Regulator
September 1, 2010
Coal India Limited (CIL) would be a safe stock to invest in if it priced in the indicated manner that is a $33 Billion Market Capitalization.This stock won't be a multi bagger but would offer decent price appreciation with almost no downside risks.At trailing P/E of 15x and 3 year average trailing P/E of 20x,the company is not expensive given its competitive strengths.Its dividend yield would be around 1.5% with growth of around ~10-12%.However if you exclude $8.5 Billion in Cash,then the stock seems cheap at around trailing P/E of 11x.It has a P/B of 6x and P/S of around 3x.With its ASP being at a 65% Discount to the International Price,the Company has a huge moat around its business model and I would recommend it as a Buy.
September 1, 2010
This Program will try to avoid the disadvantages of Feed in Tariff Schemes as it will introduce a Market Based Element into the Tariffs.However this project is still at a preliminary stage and will need a lot of fine tuning.Note similar scheme have been implemented in China and India as well.The Chinese 280 MW of Projects have seen cuthroat competition with loss making bids by State Owned Utilities.It remains to be seen whether California can make a success of this RAM Program where China has failed.Even India has reported a huge response for the JNNSM First Phase of PV Projects.The Success of this California program will be crucial as it might serve as a template for future programs by other states and the Federal Government.
August 27, 2010
There is no good way of shorting Prakash Steelage stock otherwise it seems a sure shot money making opportunity.What is funny is that mainstream media websites have described the stock glowingly as a multibagger.More reason than ever to strictly avoid mainstream financial media.These IPOs have become a fertile gambling ground with the dice loaded in favor of the promoters and connected market operators.Retail investors get sucked in not realizing its a "Greater Fool" Game with the whole purpose of making them the Greatest Fools.
August 25, 2010
Even Germany has imposed yearly changes on FIT , still it has managed to become the solar capital of the world.2010 was an exception due to a mid year change,still Germany is going to install more solar capacity in 1 month than US's entire historical installed capacity.This is due to a well laid out policy which instills confidence in investors.The French Government's FIT cut has good reasons since ground mounted plants have lesser costs and most European countries like Spain are trying to boost residential solar installations.However rapid fire changes are not the answer to a well thought of careful FIT policy.
August 20, 2010
Midfield Industries was another overpriced small cap IPO in the Indian market which listed on 4th August.This stock not so strangely has almost doubled in price […]
August 19, 2010
Ontario had ample opportunity to learn from past experience and its Renewable Energy Subsidy Policy is on the whole quite good.However one part of the FIT program which gave a very generous 80.2c/KwH to micro installations of solar projects under 10 KW was faulty.It led to 160 MW of project applications which were ground mounted with very high production as they used trackers.There was no discrimination between roof and ground mounted micro installations leading to this problem.Note its not possible to install trackers on roofs which can increase the energy by 30-35%.The large number of applications were not factored in by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) which proposed to retroactively cut those tariffs by 27% for ground plants.
August 17, 2010
To reduce its expense Vedanta will only pay Rs 355/share to minority shareholders in the open offer while offering Cairn Rs 405/share .This will include Rs 50/share for a non compete agreement.This seems a ruse to shaft minority shareholders as I don't think Cairn poses much of a threat to Vedanta from further Oil Explorationin India.I don't know how Vedanta's returns from the Cairn's oil fields can be impacted through Oil Exploration by Cairn's parent in the future.Indian stock market regulator had earlier rejected Heidelberg's premium to be paid to SK Birla Group when buying Mysore Cements stake.The controlling premium has been paid in earlier M&A by foreign promoters to Indian promoters.The area of controlling premium remains a grey one and I think it is being exploited by Vedanta to lower its open offer price.It remains to be seen if SEBI rules in the favor of the minority shareholders.
August 17, 2010
The Board has lashed out at IL&FS for forgetting the strictures under which the company was given to the management of IL&FS.The government appointed directors had also been silent at the flouting of these norms.Note the company has already sold the preferential shares in the company without the approval of the CLB.Now IL&FS finds its reputation tarnished due to the jinxed Maytas.I am not superstitious by nature but it definitely seems that Maytas brings bad luck to its promoters.
August 10, 2010
Only communities adjacent to the rivers can use this water.An Environmental Group has also accused the state EPA of colluding with these corporate interests.This may lead to huge lawsuits against these companies and force the Boom to a halt.Shale Gas is supposed to be the new energy panacea as the deposits can meet US energy needs for 20 years.However like other fossil fuels it will deplete leaving behind a legacy of ecological degradation and destruction.
August 5, 2010
It is a microcap stock with only $12 million being sold to the public making it easily susceptible to manipulation because of its small float size.Its fundamentals could not in any way justify Rs 199 as even at Rs 118 it looked twice overvalued to me.But the stock kept climbing without any news probably sucking in naive investors out to gamble on the "greater fool" theory until the greatest fools were left holding out the can
August 5, 2010
United Kingdom has been a laggard in climate change and global warming issues especially compared to its European neighbours.While countries like Italy,Germany and Spain have installed […]
August 3, 2010
The Indian Market has seen a slew of junk Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) which have led to large losses for investors.The fundamentals of these companies are […]
August 3, 2010
Huawei faces blacklisting from India on Security Concerns Huawei has been blacklisted by the Indian government from supplying telecom equipment due to security concerns.Despite strong lobbying […]
August 3, 2010
India’s Green Energy Sector got an unexpected boost when the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) mandated that utilities all over India will have to compulsorily generate […]
July 17, 2010
India is facing a growing backlog of environmental cases with rapid industrialization leading to disputes with traditional stakeholders.Land acquisition has become a huge problem with industries […]
July 12, 2010
Italian Solar Feed in Tariff Cuts to be More Moderate than Market Expectations The German government allowed a face saving gesture to the Upper House by […]
July 6, 2010
Spanish Government Facing a Tough Fiscal Situation;Plans Green Energy Subsidy Change The Spanish Government has been facing a tough budgetary situation due to sovereign debt problems […]
July 5, 2010
Solar Energy in India has the potential to be one of the biggest opportunities in the Energy Sector in the 21st Century.The government’s strong backing through […]
July 2, 2010
Shale Gas is the newest Fossil Fuel Technology which would greatly help extend the world’s fast depleting oil and gas reserves.Shale gas has boomed in the […]
June 26, 2010
European countries have been hit hard by the Greek Contagion and are trying to outdo each other in reducing their fiscal deficits.Renewable Energy which is looked […]
June 23, 2010
The Oil Industry which had gone on the defensive with questions being raised about their commitment towards environment and society has learned nothing from the BP […]
June 20, 2010
Andarko Petroleum is a 25% owner of the the Deephorizon Oil Rig which exploded recently leading to a huge ecological and economic disaster in the US […]
June 17, 2010
According to the Spanish Solar Power Lobby ASIF,the Spanish government (under Pressure with Spanish Banks facing Funding Problems and Spanish Bond Yields Rising) is proposing a […]
June 5, 2010
India passed guidelines on the implementation of a new law that mandates that all publicly listed companies will have to raise the stake of public shareholding […]
June 2, 2010
India has agreed to allow telecom equipment manufacturing equipment from ZTE and Huawei after banning them due to security concerns. Hectic lobbying efforts by Huawei/ZTE,Chinese trade […]
June 2, 2010
Spanish Cajas have been in the news recently acting as the equivalent of the “subprime sector” during the US financial crisis.CajaSur was seized by the Spanish […]
June 1, 2010
After the Dow and the other US indices crashed by almost 8% in the infamous “Flash Crash” during the Greek contagion,India got its own smaller version […]
June 1, 2010
British Petroleum shares have crashed by almost 33% since the news of the Gulf Oil Spill broke out.Despite BP being a stable mega cap Energy company […]
May 30, 2010
The Indian Government’s launch of the ambitious Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission(JNNSM) promises to catapult India into becoming the Largest Market for Solar Energy in the […]
May 30, 2010
Pakistan has been in the news for banning Facebook,Youtube and Twitter as pages from Facebook reportedly offended the sensibilities of the Islamic religion.Instead of just banning […]