classified as a smartphone and not a cellular wireless. It is the company’s first phone that plays music and also displays video. The experience is completed with a digital camera, multimedia options and a memory slot that is expandable.

Expanding eyewear everywhere!

A $100 million investment and three acquisitions in just two years, that's been the success story of Italian eyewear maker, Luxottica in China. Its latest achievement includes opening of Lens Crafters store in Beijing. In 2003 Luxottica had bought 70 optical stores in Hong Kong. China's announcement allowing foreign firms to own 100% in retail in January 2005, gave a boost to the eyewear giant's growth there. Luxottica now owns 270 stores collectively in China & Hong Kong.

Honda blows a clean horn

According to new California emission norms of 2007, vehicles that weigh less than 6000 pounds should not emit more than 0.07 grams of N2O (Nitrogen oxide) per mile on an average. Honda along with other Japanese conglomerates is engaged in the business of selling lighter fuel efficient cars in America and therefore this obligation hurts. Honda has announced that it will launch a diesel powered vehicle by 2009, which will meet the stringent norms that other major automobile manufacturers have failed with. In this regard the company is experimenting with some high-end diesel technologies and is planning to invest an estimated $4.8 billion on R&D activity. Honda is also going to launch its next generation FCX fuel-cell sports car in the American markets.

Volvo ups stake by 6% in Nissan Diesel

Swedish auto giant, Volvo AB, would be buying out a 6% stake in Nissan Diesel Motor Co. from Nissan Motor Company, the second largest auto maker in Japan. Post deal, Volvo will have a total stake of 19% in Nissan Diesel. Earlier, in March 2006, Volvo became the largest shareholder in Nissan Diesel after buying 13% stake in the company at a discount of 14%. This move, which saw Volvo shell out $553 million, was a part of the agreement made during the previous deal, wherein both the companies had agreed to grant Volvo an option to pick 6% in four years time.

The car too generates wealth

Like Warren Buffet’s almost every other investment, his Lincoln Town Car too generated money almost five times the value in an online auction conducted by eBay. The bid that clicked offered $73,200 for the 2001 model car was placed by Bill Zanker, who had earlier paid nearly $60,000 in another eBay auction for a lunch with Rupert Murdoch. The online charity auction that drew 63 bids during the 12-day eBay auction closed on September 22, 2006. Money raised by the auction will go to Girls Inc., a national not for profit youth organization working towards educational and recreational programs for 6- to 18-year-old girls in high risk areas.

Patents paying heavy on Samsung

The Korean chaebol Samsung landed in big trouble as Japan-based Pioneer Corporation has sued Samsung SDI and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. in the US for infringement of patents on plasma display panel technology. However, Samsung SDI is planning to respond back by filing a counter-complaint. Apart from this latest litigation, Samsung SDI was also involved in another plasma display patent suit with Japan’s Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd., in which, a US Federal Court rejected suits saying neither had violated the other’s patents. So will Samsung be lucky this time too?

Tuning to the new Microsoft Zune!

For a long time now, Apple’s iPod has been a competition for itself. But now, Microsoft has decided to end the aloofness for iPod, as it is all set to launch its own music and video player called Zune. To intensify the competition further, Microsoft has priced Zune at $249.99 which is almost equivalent to iPod. A 30GB hard drive, three inch screen with Wi-Fi connectivity, FM tuner and an in-built rechargeable battery makes Zune a very lucrative option for an ardent music lover. It also allows sharing of music wirelessly with other Zune users. At last, now the consumers can have a choice beyond the iPod.